@article{Sihvonen2019,

title = {On the Importance of Queer Romances - Role-play as Exploration and Performance of Sexuality},

author = {Tanja Sihvonen and Jaakko Stenros},

url = {http://widerscreen.fi/numerot/2019-1-2/on-the-importance-of-queer-romances-role-play-as-exploration-and-performance-of-sexuality/},

issn = {1795-6161},

year  = {2019},

date = {2019-11-07},

journal = {WiderScreen},

volume = {22},

issue = {1-2},

abstract = {This article investigates various kinds of analog and digital role-playing games (RPG) from the perspective of queer romance. We are interested in finding out how ‘queer’ appears in the composition of role-playing games through analysing players’ explorations and performances, as well as the options for romance in these games. We will look into a variety of role-playing games as research material in this study, from non-digital play – such as traditional tabletop role-playing games to live action role-play, or larp – to single-player digital RPGs. We ask how queerness affects the options for romance, whether localised in an event or in the composition of a single character, and what kind of exploration it serves. Is queerness to be found in the romance mechanic, or crunch, of RPGs, or is it part of the fluff: the setting and character descriptions? This article’s orientation is theoretical, and the main reference material here comes from RPG studies as well as queer game studies.},

keywords = {Analog game, Digital games, Queer, Role-play, Role-playing games, Romance, RPG, Sexuality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}