Ah. Sarcasm is a form of lying, I sometimes misunderstanddishonesty in written format.
On the up side are still using using your manifesto. It has some good points in it.
Okay, I’ll stop using sarcasm in written conversation with you then. For future reference, when someone appears to suddenly change their mind with no explanation then it’s usually sarcasm.
I believe that the MacLarp manifesto would be extremely effective in growing a larp. However, I also believe that a larp that followed all the action points would be filled with extremely bad roleplay, have a very unhealthy player culture, and would never improve.
A couple of the points in the manifesto are extremely anti-social. Encouraging violence against players who attempt to leave is psychopathic, it’s like a criminal gang or a cult or something… “nobody leaves the MacFamily”. It would work, as cults and gangs often do flourish. But it would be immoral.
Some of the other action points are less clearly immoral. Some are morally neutral but would produce a larp I wouldn’t want to play in. And some are fine, like Action Point 1 about making it fantasy, but not reasonable as a requirement for all larp.
Let’s look at your points.
Yes. But different people want different things. Not everyone wants fantasy power gaming. Lots of people do, but plenty of people don’t. It’s good to cater to a variety of tastes. Lots of people don’t like fantasy. That’s where the MacLarp manifesto’s Action Point 1 is bad for the community, it only caters to one taste.
As a community, yes we should. It is good for there to be larps that cater for new players with no kit and no idea how to roleplay.
However, not every larp needs to cater for new players. Some larps can be invitation only, or the organisers can demand a certain standard right from the start. Once players have got the hang a larp that has low expectations of them as a beginner, they may also be able to attend larps that have high expectations.
For example, I would say that Skirmish has relatively low expectations of new players and Mordavia had high expectations. Mordavia expected everything that Skirmish does from new players like knowing the rules, not being violent, and generally playing well with others. But Mordavia also expected a high standard of costume, and for players to stay in character all the time. We helped people with their costume, but we wouldn’t let people play in no costume or in something really bad. As a result of these high standards, Mordavia usually achieved its goal of being extremely immersive. Skirmish doesn’t have this as a goal, so it doesn’t require high standards of that type, which makes it more accessible to new players. Having a variety of standards and goals in the community is good, it gives players a range of options. Options are good.
The MacLarp Manifesto doesn’t mention helping people develop. It will allow people to stick with bad roleplay, a crappy boffer and a nylon tabard for the rest of their lives. The MacLarp Manifesto is happy for the roleplay to stay crap forever, so long as there are lots of players. So you don’t actually agree with The MacLarp manifesto, you’re making assumptions that it’s better than it is.
The MacLarp manifesto isn’t interested in improving the game. It is only interested in getting more players. It doesn’t care if the game is bad. In fact, Action Point 9 encourages the game to be bad as a way of ensuring splitting.
NZLARPS has a self-declared mission to bring larp to the people. So yes, it is the duty of the committee of the society to do what you say. That’s why I’m organising Grand Battle. It’s not for my benefit, but an effort to introduce lots of people to larp-like activity. And yes, this will benefit everyone who wants big larps.
But it’s not the duty of every single larp organiser to grow the community. Individual organisers have the right to run whatever larp they want to. If they choose to impose a duty or mission on themselves to grow the community then that’s nice. But it’s not required of them, and in some cases I wouldn’t want them to do it.
It is perfectly alright to organise a small invitation-only larp for experienced larpers. Just like you might do for pen-and-paper roleplaying. It is perfectly alright for people to organise larps that only have a small market. This is a hobby, and it’s everyone’s right to do whatever they like with it.