COOLER THAN YOU THINK:

Understanding Live Action Role Playing (LARP)

Words by Aaron Vanek
Art by Jennifer Albright
Layout by Kirsten Hageleit

introduction. ...........................................................................2
part one
Defining an Art Form.............................................................................4
Strengths and Weaknesses of LARP................................................ 13

part two
The Variations in Form of LARP (The Spectrum)...................... 15
LARP Content, Types, and Genres. ................................................. 22

part three
The Future of LARP.............................................................................. 24
Conclusion............................................................................................... 29

credits and links. ........................................................... 31

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INTRODUCTION

In all these years of Live Action Role Playing, we

in Enigma were constantly experimenting: we tried
When I was eleven years old, a friend and I walked different locations, styles, genres, rules, mechanics,
along a strip of land paralleling a creek next to the
tone, players, etc. It seems like every game was a new
Southern Pacific railroad tracks. The area was ruled
invention concocted by one of our larp creators, run
by giant eucalyptus trees lined in rows like temple
with and for a mostly-familiar bunch of gifted players.
columns from a fantastical dream world. We spent
A large problem we had (and still have) was that
some time searching for the perfect stick to use as a
we would rarely sit down to discuss the good and
makeshift sword. Once we each had one to our liking, bad in each larp, especially not on an abstract level
we squared off and I said, Youve been walking
beyond the That was so cool when I did this postthrough this ancient forest for hours. Suddenly, an orc game commentary. Criticism on one scenario would
jumps out from behind a tree and attacks you! And
sometimes appear in the next larp as a new creator
when I tapped my friend in the shoulder with the stick, took a radically different approach than the last one.
my first larp (Live Action Role Playing) was underway. Or, more commonly, the best elements of one larp
That was more than a quarter century ago.
would resurface in others, in some strange kind of
Since then, I have run or played in over 100
Darwinian evolution of live action role playing.
different larp experiences, which is a small number
In the last few years, I have seen larp appear
compared to many other veterans. Most of these larp
in both movies (Role Models) and documentaries
events were associated with Enigma, the University
(Darkon, Monster Camp), while assassin-type games
of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) science-fiction,
generate national news coverage. Across the pond,
fantasy, horror and gaming fan club, founded in
in Europe and the Nordic countries, I watch with
1986. Enigmas early larps were always called live
admiration and envy the great leaps and bounds that
games, and they were trial-and-error situations: we
have moved larp from a geek hobby into a recognized
knew scant little about other larp groups and rarely
art form, complete with government grants.
recorded our own; a few photos and some random
I think Live Action Role Playing in the U.S. is
ephemera still remain, but the bulk of the materials
approaching a critical mass just before a growth spurt.
are lost, if they even existed in fixed form. Most
At least, I hope so. Im here to nudge it along.
of Enigmas larp events tended to fall into what is
With a large amount of hubris, I am going to try
now called theater style, meaning we rarely had
to define larp as an art form. Im not here to argue
physical combat where you actually hit your opponent if a NERO fantasy game is better than a Minds Eye
with something (although we had lots of combat).
Theater vampire game, or if one type of player, GM,
Our emphasis was on role-playing and character
weapon, or improv style is better than another. I
interaction, and the live games were run once only.
am more interested in discussing the underlying
We usually didnt play recurring characters, and most principles that each larp is using, and to hint at what
events were managed by a handful of individuals who they can all do. I want to look at the heart of the Art,
created totally different larp happenings inspired
the essence of Live Action Role Playing.
by everything in the broad gamut of fandom. In
In addition to defining larp, Ill attempt to
contrast to many of the larger, popular larp groups in
delineate the boundaries and explore some of the
America today, only about 10% of Enigma larp games
foundations, styles, and structures of the form. Ill
resembled Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft,
also investigate the possibilities and potential for this
or Lord of the Rings. Some examples of Enigma larp
very dynamic and creative medium of expression.
settings are: a Roman Emperors banquet, a series
Its a tall order, as I could be dead wronglarp
based on Napoleonic-era British naval adventures, a
might just be the bastard child of performance art,
day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,
role-playing games, and improvisational theater; it
and a night at the supernatural bathhouse featured in
might never be any more popular than it is now, and
the Academy AwardTM--winning animated feature
larp will quietly go the way of the hula-hoop. But I
Spirited Away.
dont think so.

 If you already agree that Live Action Role Playing

is an art form, worthy of the respect that other arts
have, then you might want to skip ahead to the
Strengths and Weaknesses section. There may be
some things in the first two sections that broaden your
understanding of larp-art, but you can come back to
them later.
If you have no idea what Live Action Role Playing
is, or you think its a hobby at best and a waste of
time at worst, then please continue reading straight
through, and hopefully I can change your mind or at
least make a good case for larp as art.
Regardless of who you are and what you think
about this thing called larp, I encourage you to
debate, discuss, and analyze it with others (and me).
Ultimately, I hope that beginners to this amazing
endeavor will be intrigued enough to try one, and
veterans will be inspired to create, improve, and
market their own games on a broader stage.
Aaron Vanek
Los Angeles, CA
September, 2009

DEFINING LARP

them, but each article is like a big glass of dark, heady

portI can only take one a night. I have yet to attend a
Larp stands for Live Action Role Playing, so although it Knutepunkt.
appears as an acronym, its a noun in Nordic countries. Many of the books articles attempt to pin down the
I dont think the full phrase is quite clear or accurate.
essence of larp, with each of the many talented authors
Does this mean that sitting down at a table and rolling
adding polysyllabic concepts from the deepest bowels of
dice while playing Dungeons & Dragons is dead action academia to the hallowed Definition of LARP. It seems
role playing?
that everyone has their own understanding of it, but,
For most of my life, I referred to larp as live games like Scott McCloud says in his wonderful (and highly
and I still use that term occasionally. But thats worse,
inspirational) Understanding Comics, The world of
as not all larp is a game, and I dont know what a dead comics is a huge and varied one. Our definition must
game is. I think the term larp is too entrenched to
encompass all these types while not being so broad as
change it at this point in time, so thats how I am going to include anything which is clearly not comics. I have
to use the word.
taken this direction to heart for larp, and I hope to
If youre already lost, heres my very basic
synthesize the volumes of deep thought into something
explanation of what happens during Live Action Role
we can mostly agree on. I must also admit that I want
Playing, though this isnt the simple definition I am
to try and put another horsean American horse
looking for:
into the world-wide larp race for legitimacy. Reading
through the Knutepunkt documents, I realize that here
Two or more people each pretend to be someone or
in the United States, we are way behind our European
something else, called a character, in a pre-determined counterparts. Their understanding and use of the larp
imaginary setting like ancient Greece, outer space, or
art is far ahead of ours. We need to catch up.
Middle Earth, which is represented by and takes place
Finally, all or almost all of the concepts I bring up
in a real, actual setting, like a park, a hotel ballroom, or
in this section has been covered elsewhere, probably
someones backyard. These people interact with each
in one of the Knutepunkt books. I am watering down
other and the imaginary setting through improvisational the very dense prose of others to make it palatable
acting in the real environment for some amount of time.
to American audiences. If I could figure out how to
In most of these experiences, there is some degree of
include high fructose corn syrup in my words, Id do
involvement from what is often called a Game Master
that too.
or GM (also Larpwright or Storyteller), who takes on
a variable amount of control over the personalities of
History of Larp
the pretend characters (who they are, what they want)
and most of the imaginary setting (where it is, whats
I am going to briefly discuss the long and storied
there, etc.). The GM also may or may not be one of
history of larp, mentioning only a few of the names and
the characters. Through the interactions of everyones
dates that appear in a wonderful History of Live Action
imagination and improvisation, some kind of narrative
Role Playing article that you can read for yourself
usually, but not always, emerges. These people dont
online at Wikipedia.
do this for anyone other than themselves: there is no
The entry traces the roots of larp to the dawn
separate audienceeveryone is both a performer and a
of humanity with children engaging in imaginative
viewer.
play. It was then utilized by ancient civilizations (both
Western and Eastern) as organized re-enactment
I have been slowly combing through the thousandevents for entertainment purposes. Many nations
plus pages of books from Knutepunkt, an annual
and tribes throughout history continued the use of
larp conference held in Northern Europe. Each year,
improvisational events with military wargames and
hundreds of creators, artists, players and fans gather
mock combats used to train soldiers.
in one of the Nordic countries to run larp events, hold
These improvisational events, which were related
panel discussions, present theses, and conduct forums
to but different from formalized stage dramas and
on the nature of the medium itself. Many of those
comedies, began to spread into other areas of culture,
essays are collected in lengthy books and have titles like growing in leaps and bounds as it met each new field.
Role-Playing as Interactive Construction of Subjective
Larp reached the theater through the Commedia
Diegeses. Fun, light stuff. Actually, I quite enjoy
dellarte tradition of 16th century Italy and, much

later, through theater games pioneered by Viola Spolin

(a founder of Second City in Chicago) and Keith
Johnstone in the 1950s.
In the 1930s, the relatively new science of
psychology began to use psychodrama as therapy
(pushed in the U.S. by Jacob L. Moreno), which is like
very personal, very focused larp.
In fiction, a 1905 book by G.K. Chesterton, The
Club of Queer Trades, describes an organization that
puts on larp scenarios for its customers, but the novel
with the greatest direct influence on modern larp was
Dream Park by Larry Niven and Steven Barnes (1981),
which inspired the International Fantasy Gaming
Society (IFGS).
Larp spread to the classroom through the many
mock League of Nations clubs that formed during
the 1920s, and resurfaced in colleges and art houses
in the 1960s with Happenings and experimental
theater. In 1966, sociology Professor William A.
Gamson, a Guggenheim fellow, developed his ideas for
a simulated society or SimSoc, at Boston College. It
was a game to teach sociology, communication, and
politics to students. The fifth edition of the rulebook is
available for purchase.
The emergence of larp in its recognizable modern
form was heralded in the 70s with the release of the
Dungeons & Dragons table-top role-playing game
(more on the difference between a table-top game and
a larp game later). As D&D moved into high schools
and colleges, some players started to get up from the
table, put on costumes, and go outside for a different
kind of fantasy role-playing. This era saw the birth of
the Society for Creative Anachronism (1966 in Berkeley,
California), the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys
(MIT) Assassins Guild, and the Society for Interactive
Literature (SIL) at Harvard. Larp organizations and
events also started appearing around the world in the
late 70s and early 80s, as D&D and other role-playing
games grew in popularity. These groups expanded, split,
and prompted others to form their own larp groups not
just in the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States,
where larp had been going strong for decades, but also
across the world. Treasure Trap began in the United
Kingdom in 1982, considered by some to be the first
modern larp group. Although they are no longer active,
many of the original players have formed their own
larp clubs. The Wikipedia article also discusses similar
histories of larp in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia,
Germany, Russia, Australia and South Africa.
At the very least, Live Action Role Playing is ancient
and worldwide.

(For a more comprehensive view of LARP history,

see the essay by Brian Morton in the Kuntepunkt
book from 2007, entitled Lifelike, via the links in the
appendix.)

So what exactly is
Live Action Role-Playing?
I think it is a distinct, unique Art Form.
Let that sink in for a second. The online
Encyclopedia Brittanica defines art as: the use of skill
and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects,
environments, or experiences that can be shared with
others. I think thats a pretty good definition, so Im
going to use it. Lets focus on the last thing in that list:
experiences.
I contend that Live Action Role Playing is the use of
skill and imagination to create an aesthetic experience.

