Philippine E-Journals

Hiwaga: A Philippine Mythological Creature Tabletop Role-Playing Game

Avic Rosales

Discipline: others in creative arts and design

 

Abstract:

Philippine mythology has long been an important part of Filipino cultural heritage, particularly through stories of mythological creatures passed down across generations. However, awareness of these traditional narratives has gradually declined in modern times. This study aims to help preserve and promote Philippine mythological creatures through the development of Hiwaga: A Philippine Mythological Creature Tabletop Role-Playing Game. The project is designed for individuals who are familiar with tabletop role-playing games as well as those who are interested in learning more about Philippine mythology. The multimedia outputs produced for this project include a digital rulebook, which contains the story background and gameplay mechanics; a digital booklet, which introduces the mythological creatures featured in the game; and a tutorial video, which demonstrates how the game is played. These materials were created to provide an engaging and accessible way for players to interact with Philippine mythological narratives. To evaluate the effectiveness of the outputs, a survey based on Bertrand’s pre-testing method was conducted among fifteen respondents interested in tabletop role-playing games or Philippine mythology. Results showed a highly positive evaluation of the materials, with the digital rulebook obtaining the highest overall weighted mean of 3.73, indicating that respondents found the outputs attractive, comprehensible, acceptable, self-involving, and persuasive.