Excerpts on the Core Mechanics of the Tabletop Role-playing Games Realms of Màgia (2019) and Something’s Afoot (2020)
Research Interests
Critical making, design for good, disability studies, interaction design, ludic design, participatory design, tabletop role playing games
Austin J. Reitz is a designer and researcher whose work explores tabletop role playing games as goal-oriented, interactive, designed systems through a disability studies lens and a critical making process. As these games are collaborative, can be adapted to individual and group needs, and typically possess a low barrier to entry, they stand out as a resource to study and develop new, accessible systems in the sphere of design for social good. The focus of this research is understanding the reasons people have for engaging with designed systems (creative agendas), how systems succeed and fail to meet these agendas, and using these findings to address systems beyond the role playing game space.
Excerpts on the Core Mechanics of the Tabletop Role-playing Games Realms of Màgia (2019) and Something’s Afoot (2020)