Since the emergence of the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons and the digital text adventure Zork, both in the 1970s, gamers have been enchanted by the iconography and underlying structures of the fantasy genre—mages, castles, monsters, and rogues; fated quests and unlikely fellowships; magic spells and ancient riddles. But the relationship between fantasy and games is one of reciprocal influence: after all, both games and fantasy carve out separate worlds, imbuing them with rules, boundaries, goals, and roles. This exhibit charts how games and fantasy have converged over time, as exemplified by the heavily rule-oriented magic systems of the LitRPG genre and blockbuster games set in fantasy worlds such as the Hugo Award-Winning Baldur’s Gate III. Key examples from gaming and fantasy culture, including game manuals, character figurines, literary texts, film clips, and interactive game play demos, help to show how creators, players, and fans have developed a shared language for building and playing with imaginary worlds.
Melissa Gasparotto, Deputy University Librarian at the UChicago Library, cordially invites you to a reception, private view of the exhibition, and lecture by exhibition co-curators. The event is complimentary, but RSVPs are required no later than 5:00pm September 8.
Registration via development@lib.uchicago.edu or 773.702.7695.
Schedule of Events
6:00pm Drinks and canapes reception
7:00pm Introduction by Melissa Gasparotto, Deputy University Librarian
Welcome by Patrick Jagoda, William Rainey Harper Professor of Cinema and Media Studies, English, and OBGYN
Lecture by co-curators Chris Carloy, Assistant Instructional Professor, Master of Arts Program in the Humanities and Department of Cinema and Media Studies
Katherine Buse, Assistant Professor, Department of Cinema and Media Studies, Committee on Conceptual and Historical Studies of Science, and Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization
Sierra M. Wilson, Book Production Specialist, The University of Chicago Press
7:40pm Drinks and canapes reception continues
9:00pm Event concludes
Parking Campus North (Ellis) Garage, 5501 South Ellis Avenue is the closest to Regenstein Library. There is also on street parking that does not require a permit in the area around campus near Regenstein Library.
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