In this episode of the Roll for Joycast, hosts Trin and Rory explore the transformative power of tabletop role-playing games in understanding personal identity and making significant life decisions. They share their own experiences with hard choices, the importance of authenticity, and how play can serve as a tool for discernment and a builder of courage for navigating life's complexities.

Chapters 

00:00 Cold Open 

00:43 Intro & Backstory Question: Hard Choices 

12:23 Discernment in Decision-Making: Navigating Life's Choices

22:33 Game Design Theopoetics: TTRPG Play as a Tool for Discernment

43:00 Exploring Identity Through Play: A Personal Reflection 

47:27 Resources & Outro

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Tamisha A. Tyler who discusses the significance of world building in theology, emphasizing how belief systems shape the worlds we create. We explore the implications of these beliefs on personal agency, community, and social hierarchies, while also touching on a whole host of topics: Afrofuturism, Tabletop Roleplaying Games, Eschatology, Safety and Tension, and so much more.

Resources:

Dr. Tamisha Tyler: https://www.tamishatyler.com/

The Quiet Year: https://buriedwithoutceremony.com/the...

Afro Rhythms from the Future: https://www.afrorithms.com/how-to-play

Keep the Faith: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/...

Takeaways:

Takeaways

World-building is essential for understanding agency in theology.

Belief systems influence how we interact with the world.

Play can create a safe space for exploration and growth.

Afrofuturism offers a unique perspective on world-building.

Community is crucial in both gaming and faith contexts.

Safety in play allows for risk-taking and vulnerability.

Imagination is tethered to personal and cultural contexts.

The end of a story shapes current actions and beliefs.

Role-playing games can facilitate spiritual discernment.

The intersection of faith and gaming can enrich both experiences.

Join us for the apotheosis of our Hero's Journey on episode 2 of the 'Roll for Joycast', where we quest in order to play our way to a world of holy wholeness. In this episode we welcome special guest Pastor Alex Smith as we talk about character creation and role play in tabletop roleplaying games and navigating the boxes of identity, like gender, sexuality, story, all that good stuff. Then we dismantle these boxes as we dive into the depths of the spiritual journey and talk about how play can get us to live outside the box.

We will discuss:

1. The problem that shows up in gaming.
2. Imaginatively expressing faith convictions through art, song, poetry, oral witness, and other embodied practices. 
3. Theopoetics is an acceptance of cognitive uncertainty regarding the Divine, an unwillingness to attempt to unduly banish that uncertainty, and an emphasis on action and creative articulation regardless.

Potential solutions:

1. Post-colonialist look at religious experience.
2. Reframing in-game Religion.
3. Move from existential fact to experiential form.