Unusual geography: Discworld board games and paratextual L-space

Jones, Bethan 2014. Unusual geography: Discworld board games and paratextual L-space. [Online]. Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media: Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media. Available at: https://intensitiescultmedia.files.wordpress.com/2...

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Abstract

This paper draws on Jonathan Gray’s (2006, 2010, 2013) work on paratexts and Matthew Hills’ (2004) work on Discworld geography, to examine the role that the Discworld board games play in affecting fans’ meaning-making processes. Existing outside of the ‘official’ canon of the novels, as well as television and animated adaptations, the games nevertheless utilise information contained within those texts to affect game play. Drawing on user reviews of the Discworld games from the board game website Board Game Geek, I suggest that these games fulfil a similar function to Pratchett’s textual concept of L-Space; the idea that ‘Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass, and on that simple equation rests the whole of L-space. It is via L-space that all books are connected (quoting the ones before them, and influencing the ones that come after) (1989: 11)’. I argue that although the games are unable to influence the narrative of existing Discworld books, they nevertheless constitute a transmedia relationship with the text, based on Jason Mittell’s (2012-13) ‘what if’ concept.

Item Type:	Website Content
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Journalism, Media and Culture
Publisher:	Intensities: The Journal of Cult Media
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	16 Apr 2025 14:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/177525

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