Chimera 2009 - Highlights

Auckland Chimera
#21

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Perhaps I should run it again at next year’s Chimera? I wasn’t sure that I wanted to write another 20+ person larp for Chimera in 2010 (this one took me all year), but that way I could contribute to the timetable again without writing one. I talked to a few people who would have liked to play but it was booked out when they registered, and there’s definitely replay potential. And I’ll probably think of some improvements and changes that will make it a little different.

I reckon this is one of the great things about pregen larps, they can be turnkey games that can be re-run easily. With 18 games needed across the Chimera weekend, there’s room for both new games and old favourites to fill it out.[/quote]

That is a definite possibility. We may end up needing more than 18 games per weekend if Chimera continues to grow as well, so reruns are likely. There were definitely games I would’ve liked to play but couldn’t - Down and Out in Middenburg and A Serpent of Ash were two of them. Perhaps as part of the feedback form I can ask people to nominate games they wish to have rerun.

#22

My game (Jade Empire) happening! Two players pulled out at the last minute, but it went ahead! Huge thanks to Andrew playing Kei with barely a briefing and Gene for playing the difficult-but-essential Imperial Magistrate. Players did things with the characters I never expected (yay!), plots were resolved, and some excellent roleplaying was done. Surprisingly, nobody died! Huge highlight for me was players saying that they wanted to continue with their characters. :smiley: As an inaugural game, it was a success, and I look forward to the next one!

#23

I vote for re-runs, provided they’re not too great a proportion of the timetable. The main reason we didn’t come last year is because we’d already played most of the games :slight_smile: But one game per round should leave plenty of space, and there should be plenty of demand for something like Camelot.

Middenburg will end up on the web (it will be entered in the KapCon SDC), so if we don’t re-run it, someone else always can.

Wow. I’ve heard that word of mouth is the way of selling larps, but that’s quite a demonstration of its power.

So, did the con break even? And will you be expanding it further next year?

#24

I was completely blown away too. Normally getting people to register in a timely fashion is like getting blood from a stone!

We did rough numbers last night, and while the accounting isn’t complete, we are very definitely in the black. Hurray! :slight_smile: I can send you a copy of convention actuals if you’re curious (when they’re done) :slight_smile:

Expansion - we’re thinking about it. We’ll probably have a better idea of where we’re going next year after we send out feedback forms and hear what people have to say about what they liked, what they want more of, what they don’t want etc. Currently the big debate is whether or not to book the whole camp. Good stuff would include a dedicated dining hall, an extra indoor space, more beds, more privacy. Bad stuff includes riskier budget, difficulty in herding people, having the event spread out over a big space (Mordavians will recall the pain of the repeated inn-to-keep slog), and the possibility of it being unnecessary - we currently fit just fine into our current area, it allows us to run 2 indoor events and possibly even up to 3 outdoor events per round. Friday night was the only issue, where outdoors isn’t so much of an option.

#25

Lol. Quick quote note while I remember, during the Great Exhibition, I destictly heard the cry of “Is there a doctor in the House?!”

Had to suppress a laugh and smile for that…

#26

Perhaps I should run it again at next year’s Chimera? I wasn’t sure that I wanted to write another 20+ person larp for Chimera in 2010 (this one took me all year), but that way I could contribute to the timetable again without writing one. I talked to a few people who would have liked to play but it was booked out when they registered, and there’s definitely replay potential. And I’ll probably think of some improvements and changes that will make it a little different.
quote]

Haha funnily enough we were sitting at the airport talking about how can we convince Ryan to come down and run this in one of the rounds of Kapcon, or as a midyear LARP and where could we hold it. Might as well get as most use out of the work you put into good games as you can. I think over the last couple of years we have started to build back up those links between the Auckland and Wellington communities and hopefully this can kick start the Wellington LARPing community into running more regular LARPs again.

#27

Most excellent moment of the weekend for me was even captured on film (thank you, Juditninja). It was the final CIA/KGB gunslinging showdown between me and Zannii at Spy Hard. Ok, RP-wise, it might have been better if we’d managed to stop giggling, but it was just great.

