NittyGritty I - Larp - Context
As part of my promise to write more on larp theory, welcome to NittyGritty. First things first: karijn, this is all your fault. This first in the series is called ' Context '. It will seek to put me as a person enjoying the wonderful hobby within a framework by which my articles can be correctly placed. I will also try to codify my preferences and styles as participant and organizer.
Warning: long with lots of text and no pictures.
Participating
My first larp was Drachenfest 2002, though it was a faltering step. It was 'omg huge': overwhelming and glorious. I loved the experience though I was slow to pick it up again due to a year full of personal matters - my parents were divorcing, and I had to leave the house (and the room) that I grew up in. Being an introverted geek this occupied a lot of my brainspace, and that was with parents who did their very best to make it an good arrangement for all involved. My brother was very angry, I was very quiet. Of course, my wonderful parents worried.
But I found larp again. In March 2003 I went to a small Dutch even near Baarn called Dragonlair with several friends who'd already been there. After my Paladin being soundly trashed by a girl half my size, I was hooked. I went to fifteen more events that year, and through these short, intense 'vacations from myself' I got my act together. By the end of the year I was back in full swing in regards to work, studies, life and love. Both my parents were, and still are, supportive of it all - they may not have understood it but they know it does me good.
As a participant I am pickier now. I tuned down a bit on the number of larps (though still a fair amount by any measure) and look for specific things to try and do. I also have a larp for the 'old school' feeling, though - never forget where you come from. While I started fairly D&D-esque (Gamist), my personal evolution has seen me starting to favor the 'less rules, more guidelines' approach to things, finding my fun in interaction, personal drama and character development (Narrativist). That being said, I do so enjoy wading into combat as part of a team, unit or regiment with assorted weaponry - as long as it is once in a while. When NPC'ing I like player interaction or facilitation, and not so much playing Generic Villain #1 to #42.
Though I have lost count a bit (but I can no doubt reconstruct with some time and effort), I am currently clocking 100+ events attended as a participant, most of those longer running storylines, but I am grateful to say also quite a few amazing one-off happenings. With a wonderful sense of irony in regards to a tired old trope I celebrated my 20th larp apocalypse in November 2012 - amazingly, my characters survived most of them.
Organizing
In 2003 I started getting involved in organizing as well, caught up in the 'fantasy boom' around the Lord of the Rings / Harry Potter movies and the slew of publicity (good and bad). Larps were cropping up everywhere, and though I poorly understood it at the time a generally accepted foundation of Dutch larps failed to materialize after internal division. There were a lot of separate 'islands of larp', which was pretty detrimental as it generated a feeling of competing.
Since then, the hobby has changed a bit here and there, in my opinion for the better. A more relaxed attitude by most organizers and players combined with social media means a great deal of 'mobility' between larps, Minds-Eye-Theatre and various other things that are larp, lrp or any other definition that may or may not fit the hobby. Also, with increasing expertise, knowledge, budgets and tech it is looking better, smoother and more awesome each year. I love it.
In August 2005 me and a group of friends started doing our own thing. Though partly a counter-reaction against many things that we felt did not belong in larping (profit margin, competition, power abuse, etc) we also felt that the hobby had loads of potential that was being wasted. We founded Evolution Events and started organizing stuff with varying genres, time periods, locations and different methods to build plot / characters. We have made (and continue making) it hard on ourselves here and there, but it is a lot of fun.
Having been part of the orga of about a dozen events before starting our own thing, we have organized 25 events with EE s far, with three longer running storylines, a few 'special occasion' events supporting those storylines and multiple one-shots. I am proud of all. Each had their own little twist and things, and we tried something 'new' with each of them. Almost all have operated on a very low-rules low-mechanics set which is closely related to the familiar 'Pain Hurts, Death Kills' principle.
