Author Archives

Mike Pohjola

Mike Pohjola is a Finnish novelist, trans-media developer, game designer and entrepreneur. He has written and run dozens of larps, and several historical novels, YA books, theatre plays, and tabletop roleplaying games. His Master's Thesis Chorus Novus tried to understand the chorus of Greek tragedy through the lens of participatory art. He is also known for the Manifesto of the Turku School, published in 2000. He has founded two award-winning companies, that together have won an International Emmy Award, two Interactive Rockies, and a Prix Europa. Pohjola himself has been presented with the Finnish roleplaying scene lifetime award the Golden Dragon in 2010. Pohjola is a frequent speaker at media, fantasy, anime, role-playing conferences around the world including Poland, France, United States, Norway, Germany, and Italy. His topics include participation, trans-media, the roots of postmodern storytelling in prehistoric rituals, using games to change world, and almost driving his wife insane with a birthday game that turned into a human experiment. He has also designed the Age of the Tempest role-playing game, aimed for kids and beginners. The game is sold in book stores and toy stores around Finland, and will soon be published in English. Currently Pohjola is working on the environmental Baltic Warriors project. It will have seven larps and seven debates in seven Baltic Sea coastal cities. It is a trans-media story about the eutrophication of the sea... and zombie vikings.