53-371 Role Playing Games Writing Workshop

12 units, Carnegie Mellon University

Role-playing games (RPGs) are a vibrant and viable popular medium for interactive storytelling. This workshop builds upon the dramatic theory of DNA in plays, TV, and film. Gameplay is performance. The skills developed when creating any time-bound media transfer well to games but must be seen through a different lens - the lens of the player. To do so, we first examine and dissect both RPG story and game design (using pencil and paper examples), seeking an understanding of both game systems as well as narrative best practices. In class, we focus our examination on the most popular existing intellectual property (The Lord of the Rings). Students who desire admittance to this class should be familiar with that world to succeed in the class. Each student works on a four-person team to create an original RPG campaign-style adventure for an already-existing story world. The final product is a portfolio-quality dramatic scenes, epic tabletop encounters, and character sketches. The course is not an RPG design course. Any level of writing experience is welcome, BUT experience playing RPGs -- either tabletop or video game -- is a must. Experience as a GM for an RPG is a big plus, and applicants who possess such experience should be sure to inform the instructor.

Prerequisites: none listed

Offered: Spring 2027, Fall 2025

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