centre of the universe - the dreaming

a-LARPing he will go,
a-LARPing he will go,
Hi-ho the derry-o,
a-LARPing he will go.

He'll play a yickky Nos,
he'll play a yickky Nos,
Hi-ho the derry-o,
He'll play a yickky Nos.

The cheese stands alone,
the cheese stands alone,
hi-ho the derry-o,
the cheese stands alone.

I could go on, about the Nos being the cheese, or how no one is actually the cheese; I just always rather favoured the cheese line, and always wanted to be the cheese when we played "The Farmer in the Dell". Have I mentioned how much I love cheese?

Okay, so anyway, yeah. His Nibs is off playing ...*sigh*... the LARP equivalent of herpes. Don't get me wrong. I dearly love some of the people with LARP herpes. I don't hold it against them. And I'll still LARP with His Nibs afterwards; I'm pretty sure I'm immune. I was immunized a few weeks ago. It's just that...i really, really don't want to play Vampire. And there aren't that many options at the moment if i do want to play something in the city.

So there. I've said it. Publically. Not on the suuuuuper seeecret blog, not just hand-waving and ranting in small groups.

I don't want to play Vampire.

Check that. I'm willing to try **WARNING! EXTREME NERD MATERIAL FOLLOWS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.** New World of Darkness, depending on who's running it and who's playing. I freely admit that I am an elitist when it comes to gaming. Because this is my free time. I mean, I can have a good time doing just about anything (seriously, man. Peanuts in a cup. Most bestest entertainment EVAR), including stuff I don't like. Mostly because I decided a long time ago that I'd much rather enjoy myself than not. Wow, that was weird to type. Was that as weird to read as it was to type?

What I mean is, rather than be at lagerheads (snicker) with the folks running the game and/or the other folks playing the game, it makes more sense to choose to participate in a game that doesn't cause you stress. So by 'elitist', I guess I really mean 'utilitarian'. But not in the sense of 'utilitarian' like crotchless pantyhose; I mean 'utilitarian' in the sense of 'maximising happiness and/or minimising unhappiness'.

Crotchless pantyhose are the best thing since...erm...well...split crotch bloomers, I guess. Which in turn are the best thing since no underpants at all. Wow. How'd I get *here*?

No, I'm not standing here saying "neener neener; my game's better than your game", because a) I do not have a game; and b) well, really, I don't have a game.

I just know what I don't like. Um. And I'm comparing it to a venereal disease. Which is kind of douchey of me, I guess. Sorry about that.

Labels: crossing the line, LARP, piss in your eye

I've talked your ear off lately.

What with all that chatter about the Shadow Files LARP at the Flatland Fantasy V games convention that was so gorram amazing. I'll tell ya. That guy *really* knows how to run a one-shot LARP. He has this knack with making sure that every character in the room is only separated by one or two degrees from every other character in the room, and he does a fantastic job of coming up with characters. Really, truly amazing.

Oh, and then i went on about the Nobilis LARP the following night. I didn't have as good a handle on that one, but it was certainly quite a lot of fun. It's tough to run a one-shot when your setting is so rich and vibrant and dynamic. But O. did an amazing job; the set was breathtaking, and the story made my head swim. In a good way.

So, yeah. I'm sure you're sick of hearing about my exploits. What about you? What've you been up to this week?

Labels: LARP

I've heard some rumblings. And the rumblings are coming from folk who're interested in playing "The Game". In case you've forgotten, "The Game" is called Kingdom Come, and it's about fallen angels. We always play on the last Saturday of the month at the Northeast Community Centre, as part of FRAG's Games Days (Flatland Regional Association of Gamers, that is). It costs you fie'bucks to play if you're not a FRAG member; three dollah if you are a FRAG member.

There is a Facebook group set up for the game (Providence), and there is a game blog and game forums. There are no published rules as yet, but if you email me, we can talk over character concepts and game setting.

We would love to have you join the game. Even if you've never played LARP before, give it a wing. It will open your eyes and make you dream. Right, Jenn?

Labels: Kingdom Come, LARP, Providence

One of the difficult things to do when you're running a game is to try to balance everyone's interests. It's a classical small-'you' utilitarianism argument, really. As a Storyguide, you do your best to maximise the amount of happiness generated by participation in your story. And so when folks express dissatisfaction with what you're doing, it's very difficult sometimes not to attempt to also minimise unhappiness.

But in a game, that is a mistake.

I think it's a mistake in any endeavour you undertake that involves more people than just yourself. I mean, really, you are responsible for your own happiness. You can choose to participate in what pleases you, and you can choose not to participate in what does not please you. Other people are not *really* responsible for your happiness. And running a game is really no different.

You write a story, a story in which most of the main characters are, as at the time of writing, undefined. You provide a venue for people to unravel the story as they propel it forward. You provide interpretation and adjudication for settling altercations...this last bit is known as 'the rules'. If people like your story, they keep coming to games. But if someone doesn't like something, the temptation is for you to make concessions (so-and-so doesn't like that character, who is an NPC, so if I remove that NPC from the game, so-and-so will be happier, which will increase the general pleasure in he game). It's not a good idea to make concessions (if I remove the NPC from the game, three other people, who are creating plot lines of their own that involve the NPC, will be upset, thus reducing the total pleasure in the game) because, just like in a novel, you need to stay true to your story. If you don't, you do your players (the characters) a disservice, and you do the game itself a disservice.

If a player is upset enough that they come to you as the Storyguide with their issues, you can sit down and talk things over. You can offer suggestions and you can ask for suggestions. I'm certainly not saying you should ignore the unhappiness of your players. I'm saying this is the balance you have to figure out. At what point do you realise that the players aren't enjoying themselves? And at what point do you 'capitulate' and admit that what you're doing isn't working? When one player is unhappy? When four players are unhappy? When most players are happy but one or two would like some subtle changes?

An RPG, and in particular, a LARP is a constantly changing, dynamic, living, breathing creature.
It takes on a life of itself, and that is the most exhilarating part of running a game. Like writing a play, but it doesn't have to end after one act. Or three acts. Or five acts. As long as people enjoy themselves, the play goes on. Like a novel, but with characters that are out of the author's control. Like poetry, but the imagery comes in the characters that the players create, and the realities they make; the power of language comes in the dialogue in which they engage.

But managing a LARP is a little like running a cruise ship, I expect. Some people are going to get seasick. Others have the best time of their lives. And as the captain of the ship, you must decide how many motion sickness bags you're going to provide before you put in to port.

Labels: LARP, sailing