Playing on the periphery: Metagaming and transgressive play

Author

Patrick S. Love, Purdue University

Date of Award

Summer 2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Samantha Blackmon

Committee Chair

Samantha Blackmon

Committee Member 1

Nathan Johnson

Committee Member 2

Thomas Rickert

Abstract

Gaming and play exist in connection to forces outside of the game systems themselves. Together, all these intersecting forces make up a meta game that informs and enables variance in play as well as creates barriers to entering play. This thesis fleshes out the framework of a metagame and shows how players can take a metagame perspective to transform, transcend, or even transgress barriers. This thesis discusses sources of metagaming and encompasses examples from video and traditional games.

Recommended Citation

Love, Patrick S., "Playing on the periphery: Metagaming and transgressive play" (2014). Open Access Theses. 650.
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/open_access_theses/650