I’ve noticed a lot of LARP startups here in the Pacific Northwest, and with a brand new LARP-dedicated host site opening up, people are getting even more excited as 2020 comes down upon us. Here are some nifty ideas you might incorporate into your LARP Design that can help–from communication to running
It’s a bug, not a feature!
If you have to change the rules on someone negatively mid game or mid negotiation, you should reward them in proportion with the change you’re implementing. This discourages a staff member from making frivolous changes or not considering the impact, but also eases the discomfort and hurt of having something you invested in shift dramatically out from under you. Also, it reframes the conversation to feel like the player is helping you find issues you’ve not yet addressed, acknowledging the emotional effort.
The story is the First Priority.
Make sure you have the setting laid out in a way that everyone can get immersed and know what they are doing. Curious players will want to know ‘day in the life of’ kind of questions, and how your mechanics help them approach the setting as a whole. A big setting with a large world is great, but make sure you can take on that kind of task–it’s more important that the players understand your setting than it is for your setting to expand the whole world. If you want to focus on one culture in a whole social structure, then make sure that culture is fully expounded upon for the players to sink their teeth into. A good setting allows for players to get good ideas and make your game come to life.
Mechanics, Good or Bad, should support your story.
I’ve seen LARPs run on what I’d consider terrible mechanical bones. Turns out, if a player enjoys your game, they’ll stick around regardless of jumping your mechanics, but what I’ve seen drive players out of a game fast is expectations being unmet. If you tell a story about a class of monster hunters, make sure you take the time to make their mechanics feel like what you said the setting supported. Even if they are bad mechanics, your players chose that class for the flavor, and having their expectations shift can drive a wedge between you and the people you are trying to run a game for.
It’s okay to run some Betas.
Beta games are great ways to test your system, and a tested system is more steeled against the rigors of running it. Your system doesn’t need to just appeal to players–you need to be able to run it. A beta event will tell you if it’s going to rip your left arm off to do so. A lot of LARPs suffer from mechanics bloat that overextend their staff, and an overextended staff loses patience and burns out, like a beautiful star falling from Heaven. it’s not good for you or your players if you break yourself over some mechanics, and testing them in a few full-run, full-immersion games is the best way to test that out, and also tell your players ‘everything can change, so don’t get comfortable yet!‘