Interaction Frames of Pen & Paper RPGs

I've read through some chapters of 'The Fantasy Role-Playing Game', a book that provides some interesting views on how information is conveyed in pen & paper RPGs.

First of all, information in pen and paper RPGs is channeled through spoken word and player-player/player-gamemaster note passing. One of the interesting things about RPGs is the lack of performer-spectator division - the act of role playing is similar to theatre in the way that a performance of acting takes place, however the spectators of this performance are the performers themselves. This opens up for interesting views on diegetic and non-diegetic information in RPGs.

The author of the book talks about Gary Alan Fine's three primary levels of meaning within role-playing games (social frame, game frame, gaming-world frame), and how switching between them is identified as engrossment. The author expands the three frames of interaction into the following five:

1) The social frame inhabited by the person
2) The game frame inhabited by the player
3) The narrative frame inhabited by the raconteur
4) The constative frame inhabited by the adresser
5) The performative frame inhabited by the character

Each of the last three frames take place within the game-world. According to the author, RPG players tend to operate within the conventions of the game rather than within their primary frameworks, and this can be immersion breaking.


Hopefully, this can be of some use for us, and if nothing else at least provide some background material for the report. The notion of frames originate from Goffman's 'Frame Analysis', which could be worth checking out as well.