Abstract

This study explores the experiences of Dungeons & Dragons players from the 1970s and 1980s in the United States. I argue that even though D&D players were opening the same books and working within the same rule sets, the stories they created, and the experiences born of those stories, are unique and entirely their own. While widespread social and cultural factors—the wave of negative press from the Satanic Panic and common beliefs on gender dynamics, for instance—may have influenced how people engaged with the game and other players, factors like location, familial religious affiliations, and the general attitudes of parents and friends, also played a role in shaping player decisions and interactions. From a series of fourteen oral histories I conducted in the fall of 2022, I extracted three main themes across conversations: identity, community, and culture. Identity, chapter two, explores small group dynamics and roleplaying, specifically how players used the game as a space for performing identity and what identities people brought to the table. The third chapter, Community, investigates how individuals chose to interact with the larger circle of D&D players though opportunities like gaming clubs and conventions. Finally, the fourth chapter, Culture, examines the ways that player’s experiences were shaped by perceptions of the game resulting from pervasive stereotypes or Satanic Panic fears present in mainstream American culture. This study reifies the connections between individual voices and the D&D subculture; that subculture and the mainstream culture; and the relationship between the individual player and the culture at large. For D&D players, the game was, and remains, a tool for self-reflection, an outlet for creative expression, and a tether to a supportive community.

Advisor

Shaya, Greg

Department

History

Keywords

History, Oral History, Dungeons & Dragons, Cultural History

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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© Copyright 2023 Laura E. Jentes