GAME AUTHOR RESOURCES

Selected Bibliography

Books

Carnes, Mark. Minds on Fire: How Role-Immersion Games Transform College (2018)
The essential exploration of RTTP’s history and impact, as well as how role-immersion pedagogies in general can transform classrooms.

Clancy, Kelly. Playing with Reality: How Games Have Shaped Our World (2024)
An overview by a neuroscientist and physicist of the cultural and practical significance of games throughout human history, especially in the present moment of technological paradigm shifts.

Engelstein, Geoffrey. Gametek: The Math and Science of Gaming (2017)
The mathematical concepts and scientific applications of game design and play.

Engelstein, Geoffrey & Isaac Shalev. Building Blocks of Tabletop Game Design: An Encyclopedia of Mechanisms (2022)
The most comprehensive encyclopedia of mechanisms and design principles in the sphere of tabletop board gaming (including applications to RPGs).

Harrigan, Pat & Matthew Kirschenbaum (eds.). Zones of Control: Perspectives on Wargaming (2023)
One of the finest collection of essays on wargames, including their history, design, implementation, and reception; includes thoughtful articles from a diverse host of practitioners and scholars.

Harrigan, Pat & Noah Wardrip-Fruin (eds.). Third Person: Authoring and Exploring Vast Narratives (2017)
A compelling collection of essays on the power of expansive (and ever-expanding) narratives across media and modalities; highlights the improvisational and collaborative nature of postmodern storytelling.

Huizinga, Johan. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play Element in Culture (2014)
Written on the eve of WWII, still the foundational text for taking meaningful play seriously as a cultural phenomenon and civilizational force.

Hergenrader, Trent. Collaborative Worldbuilding for Writers and Gamers (2018)
With reflections on everything from the digital space to the tabletop, this book delves into and leverages the essentially communal and collaborative nature of grand storytelling.

Johnson, Steven. Wonderland: How Play Made the Modern World (2017)
A serious reflection on the history of play in the forging of modernity, with a broader canvas that includes games as well as a host of other popular entertainments and diversions.

Suckling, Maurice. Paper Time Machines: Critical Game Design and Historical Board Games (2024)
A scholarly yet accessible take on the design principles and challenges of historical board game development with a focus on best practices alongside interpretive and historiographical implications.

Tekinbas, Katie & Eric Zimmerman.  Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals (2003)

Zimmerman, Eric.  The Rules We Break: Lessons in Play, Thinking, and Design (2003)

Websites

Analog Game Studies

Nordic LARP

Templates

Templates for Game Book, IM, Role Sheets, Handouts (December 2021)

Boilerplates

Updated Gamebook Boilerplate (2021)

Gamebook Boilerplate (2020)

Instructor's Manual Boilerplate (2020)

Short Game Framework (2022)

Short Game Templates (2024)

Microgame Framework (2022)

Microgame Instructor Manual Template (2023)

Microgame Role Sheet Template (2023)

Please contact Raymond Kimball with questions about microgames at: ray@42ed.games

Short Game and Microgame Working Group Report to the REB (2022)

*This report is only a reference to help game authors understand the updated guidelines and changes to short games and microgames.

Submit Game and Prototype to BLORG

Submit your Reacting Concepts and Prototypes using this Google Form. Each submission is reviewed by members of our Editorial Board. Successful submissions will receive additional materials and information concerning game development.

This Big List of Reacting Games (or the BLORG) contains all of the known Reacting games, prototypes, and concepts. It also includes the names of the authors and the development editor.

• Level 5 games have been reviewed and published; instructor materials are available on this site but student manuals must be purchased from the publisher.
• Level 4 games have completed review by the Editorial Board but are unpublished. All game materials for them should be available on this site.
• Level 3 games are currently under review by the Editorial Board. All game materials for them should be available on this site.
• Level 2 games are not yet under review but some materials may be available by contacting the game author.
• Level 1 games do not yet have sufficient materials such that the game can be played by anyone other than the game author.

Copyright and Publication

Game authors should keep copyright and permissions in mind when incorporating written sources, images, and translations into their gamebooks. While this is most important for published games, keeping track of these works can help authors at all levels game authors can contact the RTTP Publications Director for help securing rights and if they have any questions about copyright.

The Publications Director is Jace Weaver. Jace has published 18 books himself, and he served as director of Reacting Consortium Press, which was RTTP’s second line when it was publishing with W.W. Norton and Company. He is also an attorney well-versed in copyright law. As Publications Director, Jace acts as RTTP’s liaison with the University of North Carolina Press. He also can assist authors with getting permissions and understanding their contracts. He also has model letters for requesting permissions, which he can provide to authors.

RTTP Copyright and Permissions Tipsheet (July 2023)

Submit Files to Website

Once your game is at level 3 you can submit your files to the website where it can be used by Reacting Consortium members!

This Google Form can be used to send files for New Games, Updated Files for an Existing Game, and Community-Made Files.

Please read the File Submission Protocol to ensure that your files are ready to be posted on the website and prevent any delays due to formatting issues.

UNC Press Author Toolkit

*For games that are approved to be published