And of course, being my resume, it means very little. I have never had any formal training in any form of game design, and larp 'experience' (haha) can be a very individual thing - though gaming is my lifestyle this is not the end-all-and-be-all. I consider myself a decent participant and an okay organizer. I may have developed the ability to headbutt Murphy a little better (also helps that we have a wonderful team) but I am still giddy as a schoolgirl for a new part and nervous as heck whenever an event that I am organizing is coming up. I just roleplay the gruff veteran ;-)
Personal style
Below are my private thoughts on the hobby - the usual caveat that they are ‘personal’ applies. Spoilers: in regards to currently debated theories on roleplaying games I am firmly in the “Meilahti School” camp.
General
Organizing
Participant
Current state of affairs, hopes and potential plans
It is a good time to be a larper in the Netherlands. There are excellent and wonderful games all around the country with widely varying genres and goals. The fantasy larp is still the bread and butter, but has found new appreciation now that players have better and more informed choices. In most segments competition is a thing of the past and organizers are lending time, props and expertise to other organizers in a collaborative effort to add to the value of the games. Social media, plentiful information and a mobile base of participants ensure that there is a good exchange of varying viewpoints, ideas and systems over the entire country. Many people regularly attend events (larps and conventions) in nearby countries or even overseas, and foreigners also find Dutch larps on occasion. People return with nice experiences and new ideas, and the hobby is the better for it.
All of this being said, the country still lacks a more formal base of discussion for new ideas. There are no blogs by organizers, few stories of what organizers or participants expected and got from the game, no regular meeting of minds beyond chance encounters, parties and birthdays. There is also no common larp platform, with personal initiatives getting a long way but never quit reaching the goal of creating a landing page for new larps and larpers or even something as simple as a semi complete agenda and roll call of larps.
I personally say that we could benefit from having a place where that is possible, although this should be in the form of offering advice and a tool set. Previous attempts at enforcing things have failed miserably for a variety of reasons, and that is something to learn from. Perhaps we should build this, but only if the neutrality of such places can be guaranteed.
Something to consider.
My next full post will likely be my personal view on Xenophobia, the recent launch of our new longer running storyline. If time permits I will try to dig through my blog for stories on previous larps ' post mortems' that either I or others have written down.
Warning: long with lots of text and no pictures.
Participating
My first larp was Drachenfest 2002, though it was a faltering step. It was 'omg huge': overwhelming and glorious. I loved the experience though I was slow to pick it up again due to a year full of personal matters - my parents were divorcing, and I had to leave the house (and the room) that I grew up in. Being an introverted geek this occupied a lot of my brainspace, and that was with parents who did their very best to make it an good arrangement for all involved. My brother was very angry, I was very quiet. Of course, my wonderful parents worried.
But I found larp again. In March 2003 I went to a small Dutch even near Baarn called Dragonlair with several friends who'd already been there. After my Paladin being soundly trashed by a girl half my size, I was hooked. I went to fifteen more events that year, and through these short, intense 'vacations from myself' I got my act together. By the end of the year I was back in full swing in regards to work, studies, life and love. Both my parents were, and still are, supportive of it all - they may not have understood it but they know it does me good.
As a participant I am pickier now. I tuned down a bit on the number of larps (though still a fair amount by any measure) and look for specific things to try and do. I also have a larp for the 'old school' feeling, though - never forget where you come from. While I started fairly D&D-esque (Gamist), my personal evolution has seen me starting to favor the 'less rules, more guidelines' approach to things, finding my fun in interaction, personal drama and character development (Narrativist). That being said, I do so enjoy wading into combat as part of a team, unit or regiment with assorted weaponry - as long as it is once in a while. When NPC'ing I like player interaction or facilitation, and not so much playing Generic Villain #1 to #42.
Though I have lost count a bit (but I can no doubt reconstruct with some time and effort), I am currently clocking 100+ events attended as a participant, most of those longer running storylines, but I am grateful to say also quite a few amazing one-off happenings. With a wonderful sense of irony in regards to a tired old trope I celebrated my 20th larp apocalypse in November 2012 - amazingly, my characters survived most of them.
