Another for the What-If pile: A Larp Convention

Community Game ideas
#1

Don’t mind me, I’m just throwing another “Wouldn’t it be great if…” idea into the mix.

I’ve always wanted to go to game conventions, like Battlecry and KapCon. Unfortunately, I don’t really like tabletop. And I don’t do wargaming. And the only card game I play is Magic and only very very casually. So conventions don’t really have a lot to offer for me, other than the big evening larps.

What if we were to have a larp gaming convention, modelled on the tabletop gaming convention model of morning and afternoon slots, several games running in each, prizes being awarded for various things we respect in the hobby of larping, and a big evening larp on either (or both!) Friday and Saturday.

There are a lot of really good pre-written games out there I’d really like to try running or playing. Wellington regularly produces them, and if what IdiotSavant says is correct, then some of them are even publically available to run. Auckland has its share of popular pre-written games, such as Tony Shirley’s Couples games. While pre-written characters would work best for the small period of time that a convention game would allow, short freeform scenarios could work well too. Speaking of Freeform, it might also be a great canvas to bust out some of those Freeform murder mysteries on.

A convention would provide a great way to try out experimental larp concepts, to write short and intense scenarios, to spend a weekend gaming where you don’t necessarily have to devote your whole weekend to it, but you can if you want to.

Would something like this appeal to all you fine larpers out there? Would it be worth it? Or should we instead concentrate our energies on developing a decent larping sector in an existing convention, such as Battlecry? (whose organiser has invited us to for a few years now)

Thoughts?

#2

I support this wholeheartedly. I think its a great idea, easy for newbs to get a taste of the larp scene. As well as for the rest of to try out new things and experiment.

I do think that you should look at joining this idea onto Battlecry. We have been looking at expanding and we have offered NzLarps the opportunity to put something on a couple of times now. So maybe NzLarps should answer our call and help expand Battlecry.

#3

I’d get behind this and bring whoever I could get my hands on. I’d really like to do a multi-day camp, but I don’t believe we have the numbers.

Here’s what I suggested for September 2007 back in April 2006 (slightly tweaked):

[quote=“Exquire”]Three day camp doing everything that is LARP.

All (or most) nzLARPS projects and affiliates represented and played/done for about three hours each. There’d be plenty of OOC time, social stuff, workshops, and importantly, the game factory.

The game factory:
A room full of whiteboards, big bits of paper, felt tips, computers, printers, and experienced GMs (ok, maybe one of each of the above). Their purpose: Churn out LARPs. One every three hour workshop, while another game is going on.
Into this room go a game writer and an idea, and out comes a ready-to-test game! This would happen at least three times at the camp and the testing ground is fertile!

At the start of the event everyone pools their resources (well, most of them) for use in any event during the weekend. This makes a big bank of stuff for players and organisers to use.

In addition to the manufactured games, established projects and affiliates would get a go.

Here’s an example of what the program could end up:

Friday night:
6:30 till 9pm: bus-game on the way… (and stop for dinner)
9:30 till 11pm: Powhiri and about-this-weekend-ness.
11:30 till 1:15am: Nightmare Circle
-or-
Nibelungen

Saturday:
10:30 till lunch: First game factory
-or-
Stargate
-or-
Tryst
Lunch topic: Big fantasy overseas
2pm till 5pm: Second game factory
-or-
‘Couples’
-or-
'Executive Decision
Dinner: Masquerade
After dinner: Vampire ball. Half IC half OOC…
Midnight: Game from second factory session.

Sunday:
10:30am: Third game factory session
-or-
Fine costumes “howto”
-or-
Skirmish
Lunch: OOC and presentations from our affiliates.
1:30: Game from third factory session
5pm: OOC bus home…

Following week: committee elections/reelections

Sheesh, that’s full, and without some key games like Warhammer.
Anyway, I reckon a year and a half from now we should aim to get 100 people from around the country to this.[/quote]

A convention could have a similar timeline, and nearly all of the same items (updated of course). I wonder if that would increase the number of people that came or decrease it.

I think this idea is very do-able as soon as we can get a hundred more people.

