After the Character Defining session was completed, I gathered copies of each of the players’ character sheets, after gaining consent. As had been set out at the outset of the project, I would use these to discern patterns and levels of success regarding the breadth of associations and connections made by the players regarding diverse cultural, historical and geographical prompts. None of the players had been told that I would be investigating these factors at the outset of the game; to their knowledge the process was a purely a creative one that aided them in the creation of characters from library sources.
My approach to this analysis was grounded in art-research practices. I investigated storytelling approaches as ways of disclosure that “understand the participants” through their ways of recounting and exploring plots and characters. (Savin-Baden and Wimpenny, 2014 60) This was further nuanced using decolonising practices within the participatory art research context, where it was noted that storytelling can act as a way of processing critical and social issues in a way that shares through empathetic narratives. (Seppälä, Sarantou and Miettinen, 2021 166)
To apply this approach to the character sheets, which were predominately text-based, I looked for examples of coding and analysis of characters. I found a short study looking at the coding and analysis of characters in Conan Doyle’s short stories. (Khalifatunnisa and Iftanty, 2023) Whilst I found certain points of contention with the article’s findings, its form of coding to draw out qualities in characters was extremely useful. The researchers’ had used coding techniques laid out in the book Research methods in education; which I followed up and found very helpful, especially the notes on coding storytelling. (Cohen, Morrison and Manion, 2007 394–395)
Designing the coding matrix
In line with the aims of setting a coding structure designed to answer a project’s question, I created five themes that would disclose the breadth of source material that had been integrated into the players’ description of their characters.
A – Geographic locations and places
Coding matrix
B – Disciplines / practices
C – Presence of critical perspective or social justice
D – Links to other characters that expands one of the other codings
E – innovative or novel connections
A/B: The first two codes being used to identify whether the prompts had encouraged a wider view of the world, including a variety of practices, cultures and locations that have encouraged a more empathetic relation to ways of being other than those lived/experienced by the player.
C: This coding being used to identify where the diverse sources have produced a narrative point or character trait that raises critical or social justice issues.
D: This coding being used to identify where characters within a player’s narrative expanded the presentations of A, B or C.
E: This final coding operated as a discrete reference to collect evidence on unusual or unexpected connections which are not covered by the aforementioned expansion of cultural and geographical interactions.
Completed coding matrix
Original annotated character sheets
Analysing the results
Breadth of geographical and cultural references
Considering the development of characters who belong to or interact with a range of geographical locations and cultures, the results showed that every player included reference to a range of places. These included: Shanghai, Greece, Russia, Sheffield, Berlin, Lake Como, Cape Town, Amsterdam, Afghanistan and Calais.
More broadly, phrases were included that suggested exploration and engagement with a world beyond a character’s immediate limits as a positive attribute; players used phrases like: “travel broadened mind”, “travelled a lot”, “speaks several languages”, “inspired world tour”, “well-travelled. Seen a lot globally”. These reflected comments made by players on the day relating to a shared sense that travel permeated their characters.
Cultural practices and professions
It was notable how expansive and diverse the various professions of characters in the players’ narratives were. These exceeded expectations of creative practice that would naturally fit with the professions of the players (students/academics/librarians). The following were recorded: “miner”, “working class miner”, “war photographer”, “photographer”, “MP”, “aristocrat”, “Berlin clubber”, “nursery schoolteacher”, “adventurer”, “culinary ingenuity”, “entrepreneur”, “illegal immigrant”, “lavish funerals (director)”, “feminist rock star”, “speed skater”. They also formed connections with other characters and social justice themes (see analysis below).
Critical or social justice themes
Only 3 of the 5 players explicitly raised issues that looked critically, raised ideals or described social justice scenarios in the texts (anecdotally, these themes were expressed more clearly in players verbally explanations – see next blog for discussion of this). These themes when present were often activated by links to researched information; for example the father of the Afghan entrepreneur, links to narratives of migration through Calais, and to a father who was removed from his farm, starting the cycle of illegal immigration and exile. Phrases that came up included: “seeks to change the world by showing truth in pictures”, “hoped for a better future”, “designer handbags all dripped in the blood of those who make them”, “mistakenly had been locked up in an asylum”, “preaches about democracy and wants peace”, “had a very different upbringing in rural Afghanistan […] driven off land by poppy growers”.
Connections with other characters
The texts showed how relating different characters to others informed motivation and created internal points of empathy and association.
Innovative or novel connections
The gaming aspect of the session helped to stretch the imaginations of players, with multiple occurrences of new or unexpected creative ideas being explored in the players outcomes. This list describes the variety of these: “these ghosts are homeless spirits lost all over the world”, “she is sexy fun and likes to play whether it is board games or saxophone or sometimes even Les folies!”, “minstrel carnival garb”, “(a cat) an escaped gift from a South Indian Wedding”, “beholding his magnificent leather stopwatch”, “meets the main character through small ads”.
Conclusion
Using the playful method of the journaling game allowed the players to engage with material that looked outward into the world, and empathetically stitched this view together using inspiring books on unfamiliar topics. On many occasions this led to stories that naturally uncovered critical or social justice narratives. They also encouraged novel and unexpected creative insights and expressions. There were limits as to what could be ascertained form the coded analysis of the character sheets; supplementing transcripts from the player feedback discussion would have proved helpful here.
References
Cohen, L., Morrison, K. and Manion, L. (2007) Research methods in education. Sixth edition. edn. London: Routledge.
Khalifatunnisa, P.R. and Iftanty, E. (2023) Character Values in Sherlock Holmes Short Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: A Content Analysis.
Savin-Baden, M. and Wimpenny, K. (2014) A Practical Guide to Arts-Related Research. Rotterdam: BRILL.
Seppälä, T., Sarantou, M. and Miettinen, S. (2021) Arts-based methods for decolonising participatory research. Milton: Taylor & Francis Group.