HOW DO BOARDGAMES USE PROCEDURAL RHETORIC TO TELL A STORY AND SHARE WORLDBUILDING IN A NON- NARRATIVE MEDIA? : A case study of Magic: The Gathering and Warhammer 40.000.

The background to this study is to examine the possibilities of Procedural Rhetoric, introduced by Ian Bogost, since it has in the past mostly been used to examine political messages in games. The theories of procedural rhetoric and semiotic analysis is the base of this study to extend what is possible to show through rules. Qualitative interviews are held for analysis of Warhammer 40.000 and Magic: The Gathering. The interviews are compared to a semiotic and procedural reading of the separate rules cards. The conclusion being that it is indeed possible to share a narrative or to show the world building through clever game mechanics, naming conventions and well-designed symbols. The future work for this field would contain studies where the two main subjects of this text are separated so that the understanding of each subject could be further examined and understood through the lens of Procedural Rhetoric.