ROOT, Woodland Ideologies in a Fantasy Game

In this paper I reconstruct and outline some realisations of different
forest ideologies, through the analysis of the digital adaptation of
the boardgame ROOT - A Game of Woodland Might and Right. In
particular, I use a semiotic square to map the different semantic
fields and core strategies of the four different factions of the game,
each featuring a different way to engage with forests. The analysis
allows me to identify some key ideologies that, embedded in the
game, reflect larger conceptualisations of the relationship between
humans and woodlands. In the conclusion, the paper highlights how
games, encompassing both a rule structure and a narrative layer, can
offer a vantage point for the analysis of ideological constructions.
Future research could apply similar methods to other games in an
attempt to map the many ways in which forestry spaces, and our
relations with them, are constructed.