#4

A long weekend that everyone has and it is not too hot a time of the year that everyone is going to the beach would make it better. The two day thing at battl;ecry would be good and you could attach it alongside so players that are going for the LArp convention could also participate The problem is that if the Venue for Battlecry changes so would your Larp location…

I would think you need to keep it in the same area every year. The first couple of days could Be Larp workshops and games from different systems with the final couple of days being the Big event (Convocation of the National Fantasy LArp…)

#5

While I’m interested in the idea of a national fantasy larp, and would probably help with it, I am not interested in integrating it in the idea of a larp convention (other than maybe having it as one of the games available)

My reason for this is that organising a larp convention would already be a logistical nightmare, converging it with a big national larp would put it into the realms of “Oh look, I’ve had a nervous breakdown”. Not to mention it would affect what kind of venue we have - a convention would allow us to use a function centre without having to worry about accomodation while attaching the NFL (National Fantasy Larp, not the National Football League) would mean we have to organise it with accomodation for the out of towners, not mention suitable spaces for a fantasy larp. Unless the fantasy larp part and the convention part of the events were held at different venues, in which case we may as well have two events.

I support the idea of a national fantasy larp (and reckon Jared’s Sundereth thing is probably a good candidate) but the whole point of a larp convention is that we can try short, one-off, different-genred games (with fantasy, of course, still being an option but not the main event)

Also, ‘first couple of days’ and ‘next couple of days’ makes it sound like you have a week’s worth of activities in mind, and as much as I would love to, I can’t take a week off life for larping (uni and/or work would get cross with me)

Er, in short, I agree with your first paragraph and seriously disagree with your second. I’m not keen on what Craig posted with “larp workshops” - even he admited when we were chatting yesterday that those are a relic from the days when larp settings and GMs were scarce on the scene. The last thing we need at the moment is new larps. And I’m only semi-interested in seminars. I want to play games. Though I guess I really should be asking what everyone would like to do.

#6

A convention with several shorter games would also help with the Auckland Problem: having too many larps.

By grouping together a bunch of larps at a convention, players can try many of the different larps available at one place and time and organisers can be assured of a reasonable turnout.

The possible downside is limitations of the venue. If it’s an indoor venue, that rules out a lot of outdoor concepts. And vice versa. A big indoor/outdoor venue like Motu Moana could allow for two larps to be running at a time - one indoor and one indoor/outdoor. The other venue issue is that it’s unlikely that the venue would be the first option for most of the larps, they might have somewhere that would be more suitable. But that’s one downside among many upsides.

How many larps could you fit into a one-day larp con? Maybe six, running a couple of hours long in parallel pairs with meals between? So:

START

  • 10am to 12pm: larps A and B
    LUNCH
  • 1pm to 3pm: larps C and D
    AFTERNOON TEA
  • 5pm to 7pm: larps E and F
    FINISH. Dinner and socialising? Or a big evening larp with everyone?

I agree with Anna that a con focused entirely on running larps would be much easier to organise. It would also be ideal for showing new larpers what’s on offer without requiring too much from them (i.e. not a whole weekend or committment to one larp).

#7

There’s a nice pre-booking system that works well for conventions.

You get the organisers to all write a brief blurb about their game. Then the attendees all give priority from which larp they’d most like to attend to least.

Then you analyse the result to try to get everyone their first choices while also trying to fill all the larps with sufficient players and having them all fit into the timetable.

#8

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]There’s a nice pre-booking system that works well for conventions.

You get the organisers to all write a brief blurb about their game. Then the attendees all give priority from which larp they’d most like to attend to least.

Then you analyse the result to try to get everyone their first choices while also trying to fill all the larps with sufficient players and having them all fit into the timetable.[/quote]

Yeah, I was pretty much thinking of ripping off a convention model wholesale, only substituting larp in place of tabletop and wargaming :smiley:

I was definitely thinking of a big evening larp. Maybe one of the ones written for KapCon (still want to a rerun of Flight of the Hindenberg, and Sanctuary was by all accounts a lot of fun and two of the writers have already said they’d be groovy with us running0, or maybe one specifically written for the event.

If we ran the convention over the weekend, we could have a big larp on both the Friday and Saturday evening.

#9

If we could think of a reasonably cheap, central venue that would lend itself to a larp convention (ideally, between five and six fairly nondescript rooms, a kitchen(ette), bathrooms and a largeish hall for the evening larps)

The biggest problem would be likely finding somewhere affordable. Maybe we could hire out school somewhere? School’s are underfunded and need money, yeah? Proper convention centres would probably be waaaaaay out of our meagre budget. I wonder how much Battlecry gets Freeman’s Bay Community Centre for.

is thinking aloud, welcomes practical feedback

#10

What about outdoor play? Multi-room play? Multiple larps at once? Those things may be hard to achieve in a typical convention centre or hall.