Larp is an art form? Like writing, painting,

sculpture, motion pictures, music? Yes. Why arent
their larp exhibits in museums, galleries, or concert
halls? Can a larp event get a National Endowment for
the arts grant? In the Nordic countries, this has already
been happening for years. In fact, they have already
integrated larp into their schools and artistic culture.
Why is America behind? Well, its not really. Weve been
doing a lot of larp for along time, but we rarely call it
that. More on this later.
I hope that by taking Live Action Role Playing (and
calling it larp) seriously as an art form, we can elevate
what many regard as a dorky hobby into a powerful
medium of expression that has many virtues that no
other art form possesses. Theres great strength and
power in larp, if we can begin to recognize it.
There are good and bad larp events; larp has trends,
movements, revolutions, notable figures, and schools of
thought. One problem that I think hinders discussion
and critical examination is that larp is not served well
in fixed form. Therefore it is difficult to dissect and
examine each larp event. Its like trying to analyze
an improvisational play performed once only, in five
different theaters simultaneously, without an audience,
and you were one of the performers. If someone wanted
to record all five shows and watch them all at the
same time, it still wouldnt approximate the overall
experience of Live Action Role Playing. What would
happen if this improvisational play was repeated?
Would it be the same, even with the same people, the
same locations? I doubt it.
Because of this resistance to repetition and

distribution across the globe, I think larp is difficult

your skin, smell the scent of a dangerous alien clouding
to see as an art form, at least by the Powers That Be:
the tunnel you need to crawl through, and taste that
mainstream media, the general public, and institutions
martini (shaken, not stirred) in a spy adventure. In a
that award grants (in the U.S.), even though Live Action normal role-playing game, players use more of their
Role Playing is very often an unrecognized part of many imagination to see, hear, smell, taste and feel what the
normal artistic endeavors. Ill explain the whys and
GM is describing (narrating). Although all art requires
wherefores of all this in a bit. For now, I hope you will
imagination, larp aids the minds eye with more real
agree that larp is an art form. If not, continue reading.
people, places, and things.
There are many methods that larp uses to engage
the five senses, and, to me, the best GMs create larp
Three Pillars for Larp
events that use a minimum of narration. There are
These are the three key elements that should appear
exceptions and necessary slips (for safety or practical
to some degree in a Live Action Role Playing event.
considerations), but for the most part, larp asks people
Sometimes these attributes appear in other arts, and of
to do, not say, what they are doing. Do it, dont tell it.
course other art elements appear in larp. When I think Many GMs will narrate the rules of the larp event
of an aesthetic experience and wonder if its larp or not, (sometimes in a written form) at first so everyone
I check it against these points. Some events are more
understands the practical considerations as well as
larp and others are barely larp, so these three ideas
the setting and background, but once this opening
will help identify the experience.
is complete, a GM will often limit their talking and
instead concentrate on actions: directing or acting as
Everyone in a larp scenario is both a participant and
monsters, preparing props or sets, etc.
audience member.
This part is what separates larp from traditional
If you are experiencing a larp, you dont just
table-top role-playing games, like Dungeons & Dragons.
passively watch, you actively participate. Everyone has
Although they are very closely related, and each endeavor
a chance to define the narrative, although some people
sometimes spills over into the other (larp elements can
exercise this ability more than others. There must be at come into a table-top game and narration sometimes
least two people for a larp to occur.
occurs in a larp instead of actual action), there is a very
A Game Master of the larp usually has the most
large difference between rolling dice to get through a bar
authority and ability to change the narrative: they set up
brawl and getting a full body workout in one.
the world where the players begin, and they can intervene
while the larp is running, but they are not the only
All participants in a larp constantly redefine their
authority. If the GM controlled everything the characters make-believe world and everything in it.
and setting did, it would be like writing or painting. In
This pillar is the most important aspect to live
addition to moving or shifting the story, everyone in the
action role playing.
larp (including, and especially, the GM) is also watching
The GM and role-players in a larp explicitly and
what the others are doing, as an audience.
implicitly need to agree on the shared construct they
This pillar separates larp from traditional theater.
are in, or bubble; that is, the environmentdoors,
walls, objects and especially the peoplethey interact
Participants in larp do not narrate their actions, they
with. They may not agree exactly on whats in the
perform that action or a substitute action to represent it. bubble, but they have to give consent that they are IN a
Obviously, there are exceptions to this if you are
bubble, i.e., everyone involved agrees that they are playrole-playing an Artificial Intelligence that has no
pretending inside a shared space.
physical form and must only speak your actions to
This environment can be as small as a hotel room
other players that carry out your orders, but for the
or as large as planet Earth. But, everyone participating
most part, the enjoyment of a larp is that you are
agrees on the border between the imaginary world and
really doing your deeds or a close semblance to them
out of bounds (the real world), often for safetys sake.
(more on the difference between actual actions and
The participants should regard everything that is in the
representational actions later).
bubble through a filter: a willing suspension of disbelief,
In a larp, all five senses are engaged, something
similar to what audience members in theater and film
that few other art forms can claim: sight and hearing of are asked to provide.
course, but you can also feel the bite of the weapon on

Everything inside the bubbleincluding yourselfis

should not ever be considered part of the larp world.
not necessarily what it really is.
A transparent bubble (where the imaginary larp
What it is inside the bubble is dependent on
world is nearly identical in appearance to the real world)
your imagination and improvisational reaction to it.
also has interesting effects when combined with the
This is how squirt guns become pistols, sculpted foam
everyone is a participant rule. In an Assassin-type larp,
becomes swords, hand-painted wooden dowels become passersby who are unaware of the game (not agreeing
magic wands, how your best friend becomes your
to be in the bubble) can be unwitting participants who
arch-enemy, and, most importantly, how you become a affect the game by preventing a hit by their presence
superhero, pirate, knight, starship captain, or President. as a witness.
As part of this disbelief, however, participants need to
Time is also flexible in the imaginary world, but
know what is in the bubble and what is not.
bounded by real world time: a larp event may run for
Environment cannot be ignored in a larp, as it is
six hours, but in the imaginary bubble, hundreds or
crucial to an experience which seeks to include as much even thousands of years may have passed.
realism, or symbolic realism, as possible. Again, if you
Crucially, this bubble must be maintained through
are following the do, not narrate requirement from
the improvisational acting of the participants. In the
the second pillar, having an actual object or accurate
above example of the nuclear napalm gun, good improv
costume goes a long way to improving the experience.
and therefore proper maintenance of the bubble means
Realism means someone doesnt narrate Ok, so I use
that after being doused with water or Silly String, the
this nuclear napalm gun on you, and you die. Yeah.
participant doesnt just narrate Oh, Im dead now, and
Instead, they unleash a garden hose or can of Silly
start cleaning themselves up, they instead lie still on the
String on someone, and the poor victim already knows ground in a puddle until the mechanics of the bubble
that water or Silly String means irradiated liquid fire
remove them. In other words, the shared construct
because he agreed to that part of the bubble, and reacts that all participants agree to demands their persistent
accordingly: screaming in pain and horror.
attention and improvisational acting, even if it is poor, to
The larp bubble can be opaque or transparent to the continue to exist. Of course, certain parts of real world
outside world, i.e., is it physically isolated from
space or certain periods of time may not exist in the
outside real world interference so that
bubble, so you can drop out of character
anything out there doesnt exist in
while in that place or during that moment.
the shared imaginary construct,
One example of a space outside the
or does the imaginary bubble
bubble is the restroom. Or, in most
see real people and things
fantasy games, when someone calls
that are not in the larp
Hold! loudly, everyone stops
experience? Both are
improv-pretending, the bubble
possible.
ceases and real-world concerns are
This imaginary bubbleaddressed (injury, glasses knocked
world can also bend and
off the face, etc.). A GM will
flex to include new people
usually count down and say Lay
and locations, as well as
on! to reactivate the bubble.
be permeable enough so
This third pillar is, I
people can drop in and out of
believe, unique to Live
character. In some larp pieces,
Action Role Playing and is
the whole imaginary world exists
what separates it from most
inside a hotel room. In others, the
other art forms. Although
whole real world is also the imaginary
film and theater set
world (Alternate Reality Games, or ARGs,
up their own worldare known for this). Still, there is a
bubbles, they are
mental boundary, a willing suspension
immutable and defined
of disbelief between the larp world and
by one or a small group of
the real world. Active duty police
people (the director, writer).
officers and working emergency
For table-top role-playing,
medical personnel, for example,
this bubble is very rigid and

In a table-top role-playing game, a player will tell

(narrate to) the GM that their character walks over
to the airlock and opens it. Other characters and the
GM can affect this action or its consequences, but the
results will be spoken. No one has risen out of their
seats. The GM can describe in great detail the effects of
strolling in a subzero vacuum without protection, but
the player wont feel a thing.

small, existing only through the written rules of the

game and the spoken words of the participants. Very
few objects in the real world represent anything else,
except possibly battle maps and lead miniature figures.
To sum up the three pillars:
Everyone in the larp experience chooses to be in
an imaginary bubble, and everyone there has some
amount of control over the who, what, where, why
and how of the things, ideas, objects, space, pace, and
results of and in the bubble. They typically (but not
exclusively) enable this control through improvised
action as opposed to narration. The bubble can be
closely or distantly related to the real world, but the
bubble must in some respect not be the real world, and
everyone involved is pretty clear on the difference
between the two.
Note that the purpose of doing this, the goals, are
left undefined. There may be a reason for a particular
larp, there may not be. Its an individual experience, so
each participant may find deep meaning in larp even
when none was intended.

In a video game, the player-character will instruct

(narrate to) the computer, via game controller, mouse or
keyboard, to direct their avatar to the airlock and open
it. If the outside of the ship has been programmed into
the game, the door will open. The user has probably not
risen from her chair, and wont feel a thing.

Larp as Art
So what kind of art is larp? Lets look at some examples
of art and artistic play and see how Live Action Role
Playing mixes or diverges from them.
Please note that this section is where most people like
to chime in with exceptions and peculiarities. Dont
forget that this is all my opinion, and you are more
than welcome to disagree with my conclusions. Ill try
to explain my rationale for the comparisons, but in
all honesty, I think its fun to see how these pastimes
fit or dont into the puzzle of larp. If you look at them
too closely, it might be hard to see where one ends and
larp begins, and I think thats part of the power of Live
Action Role Playing.

Heres an example of a simple action that shows the

differences between live action role playing and some of
the other art forms mentioned:
In larp, a player-character walks into a hotel room and
decides to open an adjoining door and stroll through.
In their mind, and the minds of everyone else around
them, they just stepped out of the starships airlock
without a spacesuit. Someone else may or may not try
to save them. A GM might pour a bucket of ice water
over the person to simulate the effect of outer space on
unprotected flesh.
In theater, the playwright dictates from the page to the
character if and when they will open that airlock, and
the director tells the actor playing the character how
they will open it. For each and every performance, the
actor should open that same portal, at about the same
time, with roughly the same motivation. This action
will never be changed during the normal course of the
play. The audience and other actors can do nothing
to stop them. If the actor walks offstage, theres no
need to simulate outer space on him or her with a
bucket of water, for only the audience needs to believe
they stepped into the void, and that is based on the
performance. A method actor may want the ice water,
but it isnt the necessary result of the action.

Larp is closest to the art forms of theater and table-top

role-playing.
Theater also includes performance art; its the idea
that an audience member pays an admission fee (or
not) to watch and hear someone else do something. For
the most part, the audience doesnt have any control
over what the performers do besides approving of
the proceedings through applause or laughter, thus
encouraging the actors to higher highs, or disapprove
of the performance (yawns, leaving), thus discouraging
them to lower lows. But most theatrical events are
assumed to have a Fourth Wall, the name given to an
invisible barrier between performers and audience.
Some productions willingly and satisfyingly break the
Fourth Wall, typically when an actor directly addresses
the audience, but its always there to start. Theater is
a very voyeuristic art form, with the audience peeking
into the private lives of the characters, who are usually
unaware of being watched (though of course the

actors are aware of it). Once the production goes up,

ordinarily the actors run the show, absent the director
or playwrights interference.
Table-top role-playing is an experience where all the
performers (and the Game Master) take on character
roles and interact with each other to determine the
outcome of a story, usually while sitting at a table
and rolling funny-shaped dice. Dungeons & Dragons,
created by TSR, Inc. and currently owned by Wizards
of the Coast, is by far the most popular version of this
art, but there are thousands of other games. In this
creative medium, the GM has far more control over the
story narrative and interactive experience than in larp,
namely because it is rare and difficult for the players to
do anything but talk amongst themselves without the
GM present. The adventure doesnt progress without
a GM to adjudicate what the players see, hear, fight,
etc. There are some new, interesting board
games by Flight of Fantasy games such
as Arkham Horror that are close to a
GM-less role-playing game, but here
the GM is in the rules, which dictates
how monsters move, attack, etc.
In a table-top role-playing game,
each player represents a character
personality or personalities (usually
just one) in an imaginary world. The
Game Master represents everything else:
the secondary characters and background
people, the animals, monsters, populace,
gods, and demons. The Fourth Wall from
theater is non-existent here; everyone at
the table (including the GM) is a performer
AND audience member, simultaneously.
Each has a certain amount of power to control
the narrative at certain points through their
actions, reactions, and interactions. Were
very close to larp, but not quite there. The
biggest difference is that in table-top roleplaying, the performers narrate their actions.
A D&D player says I attack the orc, they
dont stand up and shiv an orc in the gut (at
least, I hope not). Also, for table-top roleplaying, the players require a Game Master
to be with them most of the time, and the
physical environment has little bearing on
the imaginary world (aside from
maps and miniature figures): the
chips on the table dont exist in the
make-believe world, nor does
the table, the chairs, etc.

