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“I think you are the better version of me, and I hope I'm headed that way” : An exploratory qualitative approach to comparing and analyzing immersion into character in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition and Baldur’s Gate 3

With the new and rising popularity of Baldur’s Gate 3, an exploratory qualitative research comparing it to its tabletop predecessor: Dungeons and Dragons 5E, is necessary to gather new data about player experience within these different formats.  This research explores the difference in immersion into character between Dungeons and Dragons 5E and Baldur’s Gate 3. This is done through a mixed methods approach, combining interviews and digital ethnography. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 interviewees from varying backgrounds who had played both games for a significant amount of time. For the digital ethnography, relevant selected posts from Reddit users in r/DnD and r/BaldursGate3 were filtered and selected using the software Communalytic.  The themes correlated to immersion into character were transformative play, social play, and creative agenda. Through these themes, it was concluded that the main difference between these two games were related to transformative potential, as well as the social aspect 2 of both games, where in-person D&D and co-op BG3 seemed to help players get immersed into their characters more easily than in online D&D and solo mode BG3.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-532030
Date January 2024
CreatorsEspinosa Chueca, Maria Jose, Meijaard, Hannah Maria
PublisherUppsala universitet, Institutionen för speldesign
Source SetsDiVA Archive at Upsalla University
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeStudent thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text
Formatapplication/pdf
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

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