Co-creative Interfaces for Puzzles in Tabletop Role-Playing Games

Abstract

My dissertation research is focused on creating tools for Game Managers (GMs) of Tabletop Role-Playing Games (TTRPGs). This work is motivated by the amount of labor re- quired to be a GM. From a scoping review I conducted(Shyne and Cooper 2025), I determined that co-creative (or similarly mixed-initiative) interfaces for puzzles in TTRPGs is an un- derexplored area. The overarching goal of this work is to cre- ate a co-creative interface capable of generating puzzles for a variety of TTRPG contexts that is useful throughout a cam- paign. This is work that is in-progress and the exact goals and di- rection may change as the research progresses. This abstract is organized by the main challenges the research is tacking, rather then chronological order of research. There are three challenges this research is trying to overcome. • Puzzle design for TTRPGs: how do we best adapt existing puzzle mechanics into a narrative setting where multiple players must collaborate to solve the puzzles? • Developing a Procedural Content Generation system: how do we design a system that generates high-quality puzzles while adapting to a GM’s desires? • Co-creative interfaces: how do we integrate a PCG system into an interface that gives GM’s authorial control and is easy to use? For for all three challenges I will discuss the prior work I have done along with plans for future work. Finally I will discuss my plan to evaluate and continue to improve the in- terface through a long-term user study.