So somewhere in between theater and table-top

role-playing lies Live Acton Role Playing. Lets check
out whats going on at the borders between these three
art forms and some other neat diversions.
How about a theater show where the audience calls
out things like location and occupation to the actors
on stage who then improv the scene? Is that a larp?
I think its close. If you think of the audience
members as the GMs, defining the world for the actors,
it can seem like Live Action RP. However, what about
the people who arent called for their suggestions? They
arent participating, they are simply observing, which is
more like theater. The main difference is that actors are
performing for an audience, the audience isnt performing
for the actors (the first pillar of larp). Plus, the audience is
narrating the world, not acting it out themselves.
What about a larp where one character
does nothing but sit in a closet the
whole time? They just watch what
happens. Dont they become an
audience member, and therefore
thats not a larp?

No, because if they are a
character in the game, their absence
from the proceedings will still affect the
activities. Since that character likely has
something to do with the story, not doing
anything will still affect the story by their
absence, as the other participants will
probably adjust their interactions to search
for the absent character. The missing person
may only have minimal interaction, but they
are still part of the overall larp experience.
What about a baseball game where a fan
reaches over the wall and hauls a long fly
into their glove, giving the batter a home
run, or preventing the player from making
a catch? What about the cheers and boos?
Arent they affecting the play?

Yes, an audience is affecting the
outcome. However, this goes against the third
pillar. Everything in the ballpark is just what
it is supposed to be: a baseball is a baseball,
an overpaid pitcher is an overpaid pitcher,
etc. Theres no willing suspension
of disbelief for anythingmaybe an
UNwilling disbelief for an impossible
catch or a horrible call by the umpire.

My table-top role-playing game uses music and we eat

historical food and come dressed like our characters.
Everyone there can and does affect the story, and we
use highly detailed figures on a battle map plus our
GM doesnt use any dice! What about that?
Still not a larp, but close. As long as you are
still narrating your characters actions instead of
performing them, youre still table-top role-playing.
And doing an amazing job at that! However, the more
you get away from saying I do this, and get into
actually doing it, the closer you are to a larp. In Europe,
they call this Freeform tabletop.
What about these murder mystery dinners I keep
hearing about? Where you have a fine meal on a train
or in a restaurant and try to figure out whodunit? Or
those Murder Mystery games in a box?
Sometimes these are Live Action Role Playing and
other times they are theater. Often, the Fourth Wall
is in place, so that the characters are acting for an
audience that doesnt really exist while they eat a fine
meal. In that case, its more like theater in a restaurant
instead of on a stage. Other mystery dinners involve
the audience, who are also playing roles (those of
dinner guests). If everyone is agreeing on the bubble,
and people do, not say, their actions, and everyone
participates, however limited, its larp.
The How to Host a Murder and Murder Mystery
party series of box games are commercially available
Live Action Role Playing scenarios. Each person is a
participant in the narrative, acting out a role at a dinner
party. The plot is very rigidly controlled however, and
often the murderer is already determined, and even
the player playing the character may not know it! But,
this latter example meets the three criteria: everyone is
participating, they are acting, not narrating, and they
all agree on the bubble, the parameters of which are
set by the game in the box.
How about the play Tamara by John Krizanc? Is that
a larp?
In Tamara (which I have never seen), the actors
move from room to room in a large house. The audience
chooses a character to follow. Thus the play takes place
simultaneously in ten or so rooms, and although the
audience can follow one character or the other, they
arent affecting the script, just their view and perception
of it. I have heard that the actors will converse in
character with the audience during intermission, so
perhaps theres a bit of larp in this play after all!

How about video games? In the Sims or World of

Warcraft, I play a character that affects the direction
of the game, and the interactions I have with the other
players affects the story.
Video games are more like table-top role-playing
games, except that instead of a human GM, you have a
computer that you narrate your actions to through your
mouse and keyboard movements. You arent running
into battle against the Lich King, your highly-detailed
avatar is. Plus, you cant do anything without the
computer accompanying you (like the GM in table-top).
But as more video games include full-body movements,
such as with the Wii or Guitar Hero, the line between a
video game and a larp begins to blur.
If, for example, someone set up a Wii Boxing night
with two fighters, and everyone else present pretend to
be coaches, managers, fans, or bookees (their roles can
shift after every game), and they all agree that the living
room is really an arena, theyd be Live Action Role
Playing. (Rock Band the larp, anyone?)
Alternate-Reality Games! (ARGs) What about I
Love Bees, the ARG for the video game HALO 2, or
the marketing campaign for the Nine Inch Nails
album Year Zero?
Almost. Maybe. ARGs, which are becoming very
popular as a new way of marketing, are an imaginary
world that takes place in the real worldthe whole
world, specifically. Various clues appear on websites,
commercials, in songs and ads and such that lead people
(participants) through a story, usually related to a product,
like a video game, an album, or a television show, which
is developed by extremely creative individuals.
However, many ARGs are more like elaborate
puzzles on a global scale. The participants arent able to
control the outcome (pillar one), and the bubble (pillar
three) might be very flimsy, or there might be multiple
bubbles in the ARG. Some people involved might only
be looking at the ARG as a way to get free promo stuff
and sneaks of material before the general public. Other
people might think the world or narrative is going
one way, but the designers or other participants want
it to go another way. There isnt a consistent, mutually
determined world that is built upon by all the
participants, from writers and designers to the fans.
But there are exceptions.
In Sweden, a hybrid TV series/ARG called
Sanningen om Marika (The Truth About Marika)
won an International Interactive Emmy Award in
2007. The series was called a participation drama
with viewers looking for Marika across Sweden, with

10

televised debates and clues across the Internet, radio,

street art, etc. Was it a true story, was there really a
missing woman named Marika? It was more than just
a game, it was an alternate reality, very very close to
actual reality. Those who were blogging about clues
were also intertwined into the story created by the
designers, adjusting the outcome (pillar one). In this
case, if you participate in the Marika investigation by
posting on a web forum, or putting up a clue in a public
place (pillar two), you have stepped into the bubbleor
perhaps the bubble enveloped you (pillar three).
I believe many people who larp are willing to include
ARGs into their camp, as do I, but do those who make or
participate in ARGs consider their work to be larp?
I saw some guy chasing another guy down the street
with a squirt gun the other day. Thats an Assassin
game, right? Is that larp?
Yes, it is. In Assassin games, players pretend to be
gangsters or secret agents in a round-robin circle of
imaginary killings. Player A has to take out player B, who
has to exterminate player C. When A takes B out of the
game, A then goes after C and so on until theres only
one person remaining. They are popular in many urban
areas, and, according to the New Yorker magazine, an
end-of-the-year ritual at several New York high schools.
In these larps, although the players are using their
own names and likenesses, they arent really assassins
(hopefully); there is still a play-pretend element to it.
The real world is their playground, except in this world,
water from a squirt gun is deadly. The GM organizes
and sets up the Circle of Death, and often enters the
Most Dangerous Game as a hunted hunter as well when
only a few or one person is left.
Although its a very simple larp, sometimes without
much character role-playing, the participants are still
setting up a bubble, where those involved are assassins
(pillar three). Players dont narrate their actions, they
perform them (pillar two). Theres no audience, because
everyone involved can affect the outcome. If a real
world news reporter accompanies a player on a mission,
they may blow the hit due to a camera light warning the
target. Once you enter this imaginary world so similar
to ours except in the lethal power of squirted water, you
can affect it (pillar one).
Assassin games do three interesting things that
many other larps dont: time is real time, space is real
space, and every person on the planet is in the game,
whether they realize it or not.
These are larps, but they are rarely called or
regarded as such.

What about the Society for Creative Anachronism and

other historical re-enactment groups? What are they?
Civil War re-enactments, Renaissance Pleasure
Faires, and other public events are more in the realm
of theater, but they can be almost-larps. Most of the
time, the public are observing, not participating in
the story. Again, the bubble is flimsy: some people
see actors executing a performance (or are actors in
a performance); others willingly pretend that they
are in that time period, witnessing an event for the
first time. However, there is no continuous bubble
around the event where everyone inside agrees that
everything is something else. A paying customer at the
Ren Faire who isnt in costume doesnt usually look at
another paying customer in jeans and a T-shirt as a
fellow peasant. But if they did, with everyone present
contributing (improv acting) to maintain the illusion
across the site, wed get into a large-scale larp. I have
heard, however, that something called Ren Quest was
true larp at a Ren Faire, but that the organizers took it
over one year and changed it to more of roving improv
theater.
So there might be small, brief instances of larp in
these events, even if the function as a whole is more on
the theatrical side of the border. Besides, I have heard
that a minority of SCA folks get very upset when they
are called larpers.
Wargames and paintball, what about them?
Military wargames, which often utilize specialized
guns that use air or CO2 to shoot balls of paint that
explode upon contact, are Live Action Role Playing
events, dependent on the setup. If there isnt a neutral
audience (say, the press), and the participants affect the
outcome through their actions, were close to a larp. If
everyone in it can agree on the bubble: where they are,
that people with blue armbands are the enemy, that
gel-covered paint spheres are bullets, etc., then our
government is using Live Action Role Playing to train
the defenders of the country.
Paintball is regarded by most as a sport. Many
fields that host paintball games encourage companies
to come down for some team-building exercises
involving different variations of capture the flag or
elimination games. However, if paintballers slid their
perception over a bit and set up a bubble (pillar three),
they could have some great larp scenarios playing
characters: sergeants, medics, veterans, rookies, etc.,
who go on missions that have role-playing components
before and after the actual combat. I would love to run
or participate in a paintball larp scenario, as there are

11

a lot of things that could be done with safe gun combat,

and not all the participants need guns or even to be
field troops.

instead doing it for themselves. If mom is involved (say,

as the judge), its still a larp.
It doesnt take much, and, if we accept this simple
childhood act of play-pretend as live action role-playing,
we can trace this art form back to the earliest days of
humanity, possibly even one of the first art forms.
There are strong arguments against labeling
childish play-pretend as Live Action Role Playing.
Some theorists argue that larp contains much greater
complexity and meaning than a kids game, and that
larp is best when created by adults. Which brings up
one area of role-playing that I am purposefully ducking:
erotic role-playing. I dont think that a larp needs to be
complex or deeply meaningful to be considered part
of the art form. There are simple and complex versions
of larp, good and bad instances of it. Mall Cop is no
Citizen Kane, but theyre both movies.

How about this thing called cosplay? People

dressing up like Japanese animation characters or
whatever. What is that all about?
Cosplay, or costume play is a rising trend that
may be a new art form, but I think it is primarily an
extension of costume art. People make costumes that
resemble a pre-existing character, usually from the
manga comics of Japan, video games, fantasy or science
fiction genres. The wearer of the costume may then
re-enact scenes of that character, or likely scenes that
character may encounter, but its not larp unless and
until some of the cosplayers get together and begin to
improv between themselves. If they are reciting past
lines, or performing in a masquerade show before an
audience, they are acting as performance art. I have not I hope you are beginning to see the boundaries of the
been to a cosplay convention, but if there was a place
larp art form by whats on the edges and how Live
and time where costumed people could come into, say,
Action Role Play comes into and influences other
a bar (real or fake) and role-play their character with
entertainments. Notice too, that these borders are fluid
the others in a shared imaginary world, without any
(a good thing, in my mind) and cross over one another:
non-costumed participants, that could be larp. I have
two larp events I experienced featured a component
been to three events that had this conceit, that is, a
where the players put on a play. Suddenly, the larp
conflux of different times and dimensions, where any
characters became audience members while other larp
character from anything could interact with others.
characters recited memorized lines and performed set
The first was called Dimensional Rip Bar, the second
actions that may or may not influence the larp story.
was called Xatrian Crux. Both of these were clearly Live I must also mention something that lies right on the
Action Role Play. The third, the Labyrinth of Jareth, was border of theater and larp: Dungeonmaster, a theatrical
more of a masquerade and theater performance, though play that has been running in North Hollywood for a
as more people get into character and stay in playfew years. In it, audience members become characters
pretend, shades of larp appear. I have heard of some
in a larp that is run by the director of the play. Each
cosplayers meeting in a bar or room and improvising
week is different, and it features improvisation by the
as their characters, which, to me, is Live Action Role
people on stage. However, not all the audience members
Playing.
are characters, nor can all the audience members affect
the story. Those who are picked to go on stage, however,
Two brothers playing cops and robbers in their
can. I think of this as a theatrical play using Live Action
backyard? Live Action Role Playing?
Role Playing, but depending on your point of view, you
Yes. If the two of them are playing characters, even
might see it as wholly one, fully the other, or neither.
as basic as thief and cop, and making up a narrative Either way, its unique, and Id like to see more things
in a world they mutually create, theyre engaged in larp. like it.
If mom is watching but not participating, this can still
be a larp if the boys arent performing for mom, and

12

STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES
All art forms have their strengths and weaknesses.
These are qualities inherent to the medium that can
either work for or against it in shaping an aesthetically
pleasing experience for those involved. For example,
literature is best at getting inside the head of the
character, hearing their thoughts. However, literature
is slow, and it doesnt have the immediacy of a striking
visual image or the reverberations of an electric guitar
solo.
This is not to say that specific works in any medium
cannot overcome their weaknesses, nor that they are
always successful in utilizing their strengths, but this is
where the talent of the artist(s) come into play. And this
is not to say that one art is superior to another, simply
that they are different, and its wonderful that they are.
I think its a testament to the beauty of humanity that
we have so many different ways of expressing ourselves.
Lets look at what the Art of Live Action Role
Playing does well and poorly.

