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What kind of communication style does your larp encourage? Is information about the natural way game – such as character descriptions or events that are going to interact in happen – secret for the players or can anyone read it? Is it actively facilitated that you share secrets before the game through talking, or through physical action and body languagestart? Communication style Transparency can be adjusted through the charactersmake it easier for players to help each other play and create a stronger drama, through workshops, through scenography design, or through simply telling but it will ruin any surprises for the players what you want. A physical communication style might be more thrilling, letting There are also intermediate possibilities where there are secrets for some of the players immerse more through using , but not all of their senses, but a more verbal game might be easier or where the players themselves choose what to involve new players in, as well as being more realistic in many settingsreveal.
==Representation of theme==
''Abstraction vs. realism''
How does your larp represent the reality of the setting? Is realism your goal? Or do you use abstract or even surrealistic elements to focus on the feeling and atmosphere of the setting or to highlight a particular aspect of the game? If the goal of the game is to create the atmosphere of a prison camp, you might do this in two ways: by trying to simulate an actual prison camp or by using abstract or surreal elements to create the feeling of one.
==Openness==
''Transparency vs. secrecy''
Is information about the game – such as character descriptions or events that are going to happen – secret for the players or can anyone read it? Is it actively facilitated that you share secrets before the game start? Transparency can make it easier for players to help each other play and create a stronger drama, but it will ruin any surprises for the players. There are also intermediate possibilities where there are secrets for some of the players, but not all, or where the players themselves choose what to reveal.
==Meta-techniques==
''Intrusive vs. discrete''
[[Meta-technique|Metatechniques]] are techniques for giving information to the players, but not the characters, during the game. Examples can be “inner” [[monologues]] that are played out during the larp. The players can hear these, the characters cannot, but nonetheless, they can be an aid for creating stronger drama. If metatechniques are used in a game, they might be intrusive or discrete. Examples of intrusive metatechniques are techniques that force all other players to stop while it happens, while a more discrete technique might be, for example, having access to a special room where players can go to act out scenes from the past or the future. This fader illustrates the combination of the amount of meta-techniques used and their degree of intrusiveness.
==Game master style==
Some organizers consider their job done when the larp has started; then, they leave everything in the hands of the players. Others influence the game in different ways as it goes along. Are you an active or a passive game master? Game mastering might also be of different sorts: the discrete ones, like sending instructed players into the game, or the extremely intrusive ones, like stopping the game and instructing the players to do a scene again differently.
==Player pressure==''Abstraction vs. realism''
''Pressure How does your larp represent the reality of the setting? Is realism your goal? Or do you use abstract or even surrealistic elements to focus on players (hardcore) vsthe feeling and atmosphere of the setting or to highlight a particular aspect of the game? If the goal of the game is to create the atmosphere of a prison camp, you might do this in two ways: by trying to simulate an actual prison camp or by using abstract or surreal elements to create the feeling of one. pressure on characters (pretense)''
There are some things in larp that are difficult to play out. Hun- ger, violence, sleep deprivation, drinking, sex and drug use might be examples. If you want to include these elements in your game, how do you do it? Do you put the pressure on the players as well as the characters by using with hardcore methods such as real alcohol, real food deprivation, and waking people at night? Do you shelter the players from the pressure on the characters by using replacements like boffer swords, fake alcohol, and telling the players to pretend to be hungry or sleep deprived? Hungry players will, of course, feel what it is like to be hungry, but their ability to role-play and enjoy other aspects of the game might be hampered.
How much freedom does [[Meta-technique|Metatechniques]] are techniques for giving information to the players have in your , but not the characters, during the game. Examples can be “inner” [[monologues]] that are played out during the larp? Are . The players can hear these, the characters cannot, but nonetheless, they free to do as they want once the can be an aid for creating stronger drama. If metatechniques are used in a game has started, they might be intrusive or do you control their possible actions through game master involvementdiscrete. Examples of intrusive metatechniques are techniques that force all other players to stop while it happens, while a more discrete technique might be, strict character possibilitiesfor example, destinies having access to a special room where players can go to act out scenes from the past or prethe future. This fader illustrates the combination of the amount of meta-decided endings or events? Do you present them with a railroad or a sandbox?techniques used and their degree of intrusiveness.
