Genre Awareness and Nostalgia: Textual Aspects of Role-Playing in Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness

This paper, presented at DiGRA 2023 by Norbert Krek of the University of Debrecen, examines how isometric role-playing games (RPGs) such as Pillars of Eternity and Pathfinder: Kingmaker have been revived in the past decade through nostalgic imitation of early 2000s Infinity Engine titles. Its central argument is that the subgenre's identity rests on three interlinked, nostalgia-infused components: the isometric perspective, a combat system that is largely textual and tactical, and a worldbuilding approach that depends heavily on reading. The author further contends that these elements tie isometric RPGs closely to tabletop role-playing games, which they remediate.

The theoretical framework draws on Yves Reuter's concept of "genre awareness," the process by which a community recognizes and institutionalizes structural elements as a generic frame. Drawing on Gerard Voorhees and Lauren Berlant, the paper treats genre as a formalized response to recurring situations, such that shifts in genre conventions signal broader crises. Nostalgia is presented as a key driver of this revival, with crowdfunding enabling communities to support niche projects such as Project Eternity. The paper explicitly sets aside the social dimensions of genre formation, including paratexts, player communities, and developers, which are reserved for a larger study.

Methodologically, the research relies on close analysis of Black Geyser: Couriers of Darkness (GrapeOcean Technologies, 2021) as a single case study rather than on survey or quantitative data. The findings identify two structural aspects that set isometric RPGs apart from other computer role-playing genres: a text-heavy design that requires players to learn narrative and lore through extensive reading, and a party-based, turn-based or pausable real-time combat system derived from Dungeons & Dragons traditions. The author notes that ambiguous dialogue choices create "interpretative difficulty" and that the combat's slower, tactical pace encourages strategic play. The paper concludes that these structural features, bound up with nostalgic imitation, distinguish the subgenre within digital role-playing.