Sympathy, Empathy, and Our Senses

Live Action Role Playing engages all five senses. I wish
the creators of larp events would use more of this to
their advantage, especially the senses of smell and taste.
But, in a well-made larp experience, not only are the
five senses utilized but also the participants physical,
mental, and emotional aspects. In a game with combat,
the physical is certainly used, although theres much
more to the physical element than combat. Many
games have some kind of puzzle or problem that needs
solving, which requires mental faculties. Finally, good
games also include the emotions of the participants:
fear, love, hate, envy, joy, etc. The emotional aspect of
a larp can make for one of the strongest experiences
ever for a participant. I am sure that many veteran larp
fans have stories of people crying at games, or being
truly frightened, or mad with rage. This is because,
unlike most other art forms, the participant, you, are
experiencing the story directly. Youre not watching it
on a big screen, or on a stage, or in your imagination
while you turn the page. You are feeling the sting of a
killing blow, watching a loved one walk away from you
forever, hiding belly-down in a dark tunnel just outside
the lair of a snarling beast.
Art evokes an audiences sympathy and/or their

empathy. Our sympathy is generated when we feel bad

for someone else; their plights or rapturous heights pull
us along as beings of the same species. But it is quite
distinct in that the performer is another person, and we
feel for them.
Empathy is evoked when we feel with the performer
because we have gone through a similar situation, so
we can relate to what they are going through. Empathy
means we put ourselves in their shoes, and we feel with
them.
Larp might be the most empathetic of the art forms,
because you are the participant. You are experiencing
what you experience, and feel as you feel because,
well, youre doing it. Although method actors (and
perhaps all actors) often experience the emotions of
the characters they play, this isnt required for their
art to be good. In other words, the job of an actor is to
evoke in the audience certain emotions. If that means
the actor needs to feel that emotion internally, so be it.
But many fine thespians can bring the house to tears
without breaking down themselves. In role-playing,
though, your emotions can be activated if you simply
allow them to be. The audience-participant has greater
control over the ups and downs of their own egos. This
is one of larps greatest strengths: giving control over the
artistic experience to the audience-participant.

A Democratic Art
Larp is one of the most democratic of arts because of
the shared power over narrative storyline. Yes, GMs
typically have greater control than players, however, it is
not total. Most art forms, with the exception of games,
have a degree of passivity attached to them: the audience
sits back and lets the artist entertain them. In the case
of literature, some work is required: you need to move
your eyes, turn the page, and let the words activate your
imagination. But for a larp, a player can drastically
shift the best-laid plans of GMs into new territory,
something the original creators didnt expect. And for
the participants, they may never know that that new
direction was unintentional. That particular larp story
went that way, and the other participants can go with it,
push it along, try to stop it or shift the direction. What
other art form can so easily handle the creative input
of dozens or even hundreds of people simultaneously,
while the experience is occurring? What other art
form excels and flourishes with the activities of all the
audience members, or that can completely surprise even
the originators (GMs) on every performance?

13

 Finally, the cooperative nature of larp means that

the work continues even if someone is not present. This
is most noticeable to a GM. In a larp experience, the
original creator of the story cannot be everywhere
at once, monitoring every interaction between every
player simultaneously. Yet the story continues without
them, as players are left to their own devices without
GM supervision. Since everyone is an author to the
larp narrative, the loss of one or some of the people will
certainly affect it, but the action will not grind to a halt
when someone steps out of the bubble.

larp cannot exist without at least one other person

to interact with. A violinist playing in a forest is still
making art, but one person Live Action Role Playing
is either talking to themselves or daydreaming (you
can be temporarily alone and larping, but someone
else, somewhere, needs to help you define the bubble).
This social requirement usually means that some
planning must occur, for the participants need to agree
on what is inside the bubble they are about to inhabit.
More often than not, a large amount of staging goes
on for larp events, from reserving a location, creating
characters and fabricating the rules or mechanics to
participant
recruitment and training, prop building,
The Soft Underbelly
and costume making. This pre-production can take
Larp is not a perfect art form, none are. There are some months or even years.
distinct problems with Live Action Role Playing that
Related to this is the difficulty in recruiting other
can spoil the experience.
participants. Many people are reluctant to perform
First and foremost, the quirks of the participants
in front of others, and are very shy about taking on
and the environment heavily impact the overall
a personality other than their own. I have had many
aesthetic expression. If you are in a larp with a group
people ask me if they could come to a larp event and
of immature idiots, or you are playing pretend for a
just watch, but since this isnt theater, I always try
clueless GM, chances are even the best role-players will to create a character for them that is equal to their
be hard pressed to enjoy themselves. Furthermore, even improvisational abilities. Still, many adults havent
a great larp event can fail for a participant who doesnt
really used their imagination, improvisation, or
get it. Since each larp instance is unique, many factors storytelling ability in many years, and are creaky at
can make or break the effect. Other art forms are more first. But I have often found that once they relax and
reliable. It shouldnt matter if youre in a drive-in theater, realize that they are equal to everyone else, and can
at home watching a video, or reclining in a leather
jump into the spotlight (and there are many spotlights,
seat before an IMAX screen, a good movie should fire
one for each participant) when they want to or not,
your spirit. Certainly different viewings can result in a
many newcomers quickly acclimate and become very
better or worse experience, but you dont see an entirely engaging participants. But there will always be that
different movie because the theater is different. With
hurdle of a new thing to leap over.
larp, you do. Every participant, GM, and environment
A final weakness of Live Action Role Playing is the
is a variable in the larp equation.
shackles of time and location. If a participant wishes
In my experience, it is nearly, but not totally,
to run to a store in the bubble to purchase something
impossible to please all the participants in any given
unexpected by the GM, that prop is often ad libbed
larp. Because each larp is unique, its difficult (but
or created on the fly, often with less-than-satisfactory
again, not impossible) to learn from mistakes and
results. In illustration, literature, and table-top rolesuccesses. What worked last time might not work this
playing, nothing envisioned under the sun cant be
time, or, what didnt work last time might work this
immediately created or described. A larp event is
time. This uniqueness is larps greatest strength, but
heavily bounded by real world space and time.
also its greatest weakness.
A second weakness is the communal nature of larp.
Authors, painters, and composers can and typically
do work alone, and enjoy the art they are creating; a

14

THE LARP SPECTRUM:

VARIANTS
TO THE FORM

But consider the possibilities of running a larp

thats less than one hour long or extended for a month.
Europe already has performed the latter, called
Momentum, and Mike Young of Interactivities Ink has
created a few silly five-minute larps. The ends of this
Im now going to take a closer look at the elements of
band run between five minutes to a year, with the vast
the art form itself. This is where most discussions (a.k.a. majority of larp experiences falling around four to
arguments) about larp occur between practitioners.
48 hours. Remember, this is the time that represents
Everyone has their preference for certain aspects of larp, continuous creation of the bubble.
myself included. I have read and heard a lot of criticism
about different areas and methods of Live Action Role
Stay Tuned for Next Weeks Adventure
Playing. Many people like to categorize larp events into
walled containers, i.e. theater-style or physical combat. A larp can run once, sometimes called a single-shot,
However, I think we would all get along better if we
or can be broken up into chapters that are played out
viewed these different styles as a spectrum, with two
every weekend, as long as players keep showing up and
points and a lot of room to slide around between them. GMs continue participating. This is the part of the
Think of these aspects like adjustable settings. What
spectrum that determines if you need to consider one
happens if you turn one part all the way to one side,
short scenario, or have the luxury of long epic quests to
and leave everything else in the middle? If you are an
toy with. Is your larp happening only once, three times,
experienced larp creator, try to see where your events
twelve times, or will it continue indefinitely for years, as
normally fit on the different bands or facets of the
some of the fantasy-based larp games have?
spectrum, and then imagine what would happen if you In a continuing larp, participants dont need to
radically altered one or more of the other factors.
represent the same characters, and many changes can
Finally, this spectrum is content-neutral. These
occur (new GMs, new locations), but overall, the grand
settings can apply to a fantasy, science-fiction, horror,
narrative is the same. A continuing larp may also have
or even experimental and non-genre larp.
a long break in between chapters, lasting years. And
some larp events spawn sequels, but these might be
separate single-shots, not two or three parts to a larger,
Participants: Few or Many?
grand whole.
It may take two to larp, but I dont believe there is a
The two ends for this part of the spectrum are one
maximum number of participants. I have yet to experience single instance and hundreds of sessions.
it, but some of the European larp events feature thousands
of players, a legion of GMs, and take place over a weekend
Note that these first three facets of a larp should be
at a medieval castle. If the creator of an ARG turns over
determined before commencing. When recruiting
the story to the players (instead of waiting for them to
participants (or considering participating in a larp),
solve puzzles), the potential for participants can jump to
these things are usually revealed or at least known by
millions. I have no idea how to allow a million people the
the GMs: how many participants in it, how long do
ability to alter a storyline, thats for more creative people
we play, and do we ask them back at some point in the
to figure out. So this part of the spectrum runs from two
future?
participants to, say, six billion.

Time
A Live Action Role Playing scenario can run for a few
minutes to a week or longer. This is the continuous
duration of the bubble without breaking (or minimal
breaking). Its the length of time that the participants
remain in character and the imaginary world is active
and operating. The majority of Enigma larps last from
5-6 hours, while many fantasy-based larps run for a
weekend.

Whos Driving: Players vs. GMs

This might be the most contentious part of Live Action

Role Playing. It certainly is the most fluid, able to shift
not only rapidly, but also frequently, both before and
during an event.
Who is in control of the experience, and more
importantly, when? Most larps have a distinct
separation between those who plan and control the
environment, and those who interact within it. GMs
are usually the first to plan a larp; they reserve the

15

location, dream up the general concept, and ask

players to join them. Typically, a GM does a large
amount of behind the scenes pre-production work,
and when the bubble activates, the players take over
and run through the setting the GMs spent so much
time and energy on. Some GMs can, will, and prefer
to step into the larp and adjust the setting based
on the other participants actions. Other GMs
take a hands-off approach, simply observing
the results of their scheming.
This control is taken right at the
beginning, usually at the point
of character creation. Who
develops the personalities that
the participants will improv,
the GMs or the participants
themselves? Again, look
at it as a spectrum, not
an absolute. At one
end, a GM can hand
over a character
they completely
manufactured to a
role-player to play. At
the other end of the
spectrum is a player
who completely makes up a character on their own,
hands it over to a GM, and the GM has to adjust
their background and story to accommodate the
participants character. In this way, players can
influence the story before they even show up to the
event!
Enigma mostly took the latter course: a GM would
describe a setting for a larp and ask for characters.
Those wishing to participate would write up a persona
they would like to represent. From there, the GMs
would try to construct a narrative, or potential
narrative, around these personas. Connections between
characters and plots were derived from the information
supplied by the participant-players. Which two
characters can be long lost lovers? Current enemies?
Who knows whom, and why?
But other GMs use more of a casting call approach,
auditioning or asking for certain types of people to play
characters they (the GMs) have already created. There
may be opportunities for the players to add or slightly
alter to their character, but the germ of the concept
came from the GM. Or, a GM sets up the rules that
limit the attributes and skills of the characters.
And it is also possible to mix these two approaches:
some characters are pre-written by the GMs, others are

written by the players.