Organizing
In 2003 I started getting involved in organizing as well, caught up in the 'fantasy boom' around the Lord of the Rings / Harry Potter movies and the slew of publicity (good and bad). Larps were cropping up everywhere, and though I poorly understood it at the time a generally accepted foundation of Dutch larps failed to materialize after internal division. There were a lot of separate 'islands of larp', which was pretty detrimental as it generated a feeling of competing.
Since then, the hobby has changed a bit here and there, in my opinion for the better. A more relaxed attitude by most organizers and players combined with social media means a great deal of 'mobility' between larps, Minds-Eye-Theatre and various other things that are larp, lrp or any other definition that may or may not fit the hobby. Also, with increasing expertise, knowledge, budgets and tech it is looking better, smoother and more awesome each year. I love it.
In August 2005 me and a group of friends started doing our own thing. Though partly a counter-reaction against many things that we felt did not belong in larping (profit margin, competition, power abuse, etc) we also felt that the hobby had loads of potential that was being wasted. We founded Evolution Events and started organizing stuff with varying genres, time periods, locations and different methods to build plot / characters. We have made (and continue making) it hard on ourselves here and there, but it is a lot of fun.
Having been part of the orga of about a dozen events before starting our own thing, we have organized 25 events with EE s far, with three longer running storylines, a few 'special occasion' events supporting those storylines and multiple one-shots. I am proud of all. Each had their own little twist and things, and we tried something 'new' with each of them. Almost all have operated on a very low-rules low-mechanics set which is closely related to the familiar 'Pain Hurts, Death Kills' principle.
And of course, being my resume, it means very little. I have never had any formal training in any form of game design, and larp 'experience' (haha) can be a very individual thing - though gaming is my lifestyle this is not the end-all-and-be-all. I consider myself a decent participant and an okay organizer. I may have developed the ability to headbutt Murphy a little better (also helps that we have a wonderful team) but I am still giddy as a schoolgirl for a new part and nervous as heck whenever an event that I am organizing is coming up. I just roleplay the gruff veteran ;-)
Personal style
Below are my private thoughts on the hobby - the usual caveat that they are ‘personal’ applies. Spoilers: in regards to currently debated theories on roleplaying games I am firmly in the “Meilahti School” camp.
General
- Larps are a hobby first and foremost. Have fun.
- There are many kinds of larpers and many kinds of larps, and there is a place for all of them. Many larps and larpers can also work with and facilitate multiple styles, and many of those can co-exist on the same larp.
- There is no (vaguely) linear line that runs from start to finish in regards to personal preferences and 'evolution'. There is no one penultimate larp experience in a general sense, just a personal journey. And only if you want to.
- Rules can be as simple or complicated as the organization deems it fun or necessary, as long as it serves what is (in my opinion) the primary goal: to facilitate the roleplaying. If rules get in the way of or mechanics detract from what is happening during the game I will always favor revisiting them. The Suspension of Disbelief is sacred.
- The hobby greatly benefits from organizations freely sharing information, ideas, opinions and tips with each other and potential new organizers. You do not ‘have to go at it alone’. As long as you learn, put credit where it is due and pay it forward we can continue to improve the hobby one step at a time. Less time spent reinventing the wheel the better. Unless it needs re-inventing, ofc.
- Larp theory is awesome and makes for better games, but it is not for people to use to beat others to death with. Respect and learn from each other’s viewpoints: celebrate common differences.
Organizing
- I believe that a pre-loaded rules-light approach is the way to go, for one-shots at least. With a lot of work beforehand in props, plot, story, setting and character creation it should be possible to let the players have their sandbox and play with it, they themselves maintaining internal consistency. For larger games I still favor putting a lot of the pacing and initiative in the hands of the players, but I recognize that you might need more rules in order to prevent arguments devolving into “I said ‘bang’ first”.
