Goal-Orientated Activity in Story Games

This poster is a theoretical argument for the use of activity theory to better understand the role of goal orientation in playful learning contexts. Of particular interest is the “story game,” a rules-light, narratively-driven, tabletop roleplaying game. Here, it is posited that identifying the goal-directedness of players leads to a better understanding of the activity system and, therefore, learning within the system. Moreover, activity theory provides a useful analytical toolkit for the investigation of story as a transformative element of play, and the relationships between the lived experiences of players, mediators, and goals.