As the larp commences, control may also shift:
a GM may act like a generator at the center of the
location, spewing out quests and monsters for the
players to overcome, or, the GM steps back and
allows the players to achieve their goals, often at the
expense of other players. Another way of looking at
this is: are the player participants only interacting
amongst themselves, or are they united against the
machinations of the GMs?
Example: in a bar, people argue and flirt and fight.
This is a player-based conflict system, where a GM
should not be required except for disputes or questions,
like a referee. Or, at this same bar, some people get
together and decide to investigate mysterious noises
heard in a nearby cave. Inside is a labyrinth of traps
and monsters they need to overcome. This is a GM vs.
player scenario, where the impetus for action and story
is generated by the GM, and presented to the players,
who interact with it.
And of course, theres a lot of wiggle room in
between: in the first bar, a GM may declare or set up
a situation where the alcohol runs out. In the second,
two of the characters in the cave decide they want to
ambush and rob their fellow explorers and ignore the
noises that brought them there in the first place.

16

 The far point on this band of the larp spectrum

represents complete Game Master control, which I
think is just outside a true larp, because one person or
group of people having absolute control over others is
more like storytelling to an audience or directing a play.
The opposite side is complete player control. It
is entirely possible to have a larp without any GM
interference. This is what happens when two boys play
cops and robbers, both have equal say in the narrative,
beginning to end.
I think most larp events lie somewhere in the
middle, where a GM sets up the initial environment,
role-players create their own characters within a
framework devised by a GM, and during the larp,
the GM is asked to come up with elements based on
other participants requests like Let us sally forth and
cleanse the forest of all evil! as well as releasing their
own plot devices on the others.
What would happen if a few players came up with
characters and asked a GM to create an environment
for them to interact inside? What if a larp had a
rotating GM authority during the bubble where any
single player could compete for the power to change
rules or settings of the game like a GM? But this power
is only maintained until another player takes it away,
possibly reversing the first GMs plans. Theres a tabletop role-playing game by Jonathon Walton entitled
Geiger Counter that does just this; use rotating GMs
for a more consensual game. Could a LARP of this
style be far behind?

who is playing someone decidedly NOT themselves,

as far removed as possible. This could mean they are
playing many different personalities or a non-human,
e.g., a non-sentient giant eggplant.
This spectrum has interesting game effects; if
you are playing yourself, certain actions such as
mutant powers or divine miracles are typically very
limited. Instead, you know whatever you know, you
do whatever you do. This can be very attractive to
many people, eager to challenge their full faculties. But
theres also a camp of larpers who want to escape their
normal lives, who want to do cool things not possible
in the mundane world. In that case, mechanics are
often used to simulate these actions. For example, for
a western-themed larp I ran, I couldnt come up with
any good mechanics for cheating at cards. Any power
or card or metagame note (the skin of the bubble is the
metagame) would tip off the other player characters
that something fishy was going on in the card game.
In the end, we didnt have any characters that played
expert card sharks, as I wanted the game to have few
mechanics. But that limitation meant a player who
barely knew poker in real life couldnt accurately
portray a rounder or swindler.
In the larp based on the Spirited Away movie
by Hayao Miyazaki, we had three characters
that were represented by avatars: one was a cat
hand puppet, another was a small action figure of
Samurai Jack, and a third was a Shao-Lin monk
represented by a tiger and dragon hand puppets.
These are interesting examples of not you in that
Again, this part of the larp spectrum is the most
the player wasnt quite seeing, hearing, or feeling as
contentious. If a player refuses to open the door to
the puppet, but it was still closer to total immersion
reveal the lifelike dragon the GMs spent all month
than an avatar from a video game. Sometimes the
making, do they (the GMs) have a right to force the
not you side of the spectrum doesnt just mean
characters to open the portal? If yes, can they also
different than your own personality or intelligence,
force them into the lair? What makes for a better
it could also mean not your physical being.
larp experience? What is fair to the participants,
Humans are complex creatures, and we
including the GMs? Again, realize that control shifts often pretend to be someone else in our daily
between participant to participant (including the
liveslarps are open to you being you, or you
GMs), and moment-to-moment, from the first idea to being any number of other people or things, but of
the final resolution.
course, its all YOU. The difference is how others
(and yourself) perceive you to be while inside the
bubble. To be permanently stuck thinking you
You You or not you?
were an orc would lead to trouble, but knowing
This section of the spectrum is heavily based on the
that there is an orc in you, or that personality is
third pillar of larp, the bubble. The basic question is: are within your ability to improvise, can be very healthy
you role-playing yourself or not? In some larps, players
or at least revealing for your overall psycheyou
are themselves but in an imagined setting. ARGs truck
know when to bring it out, when to squelch it.
almost exclusively on the players are the characters
As a thought exercise, consider that many celebrities
highway. At the other end of the spectrum is someone
have personas. If their fans believe they are talking to

17

the persona, an argument could be made that its almost

like larp. For instance, attending a Ziggy Stardust
concert (played by David Bowie). Or drinking with Dr.
Gonzo (Hunter S. Thompson)? Is comedian Stephen
Colbert really a conservative? Some believe him to be.
Are they in character when not before an audience?
Finally, this spectrum applies to the GMs as well as
the players. A GM can be role-playing a GM of a larp
scenario, or they can improvise as things they certainly
are not: a demon lord, a child-princess, a rabid wolf
or an insane artificial intelligencesometimes in the
same evening.

improvise their characters? This is where plot enters.

I define plot as something the characters need or
want to do. This desire might come from a GM (in the
characters background), another player (Wanna help
me rob them?) or the player herself (I am going to get
my revenge.)
Most larp functions have some kind of plot(s) laced
through them. Plot gives purpose to the characters, and
resides solely in the imaginary bubble. A plot isnt see
my old friends in costume, or get back to camp to get
my asthma inhaler, which are real world non-bubble
needs and desires.

Plot: Wide or Narrow,

None or Many, Fixed or Fluid?

Plots are part of the characters, not the real people

portraying them.
For the GMs, who are also participants in the larp, the
environment or setting might also have goals: the undead
want to walk, earthquakes want to open up ancient tombs,
storm clouds want to release lightning bolts.

How structured is a larp event? Should there be an

overall narrative in the classic sense (beginning, middle,
end), or can the participants simply hang out and

 This branch of the spectrum has three qualities,

each with a range:
Wide or Narrow?
Wide plots affect many characters. In some Enigma
larps, we called this an berplot as it was the main
trunk of the game upon which most (but not all) other
plots sprouted. Example: in a larp based on the Season
of Mists story arc in Neil Gaimans Sandman comic
book, the berplot was to determine who would own
the Key to Hell by the end of the event. Note that
oftentimes a character can avoid a wide plot or miss it
entirely (which usually aggravates the person), but like
gravity, it pulls on everyone in the bubble.
Narrow plots affect few characters, possibly
only one. These are usually a characters personal
goals, such as avenge my fathers death or obtain
inner peace. Although other characters can affect
narrow plots, they are less likely to be aware of
them. Sometimes small deeds can have a serious
consequence on one character. A narrow plot
can conflict with the wider plot, or be completely
independent of it.
Both wide and narrow plots can progress
or stagnate during the larp depending on the
interactions of the participants (both the GMs
and the role-players). Sometimes a majority of
characters concentrate on their narrow plots,
leaving any wider narrative arc to fester. Other
times, characters forget their differences (the
narrow plots) and concentrate on the larger issue
at hand. GMs often intervene when wide plots are
ignored, as those are usually the purview of Game
Masters, and they likely spent a lot of time and
energy on the nuances and props of the wide plots
and want those dominoes to fall. Whether this
interference is healthy for the larp or not is unique
to each participant in each game, so I leave that
debate to the participants in their after-larp party.
None or many?
The number of plots in a game can range
from zero to thousands, depending on how many
participants you have. Of course the more plots, the
more overlap is possible, e.g. one character wants to
steal a jewel from another character who must keep it
at all costs and has hired a guard to protect it. Thats
one plot that threads through multiple characters.
Zero plot means that the participant has a
character background and personality, but they
dont have known wants or needs. Perhaps they have

amnesia? Or their plot hasnt been activated (waiting

for the old wizard to arrive). Or, a larp can start
simply with a bunch of characters in a setting. It
wont take long, however, for other participants (GMs
or players) to start creating plots in the absence of
one: Why are we here? Where is the bar?
It may seem like a larp without any plot will be
dull and boring, but Enigmas Dimensional Rip Bar
larp scenarios were mostly excuses for participants to
enjoyably interact with each other (some characters
had plots, however). I found that it is beneficial to
have some characters in every larp that have few or
no plots to begin with. As the larp progresses, these
characters have ample opportunity to select the plots
they wish to be a part of or create their own, making
them wild cards in the entire experience.
A larp with multiple plots offers many things for
many people to do. The larp plots can be distributed
unevenly, meaning some characters are involved with
more than one plot at a time. This number will likely
fluctuate as issues are resolved and others arise. A
larp that begins with zero plot may end with many
story threads (plots) cascading across the bubble.
A larp with only a few plots (say, three or fewer)
usually only has wide plots. And a game with many
plots, like an amount equal to the total number of
participants, usually means that they are mostly
narrow plots. But I have heard of larps where one or
only a few characters were behind the plots, and the
other players were simply support for them.
Note that all participants in a larp, by virtue of
being a participant, should have the ability to start,
move, shift and end plots. Of course others may resist
with unequal force, like the GMs. Who holds the
throttle on the plots is closely related to the issue of
control (above). If you find your larp events falling
into one category, say, heavy GM control over multiple
wide plots, consider, as a creative thought exercise,
what would happen if you changed one aspect, like
more player control over multiple narrow plots.
Some plots never achieve resolution, others end
but create many offshoots. Some characters obsess
over one plot; others never get involved. Like control,
plot in a larp can flow like water.
Programmed or Spontaneous?
Finally, plot can be akin to a theater or movie
script. Unlike the general face-to-face interaction
of the participants, some plots are usually preplanned, e.g., a Beast will ravage a village unless the
characters stop it. Not only is the character of the

19

Beast drawn up ahead of time, a costume or prop

must also be built. There is therefore a third band
to plot: programmed or spontaneous. The GMs
usually have a few locked plot elementsthe Beast
attacks at the climax, so put the Beast suit on at
midnightbut the characters can freely create, alter
or ignore plots. The difference usually comes from
the production side of the larp (props, costumes,
etc.). In some larp creations, the GMs have enough
materials available that they can introduce or
remove plot elements as easily as they change masks.
For other plot parts, it is set in stone, sometimes
literally, to occur a certain way in the game. As to
the characters, sometimes they have certain dialogue
or behaviors pre-planned for the game, and just
await the right trigger to unleash it. Other times,
they have no idea how they are going to represent
the character, and improv it all based on their
background and goals. They may start the larp with
a few possible plots (story seeds), or create these on
the fly as other plots progress. The other participants,
including the GMs, then react to these new plots,
ideally encouraging and helping them along.

Getting Things Done: Actual and

Representational, Simple and Complex
In this imaginary bubble where the participants are
playing pretend, certain things that are dangerous
or unreal can occur. How are these things presented?
How can one character assault another without really
causing injury to the participant? What happens when
a character attempts to cast a magical spell?
The bubble handles these actions through the
mechanics. Mechanics are the guidelines that dictate
what needs to be done for participants to perform an
action that they cannot or should not do in reality.
These are sometimes called the larp rules, but I think
of the rules as larger commandments that dictate the
borders of the bubble; in other words, a rule would
be that you cannot attack another participant inside
a real restroom, or if they are sleeping, or if someone
yells Hold! A mechanic is how a participant is able
to summon a rainstorm, command an army, travel
through hyperspace, or even have sex, all without
really doing it.

