Working Papers (In Preparation)
This paper analyzes discourse surrounding player count in tabletop role-playing advice communities, identifying how norm enforcement constrains participant scale and obscures underlying structural factors.
This paper develops a structural model of tabletop role-playing, examining how Reality Management and Narrative Governance interact under conditions of scale and introducing the Coordination Labor Model as a framework for analysis.
This paper presents the Universal Initiative framework as an experimental system for manipulating coordination structure, enabling controlled study of how structural variation affects the performance and distribution of Narrative Governance.
Forthcoming Research
This paper will report quantitative and qualitative data recorded during Phase I experimentation. This study constitutes the primary empirical output of the Phase I experimental protocol.
Phase I establishes empirical baselines through matched comparative trials at tabletop scale. Identical narrative scenarios are implemented under two structural conditions: Universal Initiative (UI) structured play and traditional structured play. Separate player cohorts participate in parallel implementations in order to isolate structural effects while preserving ecological validity.
Following baseline comparison, an expanded Universal Initiative structured trial is conducted at increased participant scale (16 players) to observe participation distribution, interpretive load, and perceived agency under intensified structural conditions.
Data collection integrates qualitative assessments from both players and gamemasters alongside quantitative measures of temporal allocation and participation distribution.
This paper will articulate the structural hypothesis underlying Narrative Governance and examine the division of labor between system-mediated coordination and human interpretive judgment under scale.
Research Protocols
A formal statement of the theoretical framework, research phases, and methodological commitments guiding the Narrative Governance program.
Public Communications
A public statement describing the transition into formal research and the goals of the Narrative Governance program.