Dungeon Theory

The central tenet of Stuart Hall ’s Critical Cultural Studies Theory is that a BBEG despotic ruler would do well to monopolize and control the available public communication media (e.g. town criers, leaflets, noticeboards, clergy, mass mind control).  Imagine a scenario in which your party enters a new town. The noticeboard is slathered with praises to the local militia for repelling monster attacks. Every household receives regular notice of the militia’s successes. By and large, the townsfolk support the militia, but an NPC, recognizing the party as “outsiders”, has a task. The party is to “deconstruct” (the theory’s term), the militia’s press. Then, relocate it to “The Resistance”, your campaign’s representation of a marginalized group. If the party takes the bait, they have the power to do exactly what the theory makes clear is the power of media and culture analysis: empower the marginalized and change the world. The state the players find themselves in upon arriving to ...

A sideways glance, offered in response to an accusation. An ancient script, hastily uncovered. The missing jewel in the queen’s crown. The fact that the half-orc never seems to leave the gnome’s side, no matter how much she insults him. Each of these forms of communication (both nonverbal and verbal) are signs, signals, something to be interpreted. Additionally, each interpretation has value. Discovering what the symbols and signs mean is an interpretive process. For semioticians, the signs that are the most interesting, are the ones that seem straightforward but hint at a deeper cultural, contextual, or connotative meaning. Roland Barthes ’s study of semiotics prides itself on studying the ideological baggage signs carry with them and communicate to others. Semiotics (or semiology) refers to the study of signs . In communication a sign is composed of both an image and a concept. The image (signifier) is what we see and hear. The concept (signified) is what we think about that image. ...

  Just like the environment of your campaign setting can change the way your players interact with the NPCs, quests, and challenges, our own world is shaped by the media environment in which we find ourselves. Studying the media environment not only helps inform us about the way people interact with media, but also how they understand the culture around them and their day-to-day experiences. Thinking about media as an environment, Marshall McLuhan sought to study the interaction people have with that mediated biome.  The theory of media ecology blurs the boundaries between medium (the channel through which communication flows) and the message (what information is conveyed via that medium). Taken to the tabletop, this theory makes the most sense for me to think about in terms of gamemasters crafting their play worlds. Your campaign setting (medium) helps to shape, influence, and (to a degree) control what your players do within that world. A serious campaign, taking place in a...