Actual or Representational?
Mechanics have two parts, both of which are
variable. The first runs from actual to representational.
Actual means you really do it: you really jump over a
pit, you really hit someone with intent to harm, you
really read a book and try to memorize the words
and actions for a spell. Representational means that
action is abstracted through something else. In tabletop role-playing, representational means rolling some
dice after narrating I jump over the pit. In larp, the
representational actions can also be dice rolling, or
using rock-paper-scissors, or drawing a playing card
from a deck. The variety, ingenuity and complexity of
representational actions in larp is really amazing.
Again, this is a spectrum. Hitting someone
with a boffer (foam sword) is much closer to actual
than representational, but its still not a real sword.
Conversely, drawing a card from a deck and adding a
skill bonus to the number and using math to compare
it to your opponents number to determine the victor
in combat is pretty far removed from swinging a
haymaker punch at someone, i.e. very representational.
No matter where a mechanic rests on the actual/
representational spectrum, the participant is still
doing something instead of narrating their action,
although I concede that speaking is doing something.
A pure representational action could be narrating that
action, thus putting that mechanic (but perhaps not
the whole larp) into the realm of table-top role-playing.
Most representational mechanics are still some
kind of physical action, e.g., throwing a foam ball at
someone. They just arent the impossible or dangerous
actual actions, like summoning an air elemental or
launching a fireball from a catapult.
Simple or Complex?
In addition to being actual or representational,
the mechanics can be simple (pulling the trigger on
a squirt gun) or complex (reciting memorized lines,
solving puzzles). Some larp groups have rulebooks
that are 200 pages or longer, many of them devoted to
Byzantine mechanics detailing the workings of magic
for a fantasy setting. A complex system of mechanics
has different actions for different effects; in other
words, casting an invisibility spell involves a different
action than casting a binding spell. In a simple
mechanics system, one action can work for both; say,
using rock-paper-scissors against an opponent. If
they lose, the spell works, no matter if its Sleep or
Lightning Bolt or Shrinking.

20

 Some aspects of the bubble can have simple

mechanics, other parts might have complex ones,
and some things participants might do is actual, and
other things they do might be representational. It is
up to the participants, particularly the GMs, to decide
ahead of time how the mechanics will work. The more
familiar the participants are with this system, the
smoother the larp operates.
Here are four examples of mechanics governing the
same situation: a character trying to get drunk in the
bar:
Simple Actual = drinking real alcohol, really getting
drunk

Simple Representational = drinking soda pop

and pretending to be drunk
Complex Actual = Reciting a specific phrase to
obtain a specific-colored straw, then placing it
behind a curtain and drinking whatever liquid
a GM puts the straw into (possibly alcohol,
possibly water), and reacting accordingly
Complex Representational = drawing a card
from a pitcher and subtracting it from your
characters Tolerance Score, then comparing
that result on a chart to represent how sloshed
you are, role-playing accordingly
No matter which of these mechanics is used
for intoxication in this larp, the mechanic for Bar
Brawling can be on the complete opposite on the
spectrum. Each mechanic for each action can
have its own properties. This can make the overall
larp Complex if there are many different Simple
mechanics.
This band of the spectrum is heavily
dependent on the tone and genre of the larp.
Scenarios that feature magic are very likely to
require some kind of representational mechanic.
Yet I get chills up my spine if using magic in a larp
means Actually chanting arcane words. Using
mechanics that fit neatly in with the other aspects
of the larp are extremely important.
If you make or participate in Live
Action Role Playing, by looking
at the elements that you are
using, you may be better able
to match the form to the
style, tone, and genre you are
interested in creating. This
leads us to the next section and
the final band of the Spectrum.

21

THE WIDE WIDE WORLD

OF LARP CONTENT
The Spectrum of Form relates to the general qualities
of a Live Action Role Playing experience; it creates the
bubble. The Spectrum will define who is in the larp,
how long it lasts, how it operates, etc. Form separates
the bubble from real life.
Content is what it is like inside the bubble, the looks,
sounds, smells, and tactile sensations.

The Familiar
Most of the larp events that I have seen outside Enigma,
especially in the United States, roughly fall into two
major categories. The first is fantasy-based larp, which
resembles the Dungeons & Dragons table-top role-playing
game. Participants of these larps, which are usually called
games, can expect swords and sorcery, trolls and ghouls,
clerics and thieves, dark forests and open fields, gold and
jewels. D&D is easily the most known of all role-playing
games, and at the height of its popularity in the late 70s,
it wasnt much of a leap for players to begin dressing
up as their characters and begin to play their games in
the flesh. Most of the major established larp groups in
America (NERO, IFGS, Shattered Isles, Darkon, Dagorhir,
Realms of Conflict, etc.) have a continuous campaign in a
fantasy-based bubble.
If not for these groups and others running their larp
on a regular basis, constantly bringing in new people to
the larp art, it is highly doubtful whether Live Action
Role Playing would be as known or practiced as much as
it is today. Although I believe that larp would still exist,
since it has been around before written language, it
wouldnt be seen as anything more than childish playpretending, and remain perpetually in its infancy. We
all owe a great deal of debt to those who have pioneered
larp by taking their D&D games beyond the table.
On the other hand, fantasy-based larp is so
ubiquitous it is often confused for the art form itself.
When non-larp people hear someone say Im going to
a larp this weekend, they probably think that person is
going to put on elf ears and re-enact scenes from J.R.R.
Tolkeins books in a park. Fantasy is to larp like superheroes are to comic books: thats what normal people
think of when you mention the term. But the art form
is so much greater than one genre or aspect of it. Until
Live Action Role-Players and creators can differentiate
between form and content, larp will remain stuck
in its adolescence. Rather than making assumptions
about elf-ears, our outsider should be wondering what

his friends larp is going to be about. It should be the

same question as when they are told a friend is going to
see a movie, a play, a concert, or dive into a new book.
Theres nothing wrong with watching Lord of the Rings
or playing Dungeons & Dragons over and over again,
but theres so much more you can do in larp. The form
of larp might appeal to many more people if there was
content beyond the mythical medieval.
The second most popular larp type is the dark
supernatural-based Minds Eye Theater, which adapts the
World of Darkness series of role-playing games published
by White Wolf into a larp format. The biggest of these
types is based on the RPG Vampire: The Masquerade.
These games have a heavier emphasis on role-playing,
with less physical combat. They are fueled by political
machinations, acquiring, holding, and manipulating
power and authority through any means necessary,
including duplicity, misdirection, seduction and
intimidation. The seemingly never-ending popularity
of vampires in culture keeps pumping fresh blood
into these larp games. Yet sometimes the bubble is too
transparent, and some outsiders mistake the role-players
for people who think they are vampires in real life (true
or untrue, its a derogatory stereotype). The passion,
devotion and Goth-ness of Minds Eye Theater certainly
attract faithful devotees, but their exuberance may also
be a barrier to entry for others. Still, we must thank the
undead for blazing another path in the larger larp world.
So what else is there besides vampires and elves?
The fecund imagination of master horror author H.P.
Lovecraft has engendered some very creative and
detailed larp groups (Cthulhu Live and the HP Lovecraft
Historical Society), who create an occult mystery
experience that can be extremely terrifying yet ultimately
satisfying. Straight historical or science fiction larp
groups have also cropped up, and events will continue to
occur in those genres, but all of these are definitely in the
minority compared to fantasy and vampire larp stylings.
Have you noticed something about the examples
above? Many are still tied to table-top role-playing; they
are enhanced or modified versions of already-existing roleplaying games. It is relatively easy to lift the setting and
rules from a published game to a larp, and its wonderful
that people enjoy these. Yet again, there is still untapped
potential lurking in larp. The art form is strong and
versatile enough to handle any content. This is one reason
why I have been using the words event and experience
to describe Live Action Role Playing: it doesnt have to
come from a game, it doesnt have to be a game.
Which brings us to the final band in the larp
Spectrum of Form:

22

Adaptation or Original?

content of another work is how much of an adaptation it is.

Since improvisation is a key element of larp, a Live
What is the source material for the content of the bubble? Action Role Playing adaptation is different from a
Is it based on an already-existing world or property,
reenactment or translation of the original work. A larp
or has the larp world been created completely by the
likely wont and probably shouldnt be a duplicate of the
participants? Nitpickers will say that there is nothing
primary conceptif the participants have encountered
original under the sun; that it has all been done before.
the original material, they still should not know whats
Fine. However, modifying myths and legends, behaviors going to happen next in the larp. In other words, if
and plots can still create original material for a larp, just you read the book, you shouldnt know how the larp
like there are still original movies and novels. Also, as
is going to end (although even if you do, the larp still
with the other ends of the spectrum, theres nothing
might be interesting). In the many Enigma adaptations
right or wrong about either part of this facet. There can
we have run, we typically offset our game a few years
be great larp adaptations and horrible original larps.
before or after the events that transpired in the original
The inspiration well for larp adaptations is quite
source, or use incidents and locations only vaguely
deep. Beside the many table-top role playing games,
referred to in the work that inspired us. But this isnt
video games, movies, books, comic books, historical
always necessary. Like everything on this spectrum,
events or personages that can be tapped for a larp, why
theres no right or wrong, there are only points on a line.
not adapt a larp from a soap opera, a Shakespeare play,
a painting, a Gospel, a song, or a system of government? Sued?
Here are some examples of breaking the mold of the
typical larp setting:
Something I need to mention related to adaptations for
The Europeans one-upped the Americans again, as larps: copyright infringement. I have only heard minor
I have read descriptions of an amazing three-day larp
anecdotal evidence about larp events that were issued
event in Sweden that was based on the play Hamlet, but cease-and-desist orders for copyright infringement, and
set at a Royalist castle (they used an abandoned twonot in the United States. That doesnt mean it hasnt
story fire house) during the Spanish Civil War.
or wont happen. If the larp art gains mainstream
A larp that has been suggested by someone in
media recognition, it is possible that movie studios and
Enigma, but never enacted, was a Beltway game,
publishing houses will get upset that their Intellectual
where each participant would play the role of a real,
Properties (IPs) are being infringed upon. However, this
current United States Senator, and the real world docket brings up some interesting legal issues: is it copyright
of bills our elected representatives would potentially
infringement if someone dresses up and acts like a
vote on would be the same ones we larpers would debate. known character in a private residence? Does it become
One Enigma larp game that I enjoyed was adapted
infringement if its in a public venue? Does this mean
from the GMs original fantasy world that he created
that people who dress up in costume and act as known
for his Dungeons & Dragons game. His table-top
characters for a masquerade, party, cosplay convention,
campaign culminated in the Apocalypse of the world.
or Halloween are breaking the law? What if the larp
The participants in the larp represented avatars of
organizers are charging money? Working as a for-profit
gods and goddesses, who were cut off from their deity
venture? Is the event recurring or a one-time only event?
by an impenetrable shell, which was the cause of
How much would it cost to license the rights to these IPs?
the Apocalypse. The larp climaxed with the avatars
Would a studio even consider sponsoring a larp centered
marshalling their powers together to recreate the world around their creative works, possibly to heighten interest
as they saw fit. In other words, participants of a larp
in or even market the product?
were the ones who would determine when day followed What fascinates me is that it is possible to portray
night, if there would even be a night, if magic would
a copyrighted character in a larp without a fixed
exist on the world, what races would exist, etc. Imagine recording nor an audience. In that case, is it copyright
playing a table-top fantasy game in a world created by
infringement?
the actions of a score of larp participants!
I dont know the answer to these questions. I do
Like all art forms, the inspiration for a larp can and
know of court cases involving internal fights over larp
should come from anywhere; the news, a conversation
rules and properties, but not of a non-larp entity suing
you overhear in a bar, a photograph hanging in the library. a larp. If you have heard of a case, I would be interested
Depending on how closely the larp event models the
in knowing the details.

23

THE FUTURE
OF LARP
What will happen to larp in the future, if it really is
an art form? Can it be a big thing, or will it always be
a small thing wedged between the much more known
and profitable media of theater and table-top roleplaying games?

The Tug of War

As with many parts of art culture, from rock and roll to
comic books to graffiti, theres often a struggle raging
between and around the creators and fans of the art. In
one corner are those who have known and been with
the movement for a long time who wish to hold it close
so it remains pure and unspoiled by any outside (read:
corporate) influences, such as money, markets, and
larger audiences. Its cool to know about something
that others dont, and being part of the in crowd
can make people feel superior. These fans will argue
vehemently that a certain work or style of their chosen
fanaticism is the only right way. Within this group are
fans that argue against other fans, saying that so-and-so
is doing it wrong. Mike Youngs Five Stages of LARP
Group Development (below) neatly describes this
phenomenon.
In the other corner of the ring are non-fans who
also want to participate in the latest hot thing, the
companies that want to make money off of it, and
often the artists themselves, who would love to break
out of the underground. However, doing this might
involve some kind of concession or capitulation to
inane demands from this larger audience. Or worse,
kowtowing to someone who has no idea what you are
doing, but thinks theres a gold mine there, if you would
just make a few alterations.
I think the immediate future of larp will be
determined by the strength of each side in this
tug of war between those who want to explore
the art form inwardly, delving into the BEST
methods of making and participating larp events,
and those who want to look outwardly and open
the art form to all comers, who are willing to
risk infusing their events with inexperienced
novices in order to expand the reach of the art.
Neither position is entirely correct, nor are they
mutually exclusive. But I expect this conflict will
continue forever. All art forms have creators and fans
who dont want the masses muddying the realm, as

well as gate-smashers who invite the horde inside and

offer them drinks and snacks.
My belief is that the pendulum currently needs to
swing towards awareness, openness, and recruitment
if larp is to reach adulthood. Well know when larp
reaches the big time as an art form when there are
college degrees for larp, televised awards, regular
periodicals and larp-related businesses become publicly
traded companies with hundreds of millions of dollars
in annual revenue. Id love to see a larp critic/column in
the entertainment section of the local newspaper. And I
would love to see a larp guild, which pools resources to
establish uniform guidelines for insurance and weapon
types, and possibly even share venues, resources, and
perhaps even credit for larp groups (something like this
is already starting here in the U.S.). Were getting there,
but not quick enough for my tastes.

