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. Two physical copies are available in the public library system of every Knutepunkt host-country.

Larp Design: Creating Role-play Experiences

Country	Denmark
Published	2019 (Knudepunkt 2019)
Pages	428

In 2021 the book was revised and published in pdf-form on Library of Tampere University servers. New elements include: interactive index, interactive Table of Content and active links. Minor typos were addressed. This work was mostly carried out by Anne Serup Grove and Johanna Koljonen.

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
• Index (Only in pdf-version)

Downloads

• PDF publication of Larp Design: Creating Role-Play Experiences.