Uncovering Seams in Distributed Play of Tabletop Role-Playing Games

We uncover how geographically distributed players of table-top role-playing games engage narrative, ludic, and social aspects of play. Our existing understandings of tabletop role-playing games are centered around co-located play on physical tabletops. Yet, online play is increasingly popular. We interviewed 14 players, experienced with online virtual tabletops. Our findings reveal the seams-points where media, activities, and technology intersect-within virtual tabletop environments that enable distributed players to shift among collaborative storytelling, applying game rules and mechanics, and socially interacting with each other.