by Dan W.
Another great post from Dan on the role of courtesy in LARPs-- sometimes courtesy, beyond simply making people feel better, can also improve the gameworld of the LARP in question.
Creating Atmosphere: The Game is What You Make It
One of the wonderful aspects of LARPing is that it is not only a shared experience, but that the creation of that experience is shared by all its participants as well as the creators. It's rather an amazing thing, but this can also at times work against a game when not everyone is on the same page. Most of us can probably recall at one time or another either in a LARP or tabletop game when a particularly powerful or compelling moment was spoiled by an ill timed out of game reference, joke, a cell phone ringing, or something similar. Emotionally engaging scenes, particularly those involving creepy or scary themes depend on everyone involved being invested in what is happening, and the shared imaginative space we collectively seek to maintain is easily broken. Creating a memorable and effective game experience depends not only on staff and NPCs, but equally on the player's contributions as well, and there are some things all of us can do to help things along. You've paid your game fee for the weekend, you may as well help get the most you can out of it.
First, it's not just about you. You may have decided you're playing Max Power The Undefeated Hero who isn't scared of anything, isn't phased by anything, and comes off as a cocky showboat, but keep in mind how your role-play is effecting the game space for those around.If you go in with a group of your fellow PCs into a dark module building with some heavily costumed creepy monster, some brash comments here and there may be appropriate for you, an unending string of them may spoil the mood for your fellow players. Some players
really enjoy drinking in the flavor of a scene, they want to be frightened, sad, or otherwise pushed to experience how their character will react to intense situations. This can only happen for them, however, if the mood in a scene is maintained. Going overboard on giving silly nicknames to enemy villains, excessive smack-talk, or even worse breaking game and making movie or video game references and the like can instantly undo everything plot is trying to accomplish (and remember what they're working for is to entertain you). So, be aware of the roleplaying atmosphere when you enter a situation, and help to strengthen it. It's fine to roleplay your hero how you see him or her, but you don't want to steamroll other people's roleplay while you do so.
Second, mistakes happen, and sometimes you just have to roll with the retcon. NPCs coming into a game have a lot of information to absorb, and not everything is going to stick, so you may find that an NPC hook coming to take you on a mod somewhere gives you information that contradicts things you know to be true, or that it turns out later was inconsistent with other things going on. Have mercy on the poor fellow. Sometimes when an NPC is sent out it's with only a sparse briefing from a frazzled staff person being pulled in twelve directions, and they may get something wrong, or they may have been given a very in depth seventeen page briefing which means they've probably forgotten 90% of it. So, when you run into a situation where the person running your encounter ends up having to clarify a confusing situation due to conflicting or inconsistent information, get the real story and just let the rest slide. Mistakes will happen, and harping on them accomplishes little save to further embarrass the poor NPC who is already feeling bad for having screwed up the information they gave out in the first place, and we don't want our NPCs to feel bad. It's understandable that you may feel a lot of frustration in the moment, but be aware that obsessing verbally over this sort of thing can end up adding to the frustration of other players.
Third, it's not contest. Plot is trying to tell a story and create memorable experiences, they're not trying to beat the players. NPCs are told quite frequently 'play to entertain, not to win.' PCs are expected to play to win, but at the same time it's important to keep in mind that it's not you vs. the GM. The game is supposed to be fun for everyone, and when staff throws you a particularly daunting challenge or hard fight, more often then not it's because they want you to have the chance to be heroic, and they're hoping you'll succeed. If you do get thrown a no-win scenario, keep in mind that the aim is still to engage you in a story that is fun. Think back to epic
science fiction and fantasy you've read or watched, and how much sweeter the hero's triumph is when they finally claim victory from seemingly insurmountable odds. Compare that with your average Saturday morning cartoon where the heroes win every single time, it gets pretty boring.
Helping to maintain the atmosphere that plot is trying to create isn't just about being courteous to NPCs and your fellow players, it's about creating a better experience for you. If you find you're breaking character repeatedly because you're not into a scene, consider if there are things you can be doing to help improve things. If one person starts breaking game, most likely other people will be too, so the quality of any encounter is entirely dependent on what the people involved make of it.
How have you moved to make games more courteous? Does courtesy create a better feel of immersion? What are ways to appropriate roleplay challenging situations?