Reaching Out To Those Who Say

Huh? When You Mention Larp
Inside the immense field of larp there are countless
zealots and converts. However, one thing that
seems to be lacking in many larp groups is a
desire to popularize the art form. Or, although the
desire is there, the marketing skills are lacking, so
occasionally a larp creator will describe the art
to someone who doesnt understand by detailing
the content: Oh, larping is a blast! You camp for
a weekend dressed in a medieval costume and go
around hitting people with foam weapons!
Ideally, larp the art form will reach the
mainstream. This might mean that some larp
events need to be adjusted or the content expanded
to attract recruits. Those who are reticent to join
might be more inclined if they can bring a friend, so
GMs should work out a way for two or more people
to be related (either as teammates or enemies) in
the larp, perhaps even going so far as to reduce
admission fees if they bring a friend with them.
Attracting new members might require some
simplification of larp events. It might also mean
creating larp situations that dont have physical combat
aspects or trying out content thats not fantasy-based,
or even genre based. Would your aged grandmother
understand a larp? Would she participate in one? If
not, why not? If a larp exercises mental, physical, and
emotional faculties, it seems like it could be a very
effective tool in resisting the effects of aging. What if
rest homes for the elderly used larp games, or taught
some of their clients how to organize one so they could

24

make their own? How many grandparents would love

to larp with their grandchildren (and vice versa)? How
many already are in a larp when they attend their
granddaughters tea party for her stuffed animals but
dont realize it? It may help to popularize larp if we
create events that both children and adults can enjoy,
especially parents and their kids. And leave it to the
youths to remind their elders how to role-play.
Again, if we look at larp as an art form and empty
it of any content, we can better explain it to those
who would like to try it but get hives whenever elves
or vampires are mentioned. If we consider larp as
structured play-pretend, similar to what we used to
do as kids, we might convert a few people into at least
trying some larp events, which, I believe, can only
improve the health of the larp art. For those who think
they are beyond childish diversions, mention the
rigorous improvisational acting requirements and the
intricate intellectual challenges inherent in larp. If that
doesnt work, tell them they get to hit people.
I think there are many possibilities for larp to be
included in other fields, and already have been, but
without the name Live Action Role Playing attached to
them. Here are the places the mainstream media may
first accept Live Action Role Playing.

Larp as Research
A famous psychological experiment (or infamous,
rather) from 1971 was the Stanford Prison Experiment,
led by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. He wanted to
study the effects of becoming a prisoner or a prison
guard, so he and his staff of graduate students selected
24 male college students to role-play in a prison for
two weeks in the basement of the schools psychology
building. The participants role as a prisoner or guard
was determined by a coin toss. The experiment was
called off after six days due to abusive behavior
perpetrated by the guards. Worse, Zimbardo realized
he was allowing the abuses to happen under his watch.
Reading the accounts of the experiment and watching
the videos associated with it, it seems to me that the
experiment was Live Action Role Play, but in a dark,
damaging way that continued for too long. Rather
than a larp where the students reacted to (and against)
obstacles created by the GM, Zimbardo, this was a
participant vs. participant larp.
Despite the notoriety associated with the
experiment, the medium of larp is not the culprit, any
more than any other medium (movies, music, comic
books, video games) that is blamed for delinquency.

But the Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates how

effective a larp could be for educational studies.
Using larp as therapeutic psychodrama is a viable tool
for patients, although I suspect not as effective if its on
the same scale of a 50-person weekend game. Still, how
much could we learn about a persons psyche based on
their reactions to lifelike simulations?

Larp as Preparation
Early in 2009, Southern California held a large scale,
city-wide earthquake drill. Using data generated from
geological supercomputers, many people and city
agencies tested their responses to an imaginary 7.8
magnitude earthquake. This drill is close to larp, and
demonstrated how unprepared most of the region is for
a temblor of this size.
Other government and social services are using larp
for training and preparation services, such as a possible
terrorist attack (with a nuclear or biological agent) and
routine police calls. Politicians use the techniques of
larp to run mock town hall debates or debate sessions.
In late July 2008, the Center for a New American
Security (CNAS) staged a war game that brought
together scientists, national security strategists, former
policymakers, military officers, environmentalists and
private sector individuals from around the world for a
mock summit on global climate change. The idea was
to see what the obstacles are likely to arise in an actual
meeting of world powers to address the issues of energy,
economy, and the environment. It didnt go well, but it
was only a simulation. Maybe more larps will unlock
the key to a solution.
The advantage of a larp simulation is the ability to
demonstrate the unpredictability of human behavior.
Government leaders and EMT workers can predict
many things based on past experience, but, as most
larp GMs can assert, you can never prepare for every
eventuality that a group of larp participants can come
up with once you give human beings some degree of
control over the narrative. Larp is one of the best ways
to give those who are charged with protecting our lives
experience in situations that are erratic. Moreover,
these simulations can include more personal details
than hauling weighted mannequins around. What
if the police officer in a larp isnt playing themselves,
but someone who has been on the force for years and
receives an in-bubble text message that their significant
other is leaving them just as they are called to handle
a simulated domestic dispute? Or a fireman who
pretends to be someone who recently lost a relative

25

in an auto accident, and is called to a situation where

pretended to be girls (and dressed accordingly)? A larp
they must choose between rescuing one person of that
can add a lot of spice to a social affair. It works as a great
age and gender or a group of people? Many medical
icebreaker, helping to know one another, learn about
schools in America are encouraging social skill training each other, and offers more to do at the party besides
for new doctors, deeming these skills as valuable as
figuring out who will take the drunk person home.
deftness with a scalpel. Two recent news articles in the
The annual Los Angeles Iditarod is a fancy bar
New York Times described how medical doctor trainees crawl, except the revelers pretend to either be a dog
were using role-playing to give patients (actors) bad
pulling a sled (really a shopping cart), or a musher
news, such as cancer. Another piece described young,
riding inside the cart egging on the dogs as they roll
healthy medical trainees who lived in a nursing home
from one watering hole to the next.
as if they were an elderly resident with a faux diagnosis, San Fermin in Nueva Orleans is a larp of the
such as a mild stroke. They would be confined to a
Spanish running of the bulls, but the bulls are redwheelchair, need assistance every time they needed to
shirted women wearing horned hats on roller skates
use the restroom, sleep through night checks, etc. The
hitting everyone else (mostly men) with boffers.
goals of the care facility larp were to increase empathy
Many groups are operating right outside the border
and understanding patients needs for students going
of larp and inside the realm of performance art: zombie
into the woefully understaffed field of gerontology.
walks, flash mobs, aesthletics (sport-art) and the
Denmarks sterskov Efterskole school has
Improv Everywhere groups are using some of the tricks
discovered that larp techniques work for youth
and tools of larp to create free public entertainment.
education as well: they stage larps for most of their
The spontaneity, creativity, and popularity of these
curriculum. Not only can first responders learn from
events and groups are signs of a growing interest in Live
larp, so, too, can students of any age.
Action Role Playing, and those events should be fertile
recruiting grounds for more standard larp events.

Larp as Smart Business

Many businesses go through a rigorous vetting of

potential employees. A few use internships to gauge
the effectiveness of these workers. What about running
a work larp, where the possible hires deal with a
typical day at their job, or even a crisis situation? Or
a larp event dealing with typical aspects of their job?
The Directors Guild of America tests their potential
Assistant Director trainees through a series of exercises
like these before hiring them out to TV shows and
movies, so I am sure other industries could also use
larp to examine their hires before the paperwork is
finalized. In Finland, this is already being done as
consulting firms offer management training using live
action role-playing scenarios. Its called Business LARP
or BLARP (marketing needs to work on that acronym).
Larp can not only screen potential employees, but
also improve the skills of current or aspiring workers in
almost any field dealing with other people.

Party and Art-Larp

Big cities love to party, and Los Angeles is no exception.
Sure, having a bunch of friends over with some music
and an open bar is fun, but what if everyone at the party
decided to larp, simply reversing their gender, so all the
girls at the party pretended to be boys, and the boys

Larp and Religion

There have been studies that suggest that live action
role playing techniques are an integral part of human
religion going back to the dawn of our species. Santeria,
for example, regularly features an elaborate dance ritual
that culminates in possession, where a dancer embodies
the spirit, or loa, that is being attracted.
Many ancient and modern ceremonies also involve a
person pretending to be someone else (say, Santa Claus)
with powers (a flying sleigh), goals (give toys to all the
good children), and a personality (jolly). If everyone
pretends that Uncle Gordon is Santa, and role-playing
their amazement and wonder at his appearance, its not
quite a larp, but it is definitely in that realm (everyone is
a participant, acting instead of narrating inside a shared
bubble where fat men in red suits fly up chimneys).
In July of 2008 artist Brody Condon set up a large and
intense larp/performance art exhibit/public sculpture
situation for Sonsbeek International in the Netherlands.
The exhibit allowed viewers to walk through an outdoor
space populated with strange architectural designs while
hearing primitive music played by costumed participants.
This was designed as a post-Apocalyptic religious
pilgrimage, so everyone attending the event space was
considered to be a pilgrim, and the participants would
react to and with them in a ritualistic fashion.

26

 As larp exercises all facets of a complete individual,

the physical, mental, and spiritual, its not a surprise
that the larp art form is well-suited to examining or
being a religious experience.

5. I not only enjoy many different LARPs, I actively

seek out and try to find new LARPs to play to
expand my experience. (Very rare).

I wholly agree with Mikes explanation, for

These areas are ripe for live action role playing
one aspect of larp that always crops up, especially
designers and players to meet the real world. The vast
in America, but also to some degree in the Nordic
majority of larp scenarios are designed for fun (called
countries, is the conflict amongst live action role
games), but there are many possibilities for serious
players. Its almost inevitable that a larp group will
usages of the art form. Again, think of larp as a form
splinter at some point, sometimes with severe acrimony.
with many types of content. But sometimes people
Lawsuits over copyright and intellectual properties
focus solely on the rules and the content, which can be
are not unheard of. These fragmented groups, if they
problematic
still operate, will recruit new players but discourage
them from playing in the enemys larps. Players are
hoarded; props, costumes, and weapons are promoted
LARP System Wars
over others, good mechanics are poorly altered to
Mike Young has been designing games of all types
differentiate from past designs, and venues lost due to
for years. He came up with a scale of larp group
political infighting.
development. Although its refreshing to have the
Although all of this proves a passionate fan base, its
support of active participants, if they remain exclusive
not conducive to recruiting and orientation for those
to one style of larp (even yours), the overall experience
unfamiliar with the art. Many of us (myself included)
might wither.
sometimes stubbornly refuse to see the larger picture
and viciously attack other styles or systems and claim
The Five Stages of LARP Group Development
thats not a larp! instead of honestly competing against
by Mike Young
them. Its the equivalent of saying that the Mona Lisa
is the not only the greatest painting of all time, but the
1. Ours in the *ONLY* LARP. (This was far more
greatest visual image ever, the greatest work of art made
prevalent before the Internet).
by human hands, and Andy Warhols silk screens are
not art.
2. Ours is the *best* LARP. (The larper has a strong So to the experienced larpers: please, try to avoid
attraction to the game he started playing and just damaging the art by attacking other practitioners.
assumes that all others are inherently inferior.
Competition is fine; if you think you have a better larp
MANY LARPers never get past stage 2. Really.)
than them, prove it by example. Share your discoveries
(mechanics, props, designers, etc.). Spread the word
3. There are other LARPs out there, but I prefer
through cheering, not vilification.
this one. (The LARPer has recognized that
We can argue about the best boffers or how
the bestness of his LARP is due to personal
historically accurate a costume needs to be, but what
preference. The rest of the majority of LARPers
we shouldnt do (I dont ever encourage censorship, but
hit this stage and stop).
have some consideration) is accuse each other of NOT
being a larp simply because someones system isnt the
4. I enjoy playing many different LARPs. (This one
same as yours.
is rare, but is becoming more common. You may
find someone who will play, say Vampire and
Cthulhu Live, or two different types of boffer
LARPs. Youll still find damn few people who
will play Minds Eye Theatre and NERO).

