LARP game classification

nzLARPS
#1

What do you think of Steve’s proposed classification system for LARP systems?

  • Very useful, it would help me a lot
  • Handy but not significantly so
  • A bit pointless as it oversimplifies
  • What a waste of time, my vision cannot be classified so easily!

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(This has come from discussion in the other forum)

I propose a classification system for any LARP game based on a rating from 0-5 in Combat, Rules, Script (linearity), and Acting (role-play). This will help give a (very simple) summary of a particular system’s balance.

By this classification…

Mordavia would be something like C3-R2-S2-A3, (fair amount of combat but simple rules and almost freeform plot)
Skirmish might be C5-R4-S4-A1, (lots of combat, with rule structure and linear plot, and little acting)
Og was C4-R2-S3-A3 (lots of combat, but the language issue made role-play significant and there were few rules or NPCs)
Nibelungun I guess as being C1-R1-S2-A4 (practically no combat or rules, very pure role-play)

I think a high R and S are good for beginners and children, and kids in particular like a high C. A high A often only works if you have a lot of experienced players.

What do people thinkof this? Oversimplification with no merit, or handy rule of thumb for summarising?

#2

Interesting way of viewing a larp, but kind of like saying “Chocolate tastes like Sweet 3, Milk 2, Cocoa 5, Sour 0, Bitter 1 Salt 0”. You kinda have to be there to make sense of it all…

#3

I was trying to put my finger on what i thought, but Mike beat me to it.

#4

I’ll agree it has shortcomings (best way to know chocolate taste is to actually eat some of it) but it could at least give an initial assessment of the game balance for people considering playing. You’ll be able to tell if it is a role-playing heavy game suitable for experienced people, or a rules-heavy game suitable for novices. You’ll be able to tell how physical you need to be to play, and how much room there is for creativity, and so on. Not a substitute for a longer description or actual experience, but (IMHO) helpful as an initial first glance to get an outline of the GMs vision for where the game structure lies.

I’d like to see this key detailed on some web page on nzlarps.org, and then maybe used in a list of ‘Current active game’ summaries either on nzlarps.org and/or diatribe calendar.

This is a key for the game structure rather than content, so I dropped an initial idea to have ‘M’ to indicate amount of magic in the game (Og would be 0, Mordavia 4), ‘T’ for technology level (Og would be 0, Mordavia 2, Pirates 3, May Day 4, Nibbles 5). Still, it could be extended indefinitely until its completely unweildy and incomprehensible…