The Worldbuilding Workshop: Companion Podcast

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Episode References:Slota, S. T. & Young, M. F. (2017). The inevitability of epic fail: Exploding the castle with situated learning. In M. F. Young & S. T. Slota (Eds.), Exploding the castle: Rethinking how video games & game mechanics can shape the future of education (pp. 271–284). Information Age Publishing.Hergenrader, W. T. (2017). Structures of play: Literacy, games, and creative writing. In M. F. Young & S. T. Slota (Eds.), Exploding the castle: Rethinking how video games & game mechanics can shape the future of education (pp. 21–44). Information Age Publishing.Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. Basic Books.Papert, S. (1997). Why school reform is impossible. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 6(4), 417–427.Roddenberry, G., Berman, R., & Piller, M. (Executive Producers). (1987–1994). Star Trek: The Next Generation [TV series]. Paramount Domestic Television; Paramount Television.Dusenbury, D., Brannigan, R., Falco, M., & Hansen, W. B. (2003). A review of research on fidelity of implementation: Implications for drug abuse prevention in school settings. Health Education Research, 18(2), 237-256.ClassDojo. (2026). About us. classdojo.com/about/Barron, B. (2003). When smart groups fail. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 12(3), 307–359. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327809JLS1203_1Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1992). The Jasper series as an example of anchored instruction: Theory, program description, and assessment data. Educational Psychologist, 27(3), 291–315.Travis, R. (2010, November 18). A note on the word “practomime” [Blog post]. Play The Past. https://www.playthepast.org/?p=198Nicholson, S. (2022). Developing EscapeIF: Creating a storytelling game system for low-resource classrooms. Serious Play 2022. Online symposium.Doctorow, C. (2025). Enshittification: Why everything suddenly got worse and what to do about it. MCD.

Episode References:Weis, M. & Hickman, T. (2000). Dragonlance chronicles [Boxed set]. Wizards of the Coast.Jackson, P. (Director). (2001). The lord of the rings: The fellowship of the ring [Film]. WingNut Films; The Saul Zaentz Company.Gygax, G. (1979). Advanced dungeons & dragons dungeon masters guide (1st ed.). TSR.Blume, B. & Gygax, E. (1979). Boot hill: Wild west role-playing game (2nd ed.). TSR.TSR, Inc. (1982). Star frontiers: Alpha dawn (1st ed.). TSR.Carr, M. (1980). Top secret: An espionage role-playing game. ⁠TSR.Costikyan, G. (1987). Star Wars: The role-playing game (1st ed.) [Role-playing game]. West End Games.Alexander, C. (2021). Coyote & Crow: The role-playing game (1st ed.). Coyote & Crow LLC.Snowbright Studio. (2023). Teatime adventures: A Verdant Isles roleplaying game. Snowbright Studio.Perry, S. (1996). Star Wars: Shadows of the empire. ⁠Bantam Books.Morningstar, J. (2009). Fiasco. Bully Pulpit Games.Härenstam, T. (2020). Vaesen: Nordic horror roleplaying. Free League Publishing.Chick, J. T. (1984). Dark dungeons. Chick Publications.Harper, J. (2017). Blades in the dark. Evil Hat Productions.Toffler, A. (1980). The third wave. Bantam Books.Hammer, J. (2007). Agency and authority in role-playing texts. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (Eds.), A new literacies sampler (pp. 69–86). Peter Lang.Cover, J. G. (2010). The creation of narrative in tabletop role-playing games. McFarland & Company.Wizards of the Coast. (2016). Curse of Strahd (5th ed.). Wizards of the Coast.Bethesda Game Studios. (2008). Fallout 3 [Video game]. Bethesda Softworks.Blizzard Entertainment. (2004). World of Warcraft [Video game]. Blizzard Entertainment.Bowman, S. L. (2010). The functions of role-playing games: How participants create community, solve problems, and explore identity. ⁠McFarland & Company.Fine, G. A. (1983). Shared fantasy: Role-playing games as social worlds. University of Chicago Press.Alder, A. & Rosenbaum, B. (2018). Dream askew; Dream apart. Buried Without Ceremony.Shaw, R. E., Kadar, E., Sim, M., & Repperger, D. W. (1992). The intentional spring: A strategy for modeling systems that learn to perform intentional acts. Journal of Motor Behavior, 24(1), 3–28. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222895.1992.9941598Slota, S. T. (2014). Project TECHNOLOGIA: A game-based approach to understanding situated intentionality. Doctoral Dissertations. 638. https://digitalcommons.lib.uconn.edu/dissertations/638Sagan, C. (1995). The demon-haunted world: Science as a candle in the dark. Ballantine Books.Mackay, D. (2001). The fantasy role-playing game: A new performing art. McFarland.Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. (1992). The Jasper Series as an Example of Anchored Instruction: Theory, Program Description, and Assessment Data. Educational Psychologist, 27(3), 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2703_3Slota, S. T. & Young, M. F. (2017). The inevitability of epic fail: Exploding the castle with situated learning. In Young, M. F. & Slota, S. T. (Eds.) Exploding the Castle: Rethinking How Video Games & Game Mechanics Can Shape the Future of Education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.Parsons, K. (Director). (2026). Backrooms [Film]. A24; North Road Films.Parsons, K. [Kane Pixels]. (2022, January 7). The Backrooms (Found Footage) [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4dGpz6cnHoPillow Castle Games. (2019). Superliminal [Video game]. Pillow Castle Games.Valve. (2007). Portal (Version 1.0.0) [Video game]. Valve.Galactic Cafe. (2013). The Stanley Parable (Version 1.0) [Video game]. Galactic Cafe.

Episode 01: Prologue | 2 December 2025 Trent and Stephen introduce the podcast, their goals, and themselves. The duo then deconstructs the book’s Prologue, including: how they fell into academia and, specifically, the playful learning community; how they met one another through the Games + Learning + Society Conference; and their perspectives on the playful learning community’s evolution since 2010.