Larp Design: Creating Role-play Experiences

Larp Design: Creating Role-play Experiences is a 2019 book about larp design. It was edited by Johanna Koljonen, Jaakko Stenros, Anne Serup Grove, Aina D. Skjønsfjell and Elin Nilsen.

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Foreword by Johanna Koljonen, Jaakko Stenros, Anne Serup Grove, Aina D. Skjønsfjell and Elin K. Nilsen

Part I. The Foundations of Larp Design

• Basic Concepts in Larp Design by Jaakko Stenros, & Markus Montola
• How Real Is Larp? by Simo Järvelä
• An Introduction to Bespoke Larp Design by Johanna Koljonen
• Larp and Seriousness by Jaakko Stenros
• How to Pick Your Larp Idea by Bjarke Pedersen
• Learn Design by Rerunning Larps by Oliver Skjødt Nøglebæk

Part 2. Designing What Happens Before Runtime

2.1 The Pre-larp Process

• Designing the Pre-Larp Process by Martine Svanevik & Johanna Koljonen
• Designing Ahead of Participant Needs by Karin Edman
• Describing What Actually Happens During the Larp by Henry Piers Towsner & J Li
• Costumes for Real Bodies by Kerstin Örtberg & Anne Serup Grove

2.2 On Site Before the Runtime

• How to Schedule the Participants’ Time on Site by Alma Elofsson
• How to Design a Workshop by Lizzie Stark
• How to Run Your Workshop by Markus Montola

Part 3. Designing the Runtime

3.1 How to Make Larps Where Stories Happen

• How to Structure a Larp by Kaisa Kangas
• Transparency in Larp by Evan Torner
• Bolvaerk: Surprise Horror by Søren Ebbehøj & Kasper Friis Hansen
• Creating Shared Recollections by Marco Bielli & Chiara Tirabasso
• Narrative Design by Simon Brind
• Emergent Stories and Directed Narratives by Troels Barkholt-Spangsbo & Jesper Heebøll Arbjørn
• How to Make your Sandbox a Playground by Mo Holkar
• Amusement Park Design by Johanna Koljonen
• The Beginning and the End by Kaisa Kangas

3.2 How to Design a Playable Fiction

• Functional Design by Kaisa Kangas
• Creating or Conveying Cultures by Martin Nielsen & Grethe Sofie Bulterud Strand
• Building a Layered Community by Alessandro Giovannucci & Andrea Giovannucci
• This Is Not an Edularp! by Tina Leipoldt
• Designing for Equality by Frederikke Sofie Bech Høyer
• Designing for Intersectional Identities by Kat Jones, Mo Holkar, and Jonaya Kemper
• Accessibility as Playability by Eleanor Saitta & Sebastian F. K. Svegaard
• Designing for Queer and Trans Players by Eleanor Saitta & Sebastian F. K. Svegaard
• Designing Larp for Children by Merli Juustila

3.3 How to Design Playable Characters

• Basics of Character Design by Juhana Pettersson
• Who Creates the Characters? by Karijn van der Heij
• Co-Creative Design with Players by Mo Holkar
• Designing a Character Description by Evan Torner
• Efficient Character Writing for Big Teams by Edin Janković Šumar
• Homework as Player Preparation by Laura Kröger
• Collaborative Character Creation by Joanna Piancastelli
• Writing Realistic, Non-Exploitative Characters by Laura Wood

3.4 How to Design Mechanics and Rules

• Opt-out and Playstyle Calibration Mechanics by Johanna Koljonen
• Designing the Mechanics You Need by Danny Wilson
• Putting It All Together: House of Craving by Danny Wilson
• Designing Playable Acid Trips by Troels Barkholt-Spangsbo, Jonas Trier-Knudsen, Søren Ebbehøj, Anders Lyng Ebbehøj, and Klaus Meier Olsen
• The Notebook Mechanic by Bjarke Pedersen
• Class Privilege and Conflict Escalation by Kaisa Kangas
• Larping the Blues by Iva Vávrová & Kateřina Holendová
• Metatechniques by Anna Westerling & Anders Hultman
• Portraying Sexual Content in Larp by Frida Lindegren
• The Language of Consent by Susan Mutsaers
• Portraying Violence in Larps by Martine Svanevik
• Meaningful Character Death by Stefan Deutsch

3.5 How to Design a Playable Environment

• Spatial Design for Larps by Søren Ebbehøj, Signe Løndahl Hertel, and Jonas Trier-Knudsen
• Geometry of Conversations by J Li
• The Bus Stop Mechanic by Simon Lindman Svensson
• The Piss Room Juhana Pettersson
• The Fundamentals of Sound Design for Larp Anni Tolvanen & Irrette Melakoski
• Darkness As Scenography Tuomas Hakkarainen & Katri Lassila

3.6 How to Runtime Gamemaster

• Simulating an Outside World by Simon Lindman Svensson
• Using Discord in a Cyberpunk Setting by Ericka Paige Skirpan
• Using Runtime Directors by Anna Westerling & Anders Hultman
• The Expression Wall by Maury Elizabeth Brown
• How to Run Freeform by Evan Torner
• How to Run Edularp by Josefin Westborg

Part 4. After Runtime

• Post-Play Activities by Maury Elizabeth Brown
• How to Gather Feedback from Players by Annika Waern

Part 5. How to Export Nordic Larp

• Nordic Style Larps in Other Traditions by Maury Elizabeth Brown & Ericka Paige Skirpan
• Collaborating with Theatre and other Arts by James Lórien MacDonald

Other

• Glossary
• Author Biographies