#28

I was completely blown away too. Normally getting people to register in a timely fashion is like getting blood from a stone![/quote]

Ah, but you had highly desirable game spaces which might never be seen again going fast…

We did rough numbers last night, and while the accounting isn’t complete, we are very definitely in the black. Hurray! :slight_smile: I can send you a copy of convention actuals if you’re curious (when they’re done) :slight_smile:[/quote]

I’m not that curious, but knowing that its profitable is good - it means it can keep happening :slight_smile:

Well, you basically need three types of spaces: eating space, sleeping space, and game space. The first two seemed adequate for the time being (the food hall was crowded at times, but bearable; there was some hassle if you were gaming in that space, but not much; there were still empty bunks for future expansion). Game-space (number of games) is the limiting factor. So, the question is, would that extra space bring in enough extra people to make it financially viable?

Temporary space has less financial risk, but more weather risk. But unless its absolutely pissing down, a large tent or marquee should be fine. Its probably worth costing those options for next year, when you start thinking about how many game spaces you need.

#29

Highlight = Camelot
I really want to know what else was going on in the game, but am also keen to give a different character a go. :slight_smile:
Great costuming, roleplaying, setting and the perfect amount of plot (though it ran a little over time, right?)

#30

It started 0.75 hours late and ran for about 2.5 hours, so it actually ran a little shorter than the full three hours. It could probably happily fill out 3 or 4 hours. Especially if I ran the “several years later” final battle scene which I was planning if the game ended early due to irreconcilable character differences.

#31

Thanks for the attendance stats Anna, some healthy growth happening there. I think there is enough interest to continue expanding considerably, but there would be practical considerations.

Fitting everyone into a suitable venue is one, although Motu Moana does have room for expansion with the other building - even if it’s a bit of a walk. Using cars could solve some of that.

Another complication would be one big larp for 100+ players. It’s possible, but the size of the writing team would probably need to expand even further. Alternatively, the “one big game” might become two or more.

If you allowed it to grow to say 100 attendees next year, there would also be some interesting decisions around timetabling. There might be a shortage of games (or people to run them) for so many players (in fact, you were knocking close to that this year). Which would be terribly ironic, given that a year ago everyone was talking about how there too many games and organisers and not enough players. Which is why I think that re-running a few popular games could fill that gap.

Things can change quickly, and Chimera seems set to become a paradigm-shifting event for NZ larp. I wonder how large it could potentially grow? 200 people, most likely more? At what size would it outgrow Motu Moana and what larger venue would be suitable?

#32

How did The Final Voyage of the Mary Celeste go?

#33

Went well actually, considering it was apparently “a game on crack” according to Anna. There where maybe three actual humans on board the ship during the game…

#34

I am so miffed I missed this, due to family and work commitments.

In fact I’m fed up (and a bit ashamed) that I was not able to work with the GreatX writing team as they’ve done a fantastic job of it all. Maybe next year when I dont have a crawling horror to manage (ie a small baby)

I hope that all the paperwork from the various big games has been archived for future use; many of these big games can easily be used at other ocnventions, or even at future Chimera events (maybe leave a couple of years gap, though, so people forget the details else too much would be known in advance). There’s also a good chance that other Larp conventions would be willing to trade pregen scenarios around the globe…

I’m wondering how well all the catering went; last year I did the catering and for a weekend of hard work made such a tiny margin that it was not worth the effort (would have been better off using the time to play games). This year I think the caterers learnt fro mthe experience and the weekend food price was paid up front as part of the ticket rather than trying to guess and take food orders on the weekend?

Very glad to hear NZLARPS is still growing and gaining interest, and Chimera is leading the way. Make sure its all still around and larger than ever in 4 years’ time, when my offspring finally go to school and I have enough free time to start playing again…

#35

It was fun in a crazy kind of way. I don’t want to complain, but I feel I’m being typecast as a normal human. Next Chimera I want to play an alien, a ninja or a demon lesbian.

#36

A good plan. Provided there’s enough new (original or not run in Auckland before) games so that people don’t find themselves with nothing they can play.

I’d also suggest having some JeepForms around, either as a specific half-size stream (most are for ~4 players), or as pickups where games end early or people have an hour or two to kill.

#37

Haha for some reason for many LARPs I was getting typecast as an evil character, no idea why :wink:.

But your Captain was just such a damn good man that I had to save him in the end (and this game I don’t think I was supposed to be evil at all yay, just different). Had some fun interactions in that game with some of the characters. That game would have been nuts with props.

#38

How did the kraken attack go down?

#39

There was a kraken attack there? :open_mouth: :open_mouth: :open_mouth:
Damn, this game will be re-run, right? RIGHT?

#40

Kim did a fantastic job of the food. There was tonnes, it was delicious, and I think she said she was ~$300 under budget.