Hi all,
Some of you may recall I conducted an Internet survey last year to gain some participant insights into D&D. The entirety of this research will appear in my upcoming master's thesis, but for now I have uploaded a paper on the subject.
You can find it here: https://aut.academia.edu/CoreyWalden
Cheers,
Corey
Thanks; an interesting read.
Very interesting. Indeed, fun is what the game ultimately should be about.
The idea of bleed is a particularly interesting concept. It's easy to think about the negative instances of it, but there are also positive aspects. Just as you can see someone getting more and more down if their character has a bad string of luck, you can see the wide-eyed excitement and happiness on a player's face when things are going awesomely for them.
Glad to have read it, thanks for putting it up 
Thanks for the kind comments, I appreciate you taking the time to read it
Good read, but I wanted to comment on something that appears to be missing... I'm not sure if it is because the survey eschewed such questions, or if the survey simply attracted respondents who placed it on a low priority, but a huge component in the "fun factor" of the game for me is the game theory element. I'm using the wikipedia definition here ("the study of mathematical models of conflict and cooperation between intelligent rational decision-makers")
Only one line in the paper touches on this, "3. I enjoy being challenged, using my skill as a player to overcome obstacles," but this aspect of D&D is one of the primary draws for myself and many many other players. We like the math, strategy and tactics, risk and reward as much or more than storytelling and immersion.
Thanks Newur. That's a fair point. I have two responses:
1. As this is a paper (necessarily limited to around 2000 words), it's fairly problematic to attempt to cover all bases. As should be apparent from reading it, this is an excerpt of a larger study, and thus the focus has to be honed. I have narrowed down the wider research fairly extensively in the interest of concision.
2. I will readily admit the game theory element is one I only touch upon at best, however one of my thesis chapters does discuss various subcommunities associated with D&D - like the OSR movement, and indie/grassroots producers. These gamers (and I include myself in this category) enjoy the game design element. I largely relate this to the OGL, convergence theory, and general ubiquity of Internet technologies. The specific aspect you raise though - and its relationship to fun - is certainly an area for further research
Corey
Nevvur wrote:
I didn't like the way the two pie charts break down into a pair of negative stereotypes more commonly associated with psychiatric labels. I've seen sociologists ambush LARP groups before and ask interesting questions only to go back and laugh mockingly to their friends behind closed doors. The essay reminds me of something I wrote about Indigo Children back in '07. At the end of the day all my professor wanted was evidence that her own negative stereotypes could be reinforced with sufficient citation to support it.
I get the distinct impression this essay about Roleplayers will be used in the same way. "Roleplayers are child-like mentally and spend lots of time becoming lost in the role of fantasy make-believe. They take pleasure in identifying themselves with these fictional demons and monsters" - to paraphrase.