Original characters in RPG-based fan fiction: A case study in The Elder Scrolls fandom

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3983/twc.2026.3019

Keywords:

Game-based fan fiction, Game fandom, Role-playing games, Video games

Abstract

As part of a broader project examining fan fiction inspired by The Elder Scrolls role-playing game (RPG) series, we explore how players' engagement with the games as media texts and the fictional game characters is reflected in fan texts. Our analysis of fan fiction and associated metadata published on the Archive of Our Own (AO3) highlights the notable prominence of original characters (OCs) in RPG-based fan fiction. Fan-created narratives often mirror the player character's journey through the game world and their interactions with nonplayer characters (NPCs), offering insight into how fans reinterpret and expand upon the source material.

Author Biographies

Evgenia Amey, University of Jyväskylä

Evgenia Amey is a postdoctoral researcher at the Research Centre for Contemporary Culture at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and is affiliated with the Centre of Excellence in Game Culture Studies (CoE GameCult). Her research explores interconnections between media, culture, language and place; topics she studied include literary and media tourism, narrativisation and fictionalization of space, spatial belonging, fan cultures, narratives in video games and game-based fan fiction.

Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford, University of Jyväskylä

Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford, postdoctoral researcher, received her PhD from the Institute of Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, and is an affiliate researcher at the Research Centre for Contemporary Culture at the University of Jyväskylä. She specialises in online ethnography and mixed methods research with a focus on media for young people and fan studies. Her doctoral thesis explored experiences of cultural participation in adolescent fan fiction writers. In other projects, she has investigated sense-making strategies in online crypto communities, and links between fan studies and children’s literature studies.

Xiaofei Yang, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University)

Xiaofei YANG received her PhD from RMIT University, School of Media and Communication. She got her Master’s degree in Global Media Communication from the University of Melbourne. She researches Chinese queer fandom, audio-visual fan works, and theories of gender, sexuality and affect. Her works can be found in Feminist Media Studies, Continuum, and anthologies, including Asian Celebrity Cultures in the Digital Age (Hong Kong University Press, Forthcoming 2025).

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Published

2026-03-14

Issue

Vol. 47 (2026): Gaming Fandom

Section

Symposium

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Evgenia Amey, Fabienne Silberstein-Bamford, Xiaofei Yang

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