Kjærlighet i fornedringens tid

Kjærlighet i fornedringens tid (Love in the age of debasement) was a game run in Norway and Sweden in 2001 - 2010.

The game was first run as a result of Erlend Eidsem Hansens Dogma 99 Vow of chastity. In September 2009, the concept was redesigned and tightened as a part of the first lineup of larps in the founding months of Laivfabrikken Oslo after their first Pitchforum.

Summary

We are in Norway (alt. Sweden). The time is now. You are a couple living in Norway or are having a short, not especially spectacular holiday in Norway. You meet at a cafè. The meeting developes into a serious talk, an explosion or implosion of emotions. You are playing a couple that have been together for a while (6 month and up to 2 years). Not living together. It is about the confrontations that might show up, when we are forced or stumbled into making a stand. It is about our realtionships, when we grasp that somethings does not work. The critical moment when we have to understand that..

this might be the end
this might be the start of something new and perhaps more sincere

We are trying to grasp the moment when a couple realizes that their crisis is a fact, we are aiming at the very eye of the storm. At least one of the involved parties will be put to the test: How do we experience love in an age where it would seem that it so often don`t work out?

Techniques

• A Dogma 99 game
• Slow take-off
• Slow Landing
• Monologue
• Ars Amandi (a prequel to the technique later known as Ars Amandi)
• Keyscenes triggered by music
• Pre-emptive characters
• Stream of Consciousness Characterwriting
• Kutt

Setting and Themes

This is a larp belonging to the genrè of kitchensink realism set to an environment of a modernday city. The gamelocation is a cafè with tables and chairs. There are music playing in the background. The themes are dysfunctions that might arise in a relationship. One partner wanting to be able to have sex with others, control-issues, conflict avoidance, not being able to tell the needs to a partner, feeling of loneliness, attentionseeking and more. It was originally coined as a critique on the lack of honesty around commitment in modernday relationships. The primary theme were lack of ableness to communicate and talk about the subject matter most of the characters being stuck in their own personal perception of what the problem in the relationship might be related to.

Characters

Characters were grouped in couples two and two. Some charactercouples might well be representing non-hetrosexual relationships, although a few is based on the societies expectations of behaviour according to gender in relation to pregnancy, male domination and or female submission.

Editions

It has been run in the following cities: Malmø (SydCon 2001), Stockholm (Knutpunkt 2002), Oslo (Larpfactory 2009), Vesterås (Prolog 2010), Fiskeboda (Knutpunkt 2010), Trondheim 2010 (Larpfactory).

Documentation

• Review of the 2001 version of the game by Lars Wingård - http://laivforum.net/entries/14-Review-av-Kj%C3%A6rlighet-i-fornedringens-tid

Articles

• The pre-emptive character - (Bloggarticle by Eirik Fatland about the characterconcepts) - http://larpwright.efatland.com/?p=214

Video presentation

• One of the runs of the game was filmed by Jana Pouchlá (Czech Republic) at Knutpunkt 2010

Photo Links

• photos from the 2009 run for the Laivfabrikken i Oslo - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yunyard/sets/72157622244313213/
• photos from the 2010 run at Knutpunkt 2010 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/haakenlid/sets/72157624604603202/

External Links

• larpfactory description (in norwegian) - http://laivfabrikken.no/love_in_the_age_of_debasement/index.html
• Gamedescription for the 2010 (in english) run at Knutpunkt 2010 - http://knutpunkt.se/Members/erlend/love-in-the-age-of-debasement-kjaerlighet-i-fornedringens-tid/

Photo Gallery

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  In-game photo of the Knutpunkt 2010 run in the manor of Fiskeboda. (Photo by Håken Lid)

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  Ars Amandi (a prequel to the technique). In-game photo of the Knutpunkt 2010 run at Fiskeboda. (Photo by Håken Lid)

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  Ars Amandi (a prequel to the technique). In-game photo of the Knutpunkt 2010 run at Fiskeboda. (Photo by Håken Lid)

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  In-game photo of the Oslo 2009 run at Sagene Lunsjbar. (Photo by Li Xin)

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  In-game photo of the Oslo 2009 run at Sagene Lunsjbar. (Photo by Li Xin)

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  Debrief photo of Knutpunkt 2010 run at Fiskeboda (Photo by Håken Lid)

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  Demonstration of Brems (Associated with Kutt) prior to the Slow take-off. Pre-brief photo of the Laivfabrikken 2009 run at Sagene Lunsjbar. (Photo by Li Xin)