The following is a sampling of current projects with CAR-PGa involvement:
- Recruit more members to get better coverage (currently only 13 states plus Newsletter subscriber in one more, and seven countries). This is not members for the sake of numbers - since we have no monetary dues, there is no point - but we do need to exert an influence and gather information.
- Monitor the mass media both directly by members and through Nexis, the courts through Lexis and the media; and gamer public opinion through the various computer networks and direct correspondence. As our access to Nexis and Lexis was lost in a job change years ago, we particularly need this vital resource replaced. We have developed a second-hand access to Lexis recently, but we would feel more secure with a member with direct access.
- Collect material to get RPG accepted as part of Contemporary Culture studies at the university level, the same as film, TV, comic books, and many literary genres are currently.
- Explore ways to increase female participation in RPG (about 20% in both the U.S. and CAR-PGa). We need a replacement for Pallas Podium, the women gamers' APA, which died several years ago.
- Attempt similar increases in ethnic minority participation in RPG which has been increasing, but at too slow a rate.
- Assist GAMA in documenting celebrity involvement in RPG.
- Continue archival research into scholarly journal studies and appellate case law. Six of these studies are by our members. This search has resulted in the compilation of several filing cabinets full of documents, almost 20% of which are these solid documents.
- Add to the uses of RPG as a teaching tool in school curriculum. This project has spun off the professional newsletter, Games & Education, by a CAR-PGa member, David Millians, which became a series of booklets by GAMA and now is a column in Comics and Games Retailer.
- Develop cooperative programs with other groups in areas of overlapping interest. So far, these have been of a temporary nature relating to specific subjects, but we would be interested in ongoing programs as well.
- Complete a refutation of the "Trophy List", the anti-gamers' anecdotal evidence. The term came from the apparent enthusiasm of groups like Bothered About Dungeons & Dragons (B.A.D.D.) and the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) in collecting these lists as though they were some sort of "brownie points" contest. Still they haven't come close to providing names, dates, and places for the "120 game-related deaths" they have held steadily since 1987, while the couple dozen of which we have been able to get enough information to investigate have proven not only to have more likely explanations, but some to be non-gamers.
- Document media slant against RPG by the compilation of a file of newspaper and magazine clippings, more recently augmented by a few audio and video tapes of radio and TV coverage. We still need contributions of clippings by the members. Research so far has revealed a steady two to one ratio of anti-game to pro-game statements, a slow increase of neutral ones. The bias is there, steady, and statistically demonstrable.
- Research RPG as a treatment for clinical depression and other psychological problems. The material is predominately anecdotal at this stage. However, one of our Directors is a psychiatrist, so we have some resources for this project. A bit more help would be appreciated.
- Compile police-indoctrination manuals against RPG to produce counter manuals. Our biggest problem has been in getting copies of this material since it is kept secret from the general public (with good reason, the outrage would end these "tabloid" courses). They already have been banned for credit by many states' accrediting agencies, but continue to be offered nonetheless. We have only one full set of one state's material and fragments of a few more.
- Improve the state of the art in game design and playing techniques. Most game publications are doing this, at least partly, so we are hardly unique here. On the other hand, many of our members have either published a role-playing game or a game periodical of some sort. Specifically, we have examined ways to use anthropology to develop more realistic characters and settings, studied the ethics of gaming, and are open for suggestions for other such projects.
- Produce a body of literature on the subject of RPG for use by gamers, scholars, and the general public. A sample of these can be seen in number of entries in our Literature List in which CAR-PGa is listed as the publisher and of scholarly papers which CAR-PGa members have authored. We are hoping to continue expansion of this part of our operation.
- Try to get RPG recognized as a performing art. The March-April 1995 Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil festival presented theater, film, TV, opera, and RPG performances and panel discussions on RPG & Art, the Epic Hero, World Construction, World of Tolkien, and folk story traditions included representatives of RPG. So far, this is the only incident recognizing RPG as a performing art form that we have discovered.
- Assist as amicus curea or expert witness in suits against banning RPG in prisons, lest this almost automatically granted restriction be used as a precedent to ban the games elsewhere.
- Increase the representation of RPG in such standard reference materials as The Encyclopedia of Associations, Ulrich's International Periodicals, Fandom Directory, Model Retailer and Comics & Games Retailer industry directories, etc.
- Publish a monthly newsletter to enable the membership to keep up with our various activities, be warned of developing problems in time to do something about it, be informed about the situation our members face around the world, and keep up with new game products and conventions. While the Newsletter is optional, it is our main medium for the exchange of information. In it, we list all literature that comes in. This way, members needing any of these references can either look them up or order copies from us. We also have quite a few debates on various aspects of gaming (not of the "my game is better than your game" type) and attempt to keep current with what the latest slander against RPG might be. The subscription is $12.00 per year in the US, $13.50 elsewhere.
If you'd like to help out with any of these, just join CAR-PGa; work for the cause, such as helping out with one of these projects, are our only dues.