Kenji Ito: "Possibilites of Non-Commercial Games: The Case of Amateur Role-Playing Games Designers in Japan"

(In Worlds in Play)

- Role of users in technology
- Blurs boundary between user/manufacturer -> creative amateurs
- Amateur RPG designers in Japan (RPG Tkool 2000)
- Community network of circulation, interaction outside commercial realm
- Emphasis on story in these games
- Synthesis between socioeconomic and content studies (text and context)
- Textual difference between games made in different socioeconomic conditions
- Amateur RPGs: "old-fashioned" graphics (otaku nostalgia?)
- Versatility (simple to extremely complicated games)
- Low technical threshold
- Accessibility of games (no powerful PC required)
- Free distribution (standalone)
- Active community of users
- Not necessarily computer experts
- Mostly young males
- Pleasurable, not utilitarian activity (fantasy, world-making, imagination)
- Telling stories, sharing
- Fan games/tributes/inspired-by games
- Downloadable resources
- Collaboration is common (if only for beta testing)
- Reviews, evaluation, competitions (distinction)
- After-release support
- Darker or taboo thematic elements, social critique, unconventional narratives, self-reflection, personal expression are possible outside the mainstream (the same old "indie" or "alternative" argument)
- Greater technological sophistication = more homogeneity in the mainstream games industry? (Ito doesn't really offer any evidence of this)
- Amateur designers accomodate this lack and the diversity of personal taste, potential for artistic expression in this context, not just entertainment
- Ito's view of amateur game design is much too rosy-eyed and uncritical