Another great post from Dan on the role of courtesy in LARPs-- sometimes courtesy, beyond simply making people feel better, can also improve the gameworld of the LARP in question.
Creating Atmosphere: The Game is What You Make It
One of the wonderful aspects of LARPing is that it is not only a shared experience, but that the creation of that experience is shared by all its participants as well as the creators. It's rather an amazing thing, but this can also at times work against a game when not everyone is on the same page. Most of us can probably recall at one time or another either in a LARP or tabletop game when a particularly powerful or compelling moment was spoiled by an ill timed out of game reference, joke, a cell phone ringing, or something similar. Emotionally engaging scenes, particularly those involving creepy or scary themes depend on everyone involved being invested in what is happening, and the shared imaginative space we collectively seek to maintain is easily broken. Creating a memorable and effective game experience depends not only on staff and NPCs, but equally on the player's contributions as well, and there are some things all of us can do to help things along. You've paid your game fee for the weekend, you may as well help get the most you can out of it.
First, it's not just about you. You may have decided you're playing Max Power The Undefeated Hero who isn't scared of anything, isn't phased by anything, and comes off as a cocky showboat, but keep in mind how your role-play is effecting the game space for those around.If you go in with a group of your fellow PCs into a dark module building with some heavily costumed creepy monster, some brash comments here and there may be appropriate for you, an unending string of them may spoil the mood for your fellow players. Some players
really enjoy drinking in the flavor of a scene, they want to be frightened, sad, or otherwise pushed to experience how their character will react to intense situations. This can only happen for them, however, if the mood in a scene is maintained. Going overboard on giving silly nicknames to enemy villains, excessive smack-talk, or even worse breaking game and making movie or video game references and the like can instantly undo everything plot is trying to accomplish (and remember what they're working for is to entertain you). So, be aware of the roleplaying atmosphere when you enter a situation, and help to strengthen it. It's fine to roleplay your hero how you see him or her, but you don't want to steamroll other people's roleplay while you do so.
Second, mistakes happen, and sometimes you just have to roll with the retcon. NPCs coming into a game have a lot of information to absorb, and not everything is going to stick, so you may find that an NPC hook coming to take you on a mod somewhere gives you information that contradicts things you know to be true, or that it turns out later was inconsistent with other things going on. Have mercy on the poor fellow. Sometimes when an NPC is sent out it's with only a sparse briefing from a frazzled staff person being pulled in twelve directions, and they may get something wrong, or they may have been given a very in depth seventeen page briefing which means they've probably forgotten 90% of it. So, when you run into a situation where the person running your encounter ends up having to clarify a confusing situation due to conflicting or inconsistent information, get the real story and just let the rest slide. Mistakes will happen, and harping on them accomplishes little save to further embarrass the poor NPC who is already feeling bad for having screwed up the information they gave out in the first place, and we don't want our NPCs to feel bad. It's understandable that you may feel a lot of frustration in the moment, but be aware that obsessing verbally over this sort of thing can end up adding to the frustration of other players.
Third, it's not contest. Plot is trying to tell a story and create memorable experiences, they're not trying to beat the players. NPCs are told quite frequently 'play to entertain, not to win.' PCs are expected to play to win, but at the same time it's important to keep in mind that it's not you vs. the GM. The game is supposed to be fun for everyone, and when staff throws you a particularly daunting challenge or hard fight, more often then not it's because they want you to have the chance to be heroic, and they're hoping you'll succeed. If you do get thrown a no-win scenario, keep in mind that the aim is still to engage you in a story that is fun. Think back to epic
science fiction and fantasy you've read or watched, and how much sweeter the hero's triumph is when they finally claim victory from seemingly insurmountable odds. Compare that with your average Saturday morning cartoon where the heroes win every single time, it gets pretty boring.
Helping to maintain the atmosphere that plot is trying to create isn't just about being courteous to NPCs and your fellow players, it's about creating a better experience for you. If you find you're breaking character repeatedly because you're not into a scene, consider if there are things you can be doing to help improve things. If one person starts breaking game, most likely other people will be too, so the quality of any encounter is entirely dependent on what the people involved make of it.
How have you moved to make games more courteous? Does courtesy create a better feel of immersion? What are ways to appropriate roleplay challenging situations?
