@article{nokey,

title = {Neurospicy Larpers: Role-play as a Method for Working with Neurodivergent Youth with Challenging Behavior Regarding Sexuality},

author = {Hanne Grasmo},

url = {https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202506167214},

isbn = {978-82-692633-2-9},

year  = {2025},

date = {2025-03-11},

journal = {Anatomy of Larp Thoughts: A Breathing Corpus},

pages = {429-442},

keywords = {Larp, Larp design, Neurodivergent, Role-play, Sexuality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Karhulahti2021c,

title = {Punchline Behind the Hotspot: Structures of Humor, Puzzle, and Sexuality in Adventure Games (with Leisure Suit Larry in Several Wrong Places)},

author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti and Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone},

url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-202005153223



},

doi = {10.1111/jpcu.13011},

issn = {1540-5931},

year  = {2021},

date = {2021-04-01},

journal = {Journal of Popular Culture},

volume = {54},

issue = {2},

pages = {341-364},

abstract = {Through the wide‐ranging catalog of text‐based titles in the 1980s, the graphic adventure boom in the 1990s, and ultimately the re‐popularization of the genre by recent independent developers, the comic element has always been central to the adventure game (Bonello Rutter Giappone). Nowadays, the premise also stands on empirical evidence; for instance, Anne‐Marie Grönroos’s study of videogame humor analyzed 659 gaming magazine reviews written between 2010 and 2012 and found that a quarter of the reviewed titles contained explicit humor. Of those, the adventure game genre was clearly the most humorous one, as almost “all of the adventure games were primarily comedic, and the quality of their jokes was often scrutinized in the review” (Grönroos 18). For further evidence, the present study commenced with a systematic review of the “Top 100 Adventure Games” list assembled by a leading community, Adventure Gamers. Despite the fact that high‐status critical rankings like this typically favor “serious” works over those with “comic” appeal (to employ a problematic cultural binary), more than half of the titles were explicitly humorous. For context, many of these titles belong to popular series such as Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, since 1990), Simon the Sorcerer (Adventure Soft, since 1993), and Discworld (Perfect 10 Productions, since 1995).2 With the above as a starting‐point, the goal of this study is to solve the persistent meta‐puzzle that has troubled critics, scholars, and popular culture experts within the field since Buckles: Why do adventure games, as a literary form with a history extending over seven decades, make use of humor as their means of expression to such a remarkable extent? Answers to the above are sought via a comparative analysis of two conceptual trajectories, humor and puzzles, that synthesize in the adventure game to a degree that has nowadays reached the status of substantial cultural convention. An argument is set forth as follows: humor and puzzles operate on similar structural principles and thus run on explicit enigmatic synergy that functions as one (yet not the sole) explanation for the adventure game’s inclination to treat its diverse themes through the comic. Methodologically, the argument relies on an analytical close reading of a well‐known adventure game series, Leisure Suit Larry (1987–97), selected for its clear thematic frame of sexuality, which resonates with humor and puzzles. The analysis maps out how Leisure Suit Larry’s humor and puzzles operate together and serve its thematics, thus exemplifying the mechanisms of enigmatic synergy that govern adventure game design in general.},

keywords = {Adventure games, Close reading, Humour, Leisure Suit Larry, Puzzles, Sexuality},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@article{Karhulahti2020c,

title = {Sexuality and Play: Introduction},

author = {Veli-Matti Karhulahti and Laura Saarenmaa and Ashley M. L. Brown},

url = {http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:jyu-201911154892},

issn = {1795-6161},

year  = {2020},

date = {2020-01-17},

journal = {WiderScreen},

volume = {22},

issue = {1-2},

keywords = {Digitaaliset pelit, Digital games, Gender, Leikit, Pelit, Seksuaalisuus, Sexuality, Sukupuoli},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}

@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}

}

@article{Harviainen2018,

title = {Three Waves of Awkwardness: A Meta-Analysis of Sex in Game Studies},

author = {J. Tuomas Harviainen and Ashley M. L. Brown and Jaakko Suominen},

doi = {10.1177/1555412016636219},

issn = {15554139},

year  = {2018},

date = {2018-01-01},

urldate = {2018-01-01},

journal = {Games and Culture},

volume = {13},

number = {6},

pages = {605–623},

publisher = {SAGE Publications},

address = {Los Angeles, CA},

abstract = {This article critically evaluates and questions the growth and maturity of game studies as a scholarly set of related approaches to the study of games, by providing an account of studies of sexuality in (mostly digital) games from 1978 to present. The main goal of this article is to highlight overarching themes and patterns in the literature, with a focus on theories and methodologies commonly used and the way game studies is still risk aware, even awkward in its discussions of sexuality. In addition to a review of 37 years of literature, the article employs a chronological and thematic metaphor analysis of past research texts to analyze whether game studies is growing up or in perpetual puberty and whether it really is exploring sexual maturity alongside the games we study. It finds that while different periods of time can be identified in research as far as approaches to sexuality in games go, game studies is still to a large extent engaged in the management of the stigma that discussing sexuality may cause. Rather than a maturation process, the waves are shown to be manifestations of different types of environmentally influenced risk awareness, consecutive risk avoidance, and a resulting awkwardness.},

keywords = {Critical meta-analysis, Game studies, Methodology, Sexuality, Theory},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {article}

}