Motu Moana is a bit out of the way, but it would allow for all those things. For $320 you could have Puketane and the Hall for a day, which would cover a number of bases in terms of rooms and keep things close together. Among 50 or more people that’d be perfectly affordable.

The Hall is actually the perfect layout for Flight of the Hindenburg and Sanctuary - a large hall with four small rooms off it. One of them is the kitchen, but hey.

It’s very versatile, I guess that’s why we use it so much.

#11

Which one is Puketane and how did you get that number? (I remembered Motu Moana being more expensive)

#12

Puketane is the “keep”, opposite the hall. It costs a minimum of $270 per day:

crash.ihug.co.nz/~scoutak/motumo … etane.html

The Hall is $50 per day if you hire it in conjunction with Puketane:

crash.ihug.co.nz/~scoutak/motumoana/whare.html

Total $320. Although, strictly that’s for the minimum of 30 people. For 50 people it would be $450 + $50 = $500. Still only $10 a head.

#13

Yeah, that website is out of date like whoa. Minimum is 35 and the price has gone up to $10 per head per day. Found out the hard way with Wolfgang :unamused:

Not that it’s that much more expensive on the whole. We could get it for the weekend for approx $21 a head.

Hmm. That’s looking on the viable side. That would allow for at least three larps to run side by side, with potential for more. The hall is big enough to use for a big evening larp.

#14

Thanks for the support Anna, I haven’t had much feedback on Sundereth.
I also agree, a larp convention wouldn’t work with a parallel National Larp. But it would be a great way to advertise & promote it.

#15

[quote=“Anna K”]Yeah, that website is out of date like whoa. Minimum is 35 and the price has gone up to $10 per head per day. Found out the hard way with Wolfgang :unamused:

Not that it’s that much more expensive on the whole. We could get it for the weekend for approx $21 a head.[/quote]

Ah. Pity they haven’t kept it up to date.

Puketane and Hall with 50 people for one day would be $550 then, I take it. That’s still only $11 a head, one dollar more. The whole day might be doable for something like $30 or $40, depending on how it was catered, materials, and other expenses.

Yes, the hall suits well. And you could do three larps simultaneously if one was entirely outside or just used the dining room in Puketane.

This whole idea is quite exciting for me. It’s hard for me to put whole weekends or a bunch of different days aside for larp, but if I could attend 4 larps in one day that would be awesome.

I’d also be happy to help run one, say Flight of the Hindenburg. That would be ideal for an evening game for everyone in the Hall as it’s written for 60 people.

#16

I’m trying to think off what costs I’ve overlooked. Conventions usually aren’t catered but I’ve noticed that Battlecry have snack foods and drinks on sale, and they have arrangement with Hell Pizza for slightly cheaper pizzas ordered in bulk. So that would knock out worrying about food, which is always a hassle.

I guess there would be minimal costs involved with promotion, maybe prizes if we were running contests, and I really can’t think of anything else. We have the gear library which is pretty well equiped. I’d be keen to keep the costs down just we wouldn’t squillions of people through the door just to break even.

Would a one day convention or a weekend convention work better? If we ran two slots of games per day, three games per slot, plus two big evening larps, then we’d cram a whopping 14 larps into one weekend. :open_mouth:

Edited to add: If we book Motu Moana for the whole weekend (which would be Friday evening-Sunday afternoon for the same cost as Saturday/Sunday) then we can offer accomodation to out of towners.

#17

I’m not really a convention person, but I can’t think of anything more frustrating than having two streams of larp running at the same time and three blocks of games running over a whole weekend. Generally, I prefer a game to run for as long as possible (Friday night to Sunday afternoon is good).

Having to stop a game and start another would really annoy me.

#18

I tend to agree. Longer is better for most games. Prehaps we could have a full duration game as well as shorter ones.

#19

Generally, I tend to agree, but idea would be that these games are designed to be played in a couple-of-hour time slot.

Would you attend if there was a specific game that caught your fancy?

#20

I love my LARPS. It’d probably only take one of them to catch my fancy before I’d be most enthusiastic about going but I’d still prefer a long game to a series of short games.

There is something about the whole idea of several games that appeals to the munchkin in me. Day game xp for several games in the same weekend can’t be all bad.