Undergraduate Caleb Dotson-Projective Embodiment in Tabletop Roleplaying Games

Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) have become central to many young adults’ social, creative, and emotional lives, yet little is known about how players experience projective embodiment—projecting aspects of the self onto an inhabited character while also experiencing that character as a possible self. Drawing on projective identity and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, this study takes a phenomenological approach to explore the lived experience of embodying a character in TTRPG play. A pre-existing group of 5–7 young adults (ages 18–29) will be video/audio recorded and observed during a single 3-hour session. Observational data will be coded using six embodiment indicators (in-character speech, somatic markers, emotional resonance, rule references, collaborative negotiation, and reflective commentary). A focus group immediately post-game will collect first-person reflections. A member check in with 2 to 3 participants within a month of the game session will be used to review preliminary findings and discuss specific moments identified in the recording. Transcripts and field notes will be coded using a codebook that integrates a priori embodiment indicators, social/rhetorical/ludic activity-system codes, and inductive themes. Thematic analysis will identify patterns in how social interaction, narrative improvisation, and game mechanics co-construct embodied experience. Findings are expected to expand embodiment theory beyond sensorimotor or avatar models, demonstrating how TTRPGs function as psychosocial sites for identity exploration, social-emotional learning, and collaborative meaning-making. This research holds implications for educational practice, therapeutic interventions, and game design by revealing how imaginative play shapes self-understanding and group dynamics.