ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the relationship between role-playing games (RPGs) and learning, broadly construed. It includes both formal educational settings, such as schools; informal educational settings, like museums and libraries; professional training, including medical or police simulations; hobbyist and leisure-time learning; and incidental learning, which happens while people are taking part in other activities. One approach to using RPGs for project-based learning is for learners to design modifications, or mods, to existing games. The framework of the existing game can help learners see the results of their projects more quickly, and it can also provide authentic context for the project to be meaningful to the learner. Creating the right circumstances for game-based learning involves designing the learning experience as carefully as the games. The prevalence of learning through role-play suggests that, depending on their stage of development, many people have role-play-based learning experiences that RPGs can draw on.