The Mixing Desk of Larp is a work in progress. It’s a pedagogical tool aimed for presenting and structuring some of the most important design choices of larp in a convenient form. There are plenty of other faders that could be part of the Mixing Desk, and the framework is open to extensions''Pressure on players (hardcore) vs.pressure on characters (pretense)''
Getting There are some things in larp that are difficult to know about all of thisplay out. Hun- ger, violence, sleep deprivation, you might be eager to try out it alldrinking, manipulating sex and adjusting all the faders to your heart’s content. This drug use might be a bad idea – and it might not even be possibleexamples. If you push all want to include these elements in your game, how do you do it? Do you put the faders pressure on a sound equalizer all the way to players as well as the topcharacters by using with hardcore methods such as real alcohol, the only thing that happens is that the sound quality gets worse. The same thing might happen when real food deprivation, and waking people at night? Do you over-adjust shelter the faders of players from the Mixing Desk of Larp. When all pressure on the faders are adjustedcharacters by using replacements like boffer swords, fake alcohol, you might dilute and telling the effect players to pretend to be hungry or sleep deprived? Hungry players will, of the most important parts of your larp. Think about when course, feel what it is like to adjust a faderbe hungry, but their ability to role-play and when to leave in a more neutral positionenjoy other aspects of the game might be hampered.
Also, fader adjustment might place restrictions on other fader choices. Making a larp with only player created characters might force you to use minimalist scenography, simply because you have no idea what characters the players will create. Pushing the metatechniques-fader all the way to intrusive might make it impossible to have a goal of 360-degree illusion, since the metatechniques will breach the illusion, and so forth.
no edit summary
Of course, there are endless numbers of faders that could possibly have been adjusted on the Mixing Desk of Larp. Here are some of the most important parameters that can be adjusted when making a larp. The ambition is that other larpwriters will add their own faders and remove the ones they don’t find fruitful when using this framework.
==Communication styleOpenness==
''Physical Transparency vs. verbalsecrecy''
==Scenography==
''360-degree illusion vs. modeling''
How does your larp look? Do you aim for a [[360° ]] illusion, where everything the players see around them is part of the larp? Or do you use a minimalist approach, where you only pay attention to the objects that have a function in the game? Do you accept that an object represents something else than what it really is?* [[360°]]
==Character creation responsibility==
Who creates the characters? Do the organizers write them? Do the players? Or maybe they are created together during a pre-game workshop? Combinations of these are also possible; for example, where the organizers create the characters, but the players develop them during a workshop before the larp. Player-created characters might make the players more attached to the characters and relieves the organizers of some of the work. On the other hand, organizer-created characters might make it easier to create a setting and fiction coherent with your vision.
==Game mastering==
''Active vs. passive''
Some organizers consider their job done when the larp has started; then, they leave everything in the hands of the players. Others influence the game in different ways as it goes along. Are you an active or a passive game master? Game mastering might also be of different sorts: the discrete ones, like sending instructed players into the game, or the extremely intrusive ones, like stopping the game and instructing the players to do a scene again differently.
==Story engine==
What motivates the players in your game? Having something to win or a goal to obtain, be it individually or collectively, can be an easy way to motivate players, especially for beginners. This is the competition approach. On the other hand, you often get more interesting stories and stronger player experiences when the players collaborate – for example, by deliberately getting their characters into trouble, i.e. [[Playing to lose|playing to lose]].
==Loyalty to setting==
Larpwrights often have to consider the tradeoff between playability and plausibility. When making a historical game, for example, having a female factory owner might be highly implausible. However, it might be very playable – creating lots of interesting drama and intrigues for the players to use in the larp. In most games, you leave out the characters that have nothing to contribute to the drama, even though it would be plausible to have them there. Sometimes, you make unlikely twists to make the outcome of a story unpredictable. How true will you be to your setting? A plausible story might be a requirement for players to believe and immerse into the fiction. But, the players also need drama and often the least plausible setups create the most drama.
==Communication style== ''Active Physical vs. passiveverbal'' What kind of communication style does your larp encourage? Is the natural way to interact in the game through talking, or through physical action and body language? Communication style can be adjusted through the characters, through workshops, through scenography design, or through simply telling the players what you want. A physical communication style might be more thrilling, letting the players immerse more through using all of their senses, but a more verbal game might be easier to involve new players in, as well as being more realistic in many settings.
==Bleed-in==
* [[Bleed]]
==Representation of theme==
==Player freedomMeta-techniques==
''Sandbox Intrusive vs. railroadingdiscrete''
==The cost of complexity and the restrictions of the fadersPlayer pressure==
==Open framework==
Some possible faders that have been discussed, for example in the Knutepunkt 2013 book article is
* Representation of time (Chronology)
* Player freedom (Sand box vs. railroading)
* Random elements
* Degree of pervasiveness
