This is the fourth in a series of posts about the safety and calibration systems used in the New Orleans run of the larp End of the Line. The first was about the OK Check-in and the second about the Tap-Out. The third was about the Lookdown, and you should absolutely read it before moving on to this post. In fact, this next bit is … Continue reading The Two-Meaning Lookdown & Forcing Your Playstyle Preference On Others
This is the third in a series of posts about the safety and calibration systems used in the New Orleans run of the larp End of the Line. The first was about the OK Check-in and the second about the Tap-Out. The discussion of the Lookdown continues in my next post. The Lookdown is a bow-out mechanic – that is, a calibration mechanic that allows … Continue reading Toolkit: The “See No Evil” or Lookdown
This is the second in a series of posts about the safety and calibration systems used in the New Orleans run of the larp End of the Line. Today’s mechanic is so obvious that I would assume it’s been “invented” independently in a bunch of larp communities, although I’m relatively certain I hadn’t come across it before I introduced it in my calibration design for Inside … Continue reading Toolkit: The Tap-Out
This post is really about the OK check-in safety mechanic. But I like to talk, so there’s three paragraphs of preamble before I even get there. Two or three of the currently most influential techniques or concepts in player safety and playstyle calibration in our play communities were invented or significantly iterated in literally the last half year. I love this because even after decades it still … Continue reading Toolkit: The OK Check-In
This is the fourth part of a series on Opt-In, Opt-Out Design. These posts are intended to establish a bunch of concepts and basics before going into nitty gritty (case studies and so on). The first part was an introductory video. The second instalment was a text about why the opt-in, opt-out design philosophy is a good practical baseline, especially if your players have limited … Continue reading Basics of Opt-in, Opt-Out Design pt 4: Rage Quitting as a Measure of Your Expectation Management Skills
This is the third part of a series on Opt-In, Opt-Out Design. These posts are intended to establish a bunch of concepts and basics before going into nitty gritty (case studies and so on). The first part was an introductory video. The second instalment was a text about why the opt-in, opt-out design philosophy is a good practical baseline, especially if your players have limited … Continue reading Basics of Opt-in, Opt-Out Design pt 3: What They Need to Know at Signup
“Opt-in, opt-out design” = designing participation that empowers individual participants to continuously make informed choices about engaging in an experience as well as in specific aspects of that experience. Opt-in, opt-out design operates on the assumption that to feel curiosity and take initiatives, your player first needs to feel safe. (This is different from being safe, which is important for other reasons, and should be the … Continue reading Basics of Opt-In, Opt-Out Design, Part 2: Why?
My keynote from the Living Games Conference 2016 has been released, and having first re-watched it in that cringing way one always does I’m actually now quite happy to share it! It covers an insane amount of ground in 20 minutes, all of which this blog will go into in depth later. (I’m also referencing talks that John Stavropoulos and Maury Brown gave just before mine; they’re really … Continue reading Basics of Opt-In, Opt-Out Design, Part 1: Introductory Talk
I’m going to start off the toolkit series of posts with a really a-typical one, because today I’m writing about a tool that’s so new it doesn’t even have a name. And as is usually the case, talking about this online I was immediately told of an older, successfully play-tested example of almost exactly the same thing! So now we have a category of things. … Continue reading Toolkit: Let’s Name This Baby! (Bow-Out Mechanics)
I know, I totally named this blog Safety in Larp. But in something like seven places already I’ve referred to “safety” in quotation marks and made points about “larp safety” actually being only partly about safety. What is up with that? My main objection to the word is that safety suggests protection from danger. And when we talk about larp, there are many valid safety … Continue reading Dangers of Larp and of Dating