27

The Dawn of a New Era?

the New Yorker magazine to cover this new art. Since

larp is not a fixed form, its difficult to show people the
beauty of it. They have to be brought in and participate
themselves (perhaps pretending to be a reporter).
Invite others to the larp, even those you wouldnt
normally think of: your mother, father or grandmother.
Add a little larp to your regular holiday celebrations or
family gatherings. Americans used to be noted for our
ingenuity and inventiveness, so why dont we practice
and celebrate it a little bit more?
And please realize that what you are doing when
you are Live Action Role Playing is a creative medium
of expression. Its not just a game, a sport, a hobby, a fad
or a pastime. Its an art form. And a wonderful one at
that.

LARP Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated

to creating a nationwide larp community through
outreach and education of both fans and non-fans
alike (Full disclosure: I sit on the LARP Alliance Board
of Directors). Besides setting up guilds where people
in any larp can get together and practice fighting,
costuming, prop making, improvisation, etc., they
are working to establish standards for LARP weapons
and armor, much like the movie ratings system. The
benefits of an industry standard are twofold: one, it
brings larp groups and individuals together to debate
and discuss their craft, and two, it provides an agreed
template that people can rely on for safety, accuracy,
ease of use, cost, etc.
To further the art, we need standards, ratings,
and possibly even regulation. This wont kill larp, for
there will always be renegades that expand the craft by
ingeniously breaking the standards. However, without
something to react against, chaos reigns, and few
groups, or the art as a whole, can progress.

Revisions

Whats Next?
Live Action Role Playing is a powerful art form, capable
of creating amazing experiences that cant be obtained
through other art media. If you concur, I need you to
spread the word. Go forth and multiply. Join a larp
group, or form your own. Start or participate in a larp
yourself. You may already be doing this. If so, try to
examine the form of your larp events. See if there are
areas to improve, or perfections that could be shared
with others. Most of all, tell people about it. Dont be
embarrassed. Tell your local newspaper or art magazine.
Get Ira Glass to do a larp piece on This American Life or

I have already altered this essay greatly in the three

or four months Ive spent writing it. If I spent more
time in research, I will learn new things and make
further changes. But then, this will never be finished.
I realize that I likely have factual errors in here, or
facts that will become errors as time goes on and the
essay loses its freshness. Therefore, I am willing to
revise this, and release later revisions, as I learn more. I
welcome your criticism and opinions on anything and
everything youve read here. I will attempt to keep this
as a living document that I continue to update and
revise to keep up with the Live Action Role Playing art
form.
If you wish to get in touch with me to discuss larp,
email me at: AaronLARP2@gmail.com.

28

CONCLUSION

of real life. Or at least a very entertaining getaway.

I was inspired to write this essay after I watched

I hope you are eager to try out your thoughts and
a young boy, perhaps eight or nine, run through
ideas. I deliberately avoided talking about how to
his first larp. I was the principal organizer of it, but
make or play good characters, how to fabricate or find I had a large crew of Enigmans assisting me. We
proper props or costumes, how to utilize seamless
ran it for the WorldCon convention of 2006 held in
mechanics or rules, how to control the story, what
Anaheim, California. In keeping with the theme of
makes a good plot, or any other of the many issues
the convention, Space Academy, we ran Space Cadets:
relating to larp. These types of debates and many
Guardians of the High Frontier. The general structure
others are covered in the Knutepunkt papers, online
was based on a Hogwarts larp game that Enigma ran
blogs, literature, and oral history from larp groups
years prior. The idea was that participants would
and participants. I heartily encourage discussions
take classes to learn skills like Piloting, Xenobiology,
about these things, but first and foremost I hope the
Engineering, Astro-navigation, etc. After classes,
majority of us can agree that larp is an art form, and
the participants had a choice of missions they could
that its a pretty cool one, ready to grow enormously.
undertake to use the skills they learned in class.
If you are new to larp, there are probably groups
The final Mission involved a derelict spacecraft
in your area (see the links in the appendix) where you whose orbit was decaying into a planet. The cadets
can get started. Or maybe you could generate one
(participants) needed to board the craft, find out what
yourself? Or perhaps you can bring larp techniques
was wrong, rescue any crewmembers and hopefully
into more traditional media: theater, film, table-top
the ship as well. This involved crawling through a
role playing, etc.
maze to get to the ships engine room, where a giant
Entertainment in the 21st century consists
alien lurked. A team of five cadetsfour adults and
mostly of purchased (or stolen) goods: we rent DVDs, the aforementioned young boyattempted to combat
we download music, we buy books. I have heard
the alien. All four adults were quickly overwhelmed
many arguments that the content of these things are and knocked unconscious, one after the other. I
often rehashed, reused, recycled, and occasionally,
watched as the four unconscious cadets pestered the
fake or unreal. Modern audiences quickly learn the
young boy to come over and use his medical skill to
tropes and clichs in entertainment, so many can
revive them so they could finish off the alien, put the
become bored of the content, even when the form of engines back on line, and go home.
the art is still viable.

But as I watched, the kid wouldnt move. He lay
Our leisure time is split between many different
on his belly in the tunnel, just around the corner from
activities; how many different things can you do for
the stomping and growling alien. This lasted for a
fun on your day off? If you find yourself wanting to
few minutes as his teammates became increasingly
hang out with friends, but then looking for something frustrated (they should have been feigning
to do, why not larp? Perhaps it is time for a new
unconsciousness).
medium to break into the zeitgeist. In larp, you can
Slowly the boy cautiously crawled into the engine
act out those clichs and tropes. If you know them,
room and used his medical device (a spray bottle filled
you have the ability to change or violate them. If
with water) on the closest cadet, healing them. He
one person in the larp decides against doing the
then darted back into the tunnel. That revived person
predictable, that can change the whole experience into helped the others, they defeated the alien and rescued
something new. Live Action Role Playing puts you, the the ship.
audience and the participant, in charge. Viewers jaded As I was reflecting on this afterwards, I projected
through a lifetime of having entertainment thrust
myself into that boys head at the moment of decision:
into their brains may be thirsting for the novelty
he suddenly had to face the big scary monster, alone. It
and energy of larp, where they can finally have some
was the Boogeyman that lurked in his closet at home,
control of the stories that creators have been telling
or under his bed. His team was counting on him to
them for millennia. Maybe the narrative control
overcome his fear and come rescue themgrown-ups
everyone shares inside a Live Action Role Playing
who were vanquished by the alien. How could a little
event is enough of a healthy escape from the shackles
kid save them? Yet he did.

29

 At the end of the larp, we had a graduation

ceremony for the new cadets, now full-fledged
Guardians. I awarded the boy a medal (a strip of gold
fabric lined with black Sharpie) for Bravery that he
could pin on the sash we gave all the cadets, now
covered with iron-on patches displaying the skills they
learned, their rank, etc. After the larp ended, I heard
that he ran home to show his dad what a few inches of
gold cloth meant.

If that kid saw the same scene in a movie, or

read it in a book, what would happen a few hours or
days later? He would play-pretend that part with his
friends, substituting himself for the character. Hed be
Live Action Role Playing. We just skipped the step of
making the movie or book.
Did the Space Cadets larp change that kids life?
I have no idea. But Id like to think so, if only a tiny
difference. And thats what I hope larp can do for all
of us, if we let it.
###

30

CREDITS AND LINKS

Thanks to all the people who have taught me something about Live Action Role Playing, even if they didnt realize
it at the time: Christian Brown, Richard Becker, Mike Tice, Amy Creamer, Scott Martin, Pat Mannion, Matt Steele,
Andy Ashcraft, Ian Fagan, Brian Mcinnis, Karen and Hal Bowman, Gordon Olmstead-Dean, Mike Young, Ira
Ham, Rick McCoy and Adrienne Grady. Thanks to Joseph Valenti, Mitch Meconi, and David Ballard for putting
on the LARPY awards, which opened my eyes to the larger world of larp. Thanks to the many others around the
globe whom I have never met who wrote about larp in a serious manner. I stand on the shoulders of giants (giving
me +5 writing).
Props to Mike Tice, Nathan Hook, Scott Martin and J. Tuomas Harviainen for their comments and editing
prowess.
The great artwork in here is by Jennifer Albright, who is available for hire, see:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jalbright/
Finally, a very special thanks to my wife, Kirsten, for imagining with me.

Links
These are the latest links I could find for many of the larp groups and events I have mentioned. Some may have
expired. But with some diligence, you can probably discover anything you want about larp through some keen
Internet searching.
History of Live Action Role Playing Games (Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_live_action_role-playing_games
Knutepunkt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knutepunkt
Knutepunkt Publications:
As LARP Grows Up: http://www.laivforum.dk/kp03_book/
Beyond Role and Play: http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/solmukohta/
Dissecting LARP: http://knutepunkt.laiv.org/kp05/
Role, Play, Art: http://jeepen.org/kpbook/
Lifelike: http://www.liveforum.dk/kp07book/
Larp, the Universe, and Everything: http://knutepunkt.laiv.org/2009/book/
Live Action Role Players Association (LARPA) they have a free game bank of larps: http://larpaweb.net/
Tamara by John Krizanc: http://www.amazon.com/Tamara-Play-John-Krizanc/dp/0773751955
I Love Bees and NIN Year Zero ARGs (42 Entertainment): http://www.42entertainment.com/default.html
Minds Eye Theater (White Wolf): http://www.white-wolf.com/met/index.php
NERO: http://www.nerolarp.com/
Live Effects: http://www.onlineeffects.net/main/
IFGS: http://www.ifgs.org/
Darkon: http://www.darkon.org/
Dagorhir: http://www.dagorhir.com/
Adrian Empire (Middle Ages re-enactment): http://www.adrianempire.org/
MIT Assassins Guild: http://www.mit.edu/~assassin/
Society for Interactive Literature (west): http://www.silwest.com/
New England Interactie Literature: http://www.interactiveliterature.org/

31

Intercon (larp convention): http://www.interactiveliterature.org/J/index.php?action=87

Simulated Society (SIMSOC, fifth ed.): http://www.amazon.com/dp/0684871408/
Cthulhu Live: http://www.amazon.com/Cthulhu-Live-Robert-McLaughlin/dp/1568820410
H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society: http://www.cthulhulives.org/toc.html
Society for Creative Anachronism: http://www.sca.org/
Renaissance Pleasure Faire: http://www.renfair.com/
Civil War re-enactment: http://www.cwreenactors.com/index.php
Squirt Gun Assassin larp: http://www.streetwars.net/
A Russian LARP based on the video game Fallout 2:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/07/06/fallout-cosplay-scen.html
New Yorker article on Killer games by Guy Martin:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/06/22/090622ta_talk_martin
Geiger Counter: http://bleedingplay.wordpress.com/geiger/
Mike Youngs Five Minute larps: http://www.interactivitiesink.com/minigames/index.html
Paintball: http://www.paintball.com/
DungeonMaster Theater LARP: http://www.the-dungeonmaster.com/
Stanford Prison Experiment: http://www.prisonexp.org/
National Mock Trial Association: http://nationalmocktrial.org/
American Mock Trial Association: http://www.collegemocktrial.org
Great Southern California Shake Out: http://www.shakeout.org/
Clout and Climate Change War Game: http://www.cnas.org/node/149
Danish larp school: http://calimacil.com/blog/2009/03/danish-larp-school/
Zombie Walk: http://www.zombiewalk.com/
The Institute for Aesthletics: http://www.aesthletics.org/
Improv Everywhere: http://improveverywhere.com/
Labyrinth of Jareth masquerade: http://www.labyrinthmasquerade.com/
Los Angeles Urban Iditatrod: http://www.myspace.com/urbaniditarodla
Running of the Bulls in New Orleans: http://www.nolabulls.com/
The Twentyfivefold Manifestation; http://www.sonsbeeklive.org/
Interactive Drama webpage (home of many fine free downloadable scenarios):
http://www.rpg.net/larp/index.html
The Truth About Marika (YouTube video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX_ZJkwvKR8
Shades LARP List: http://www.larplist.com/
LARP Alliance: http://www.larpalliance.com
LARP Space: http://www.larpspace.com/
LARP Source: http://www.larpsource.com/
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud: http://www.scottmccloud.com/
UCLAs Enigma: http://enigmata.org/

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