Role-Playing Game Research - Why It is So Difficult For Us To Provide Concise Pithy Messaging: 13+ Diverse Audiences We Serve!
One of the number one challenges we have is organizing our content, website, media, and messaging in more concise and accessible ways. This is difficult due to serving at least 13 different audiences
RPG Research's roots begin with our founder, Hawke Robinson (known as the "Grandfather of Therapeutic Gaming"), around 1977.
We have more than 10,000 content items in our public, free and open, knowledgebase about the effects and uses of role-playing games for a wide range of demographics and interests.
While we can provide great specific messaging when we know to whom we are speaking, and their background interest, trying to create a broader more generally accessible messaging in a concise way has continued to elude us.
This is due not only to the massive amount of content, but also the vast diversity of the audiences we serve.
We cover research and community programs with immense depth and breadth that we have developed through the 45 years of our programs.
Here are just a few highlights of the breadth and depth we cover as part of our Mission, Vision, and Impact, trying to improve the overall body of knowledge and raise up the overall human condition.
The 4 RPG Formats:
- Tabletop (TRPG)
- Live-Action (LRPG and larp)
- Electronic (ERPG)
- Hybrid (HRPG)
The 4 RPG Modalities and Learning Pathways:
- Recreation
- Entertainment
- Education
- Healthcare
The 13+ core audiences we often serve (each requiring different language and explanatory styles):
- Academics
- Researchers
- Community (centers and staff)
- Game designers
- Media providers/distributors
- Interviewers, journalists, writers, interviewers, reporters, bloggers, vloggers
- Professionals:
- Recreational
- Entertainment
- Professional development
- Educators
- Healthcare (therapists and others)
- Laypersons:
- Gamers
- Non-gamers
Levels of career development:
- Casual/pre-career
- Students
- New Graduates/New Professionals
- Educators/Researchers
- Mid-Career Professionals
- Seasoned Professionals
Wide range of facilities:
- Camps (day, overnight, summer, etc.)
- Clinical to community transitions
- Community centers
- Independent skills development programs
- In-school and after-school programs
- Libraries
- Mobile facilities
- Parks
- Rehabilitation facilities
- Retreats
- Mental health
- Therapeutic settings
- University community support programs
- Workshops
- many others
Immense range of knowledge domains (just a few listed here):
- Behavioral Health
- Child and Adolescent
- Community
- Management
- Military/Veterans
- Older Adult
- Higher Education
- Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine
- Schools
- Other
The huge demographic diversity of people we serve across 6 continents over the decades!
Diverse age groups:
- Toddlers (Ages 2-5)
- Youth (ages 6-10)
- Adolescents (ages 11-17)
- Young Adults (18-25)
- Adults (25-59)
- Senior Adults (60+)
Special populations (just a small sample here):
- At-risk Youth & Adults
- ADHD
- Anxiety disorders
- Aphantasia
- ASD/PDD
- Brain injuries
- Deaf & Hard of Hearing
- Incarcerated Populations
- Learning Disorders (Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, Dyslexia, & others)
- Muscular Dystrophy and Cerebral Palsy
- Social phobias
- Social skills development for many populations
Discussion topics (just a small example here):
- Affect
- Behavioral
- Cognitive
- Competence
- Emotional
- Physical
- Resilience, perseverance, grit
- Self-confidence
- Social
- Behavioral Health
- Child and Adolescent
- Community
- Management
- Military/Veterans
- Older Adult
- Higher Education
- Physical Rehabilitation and Medicine
- Schools
Professional standards and development:
- Professional standards
- Self-training options
- Formal training options
- Facilities considerations, including mobile options
- Professional issues and considerations
- Where to find additional resources
We are constantly iterating and learning, trying to improve our messaging, organization, etc. This means our content and sites are in a constant state of flux, and it is very challenging trying stay on top of all this.
We are 100% volunteer run, so we appreciate your patience, kindness, consideration, understanding, and better yet support us today by joining our volunteer team or at least donating.
Hawke Robinson
Known across multiple industries as "The Grandfather of Therapeutic Gaming" because he has been studying the effects and uses of role-playing games and their potential to achieve therapeutic goals longer than anyone else, Hawke Robinson is a Washington State Department of Health Registered Recreational Therapist.
He has a diverse and deep background in Therapeutic Recreation / Recreation Therapy, computer science, neuroscience, cognitive neuropsychology, neurotech, research psychology, nursing, play therapy, education, music, and role-playing gaming.
- Hawke Robinson has been involved with role-playing games in community settings since 1977.
- Studying methods for optimizing the experience of role-playing games, software development, and online since 1979.
- A paid professional game master since 1982.
- Studying the effects of role-playing games upon participants since 1983.
- Providing role-playing games in educational settings and for educational goals since 1985.
- Working with incarcerated populations since 1989.
- Researching and using role-playing games to achieve therapeutic goals for a wide range of populations from 2 years old through senior adults since 2004.
- Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit 501(c)3 charitable research and human services organization, RPG Research.
- Founder and CEO of the for-profit RPG Therapeutics LLC and RPG.LLC.
- Author of multiple books in technology and gaming W.A. Hawkes-Robinson books available on Amazon.
- Creator of the wheelchair accessible RPG Mobile fleet vehicles and trailers.
- Founder of the experiential learning Role-Playing Game RPG Museum, and much more.
- Creator of the Brain-Computer Interface Role-Playing Game (BCI RPG) and many other related projects.
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