With Netflix shows like Stranger Things and The Witcher, the 2023 movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the rise of cosplay and Renaissance Faires in our mainstream media, role-playing games have taken on a whole new life within pop culture. Though PC role-playing games such as Fallout, Baldur’s Gate, The Elder Scrolls, and even Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic have dominated the video game space for decades, the original tabletop role-playing games can be traced back to the 1970s, most notably Dungeons & Dragons.
What is a role-playing game?
Role-playing games are distinguished by the concept of playing an imaginary character in a fictional world; usually, these characters will set off on an adventure, and the player will have agency over their character’s decisions based on the character’s predetermined backstory and motivations. These decisions are typically moderated in some fashion, which highlights the distinction between PC RPGs (computer) and TT RPGs (a narrator of the game, typically stylized as a Game Master or GM). TT RPGs—tabletop role-playing games—are game systems that can be purchased or used freely with permission from the creator, serving as the skeleton concept for the story that the GM writes and moderates.
Some game systems are built on pre-existing systems for a variation on the original. Some people build their own systems from scratch. And sometimes, events are held to promote creativity in building an element for a role-playing game that can then be shared amongst the group. These elements can be a whole new system, a variation on a system, an NPC (non-playable character), a setting, or any other piece that may play a greater part in a whole game. Usually, the only guideline is a driving theme. This is known as a role-playing jam.
LibJam 2025
Walker Library held its first role-playing jam in October, under the direction of our Student Engagement Librarian Shelly Salo Martinez. The theme for this event was Lost & Found, and all submissions are based on the idea of something/someone/some place misplaced or uncovered. Yes, it is intentionally vague! The idea is that people can take liberties while having a starting place for their creativity to grow. The event brought in up to 28 people at once, with 51 total signups. We’ve had some wonderful submissions so far, including full and fully playable games!
🎲 It's not too late to be a part of LibJam either! Submissions are open until , and we welcome anyone who is interested in participating to follow this link to LibJam 2025 for more information. Because of the interest and event turnout, we’d like to host more of these, so please keep an eye out for similar events in the future!