This book provides an introduction to the Forge, an online discussion site for tabletop role-playing game (TRPG) design, play, and publication that was active during the first years of the twenty-first century and which served as an important locus for experimentation in game design and production during that time. Aimed at game studies scholars, for whom the ideas formulated at or popularized by the Forge are of key interest, the book also attempts to provide an accessible account of the growth and development of the Forge as a site of participatory culture. It situates the Forge within the broader context of TRPG discourse, and connects "Forge theory" to the academic investigation of role-playing.

This collection of all-new essays approaches the topic of immersion as a product of social and media relations in the 21st century. Examining the premises and aesthetics of live-action and tabletop role-playing games, reality television, social media apps and first-person shooters, the essays take both game rules and the media discourse that games produce as serious objects of study. Scholars of social psychology, sociology, role-playing theory, game studies, and television studies all examine games and game-like environments like reality shows as interdependent sites of social friction and power negotiation. The ten essays articulate the importance of game rules in our analyses of contemporary media products, and demonstrate methods that allow us to see those game rules in action during the contested process of play.

Joe Tate was a carefree 16 year old in 1969, growing up in a small midwestern town, when his best friend was sent away to reform school as a result of Marijuana possession. Joe was shocked because Pot was something you could only find on college campuses, he thought. The drug-culture exploded on the scene soon after Joe's initial encounter with Marijuana and though some of his close friends smoked it, he abstained until after his High School Graduation in 1971. Throughout the tumultuous '70's when drug-abuse reached epidemic proportions, Joe abused drugs such as Marijuana and Amphetamines in a lifestyle that endangered anyone caught up in it, as several close friends lost their lives due to the abuse of drugs. Joe, who was a very impressionable young man, led a lifestyle with a group of friends that consisted of smoking Pot, taking speed, an occassional hit of LSD, partying all the time and not getting proper sleep. This lifestyle opened the door to dimensions of drug-abuse few people are aware of, which lead to many deaths in our society as it did to some of Joe's friends. Joe was able to survive his drug-abuse after going through tragic events that few people would survive either mentally or physically, leaving a profound impact on his mind, resulting in his strong, compassionate desire to tell his story and lead a campaign against drug-abuse. The Voyage of A Wiseman expresses to the reader, Joe's thoughts as he attempts to capture the ears of an ignorant society. He believes that if society will read his story and listen to his ideas concerning the implementation of "much needed" education on drug-abuse in all schools throughout the United States, society will benefit greatly, thus, saving countless lives in the process.