53-322 IDeATe: Little Games/Big Stories: Indie Tabletop Roleplaying Game Studio
9 units, Carnegie Mellon University
As with indie music, indie filmmaking, and indie video game development, a subculture of independently designed tabletop role-playing games has always existed in the shadow of the mainstream. Smaller and scrappier than their mass-market counterparts, indie tabletop role-playing games often emulate genres outside of traditional fantasy, feature unique gameplay mechanics like cards or Jenga towers, and are played in single sessions rather than drawn-out campaigns. Once hard to find, indie TTRPGs have recently exploded in popularity thanks to high-profile podcasts, streams, and crowdfunding campaigns, launching numerous designers' careers and creating entirely new styles of play. Taught by a local, full-time indie TTRPG designer, this studio course aims to introduce students to a variety of analog role-playing game structures as well as methodologies for creating them. Students' class time will be split between playing and discussing role-playing games and hands-on guidance designing games of their own. At the end of the semester, students will submit their work in the form of a playable prototype for professional critique. No tabletop role-playing game writing, design, or gameplay experience is necessary to join this course. Students will, however, be required to participate in group playtests of each other's work.
Prerequisites: none listed
Offered: Fall 2026, Spring 2026
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