- I am not opposed to the idea of commercial larps, but I will be weary of them, especially in regards to who earns the money and who does the work. Exploitation of volunteers is not cool.
- As an organizer, especially in the Game Operation Department, you need to know when to walk away from scenes if your presence detracts from the whole and hear the coolness from the players involved later.
- Never, ever tell players what their character is feeling. That is their decision, and theirs alone. Show, not tell.
- I am a bit of a puppet master (sometimes literally) when it comes to plot. I like to craft circumstances, put players in it and see them play their way out. Illusionism is a wonderful tool to give players their own thing but maintain consistency with source material (World of Darkness, anything by Stephan King or Lovecraft).
- I find the use of 'Bleed' a multi-edged lightsaber. Although I have very positive experiences with it, I can see a lot of potential pitfalls in regards to relationships, experiences and trauma. Finding the perfect edge is a constant challenge.
- I dish psychological plot better as an organizer then I take it as a player. Though it feels a bit odd sometimes (hypocritical, even) I know my limitations in that regard, and I am perfectly willing to exploit said limitations.
- Invite-only is a toughie. I consider it a good tool to ‘stack the deck’ in regards to certain larps, but it should not be standard - a hybrid system to have the right players mixed with a few new people (not only new to the hobby, but veterans that are new to the style, too) seems to be the best of both worlds.
- Writing plot for me is part research, part inspiration, part weird thoughts. And mostly panic, as the deadline approaches.
Participant
- I prefer to measure larps by the yardstick they themselves provide - I will always try to judge organizations by what they say they are trying to facilitate - and provide feedback based on that.
- Larp can be meaningful, contemplative and moving, but I do it as a hobby so it needs to primarily be fun.
- Read all the briefings, all the information and all the rules of the event you are going to. Seriously. Assuming that one larp is the same as all the others is the cause of many misunderstandings.
- I don’t play larp to shove excel sheets around and play with laminated cards - in the 26 to 30 hours in your average weekend I am there mostly to interact with my fellow players. See the point on rules under ‘general’.
- Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize. Also, to set the record straight - while I coin it often it is originally from the good friend who first set me on this larpin’ path: Julian. The #doesthisassaultriflemakemelookfat hash tag is all mine, though.
- No part-timing - either play the larp or don’t.
Current state of affairs, hopes and potential plans
It is a good time to be a larper in the Netherlands. There are excellent and wonderful games all around the country with widely varying genres and goals. The fantasy larp is still the bread and butter, but has found new appreciation now that players have better and more informed choices. In most segments competition is a thing of the past and organizers are lending time, props and expertise to other organizers in a collaborative effort to add to the value of the games. Social media, plentiful information and a mobile base of participants ensure that there is a good exchange of varying viewpoints, ideas and systems over the entire country. Many people regularly attend events (larps and conventions) in nearby countries or even overseas, and foreigners also find Dutch larps on occasion. People return with nice experiences and new ideas, and the hobby is the better for it.
All of this being said, the country still lacks a more formal base of discussion for new ideas. There are no blogs by organizers, few stories of what organizers or participants expected and got from the game, no regular meeting of minds beyond chance encounters, parties and birthdays. There is also no common larp platform, with personal initiatives getting a long way but never quit reaching the goal of creating a landing page for new larps and larpers or even something as simple as a semi complete agenda and roll call of larps.
I personally say that we could benefit from having a place where that is possible, although this should be in the form of offering advice and a tool set. Previous attempts at enforcing things have failed miserably for a variety of reasons, and that is something to learn from. Perhaps we should build this, but only if the neutrality of such places can be guaranteed.
Something to consider.
My next full post will likely be my personal view on Xenophobia, the recent launch of our new longer running storyline. If time permits I will try to dig through my blog for stories on previous larps ' post mortems' that either I or others have written down.