Note: I currently don't have access to the plethora of cards that I received, so I will update this post when I get access.
The Place: Origins Game Fair 2011
The Time: June 22nd - June 26th
I got a chance to go to Origins as a press member this year for the blog. It's a really great opportunity to get a chance to dig in and rub elbows with some of the brightest minds in LARP. I'm going to start by talking about the LARP aspects of the con, and follow it up with some general information and opinions on the convention as a whole.
Showing posts with label Rising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rising. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Dealing with Firearm Mechanics at LARPs
Editors Note: This post is not suggesting the use of any kind of real firearm at a LARP. Real firearms are not toys.
For more discussion on the subject, listen in to my guest appearance on the Mid-Level Crisis Podcast.
While we've got a ton of high fantasy LARPs around, there tends to be a lack of more modern or post apocalyptic LARPs, at least in the US. I find that the biggest reason for that is that adding a gun mechanic to the game makes scaling a lot more difficult.
Currently, I know of three different games that use guns, and each approaches it differently than the others. Those LARPs are Rising, Exiles, and Wastelands.
Rising uses NERF guns for the gun mechanic in their game. The base damage of guns is only slightly higher than the base damage of weapons, and ammunition is severly limited. The common zombie in that game would normally take three shots (or one aimed shot) or five melee strikes. The big benefit of range is the severity of damage in that game (if they get through your armor, you're a one-hit wonder). Their design is even damage with melee with limited ammunition.
Exiles uses rubber band guns. They do a pretty decent job of portraying the inaccuracy of weapons at that time, and bands are pretty safe. In-game, guns are the great equalizer. Even measly pistols do 20 damage (much more than most people can handle.) In addition, every shot carries a stun effect that knocks you out of the fight for five minutes, unless you're revived or you purchase a very expensive skill. Guns are IG items, and you can't fire them very fast unless you have a very nice gun. Finally, if you're hit in the gun with a melee weapon, you have to drop it. Their design is extreme damage with unreliable weapons with externally limited firing speed.
Wastelands uses nerf and rubber band guns, but they also use Airsoft guns. Guns in that game carry a smaller stun effect (1 minute) and do less damage than Exiles, but far more than rising. They have many limiters on what guns can come into game for safety sake (spring and electric airsoft guns, less than 250 fps, no post-factory mods), and you can only fire your guns once a second. Also, there are zones where you cannot fire your guns and you can never fire at individuals that are within 5 feet of you. Their design is increased gun tech and reduced effectiveness of guns, compared to Exiles.
All of these games have a tough time scaling around the gun mechanic. This is mostly due to the fact that guns are so much more effective (but not necessarily more powerful) than melee weapons in real life, and we have a hard time getting over the real life perceptions of weapons when designing our games. But I also think they've each got some clever ways of equalizing the game around firearms.
So how do we get past this?
For more discussion on the subject, listen in to my guest appearance on the Mid-Level Crisis Podcast.
While we've got a ton of high fantasy LARPs around, there tends to be a lack of more modern or post apocalyptic LARPs, at least in the US. I find that the biggest reason for that is that adding a gun mechanic to the game makes scaling a lot more difficult.
Currently, I know of three different games that use guns, and each approaches it differently than the others. Those LARPs are Rising, Exiles, and Wastelands.
Rising uses NERF guns for the gun mechanic in their game. The base damage of guns is only slightly higher than the base damage of weapons, and ammunition is severly limited. The common zombie in that game would normally take three shots (or one aimed shot) or five melee strikes. The big benefit of range is the severity of damage in that game (if they get through your armor, you're a one-hit wonder). Their design is even damage with melee with limited ammunition.
Exiles uses rubber band guns. They do a pretty decent job of portraying the inaccuracy of weapons at that time, and bands are pretty safe. In-game, guns are the great equalizer. Even measly pistols do 20 damage (much more than most people can handle.) In addition, every shot carries a stun effect that knocks you out of the fight for five minutes, unless you're revived or you purchase a very expensive skill. Guns are IG items, and you can't fire them very fast unless you have a very nice gun. Finally, if you're hit in the gun with a melee weapon, you have to drop it. Their design is extreme damage with unreliable weapons with externally limited firing speed.
Wastelands uses nerf and rubber band guns, but they also use Airsoft guns. Guns in that game carry a smaller stun effect (1 minute) and do less damage than Exiles, but far more than rising. They have many limiters on what guns can come into game for safety sake (spring and electric airsoft guns, less than 250 fps, no post-factory mods), and you can only fire your guns once a second. Also, there are zones where you cannot fire your guns and you can never fire at individuals that are within 5 feet of you. Their design is increased gun tech and reduced effectiveness of guns, compared to Exiles.
All of these games have a tough time scaling around the gun mechanic. This is mostly due to the fact that guns are so much more effective (but not necessarily more powerful) than melee weapons in real life, and we have a hard time getting over the real life perceptions of weapons when designing our games. But I also think they've each got some clever ways of equalizing the game around firearms.
So how do we get past this?
Thursday, August 12, 2010
YouTube Thursday: Rising Instructions
I mentioned Rising back when I did my recap of Origins. While the game itself wasn't a terrible rule system, I was not particularly impressed with what they did. They charged a crazy amount to play (almost 4-5 times more than other LARPs), and the production quality was very low. In addition, the creators were (ex?) NERO players, and gave us a bunch of grief since we were from NERO. I was actually scoffed at when I asked if there was supposed to be an ammo tag in the ammo box, despite the rules I was given telling me that *GASP* there would be a tag in the box.
Anyways, I do give them props for creating an instructional video for their game. Despite the fact that this game is very simple, I feel an instructional video like this could be used for practically any LARP game. Might be a project worth trying.
Anyways, I do give them props for creating an instructional video for their game. Despite the fact that this game is very simple, I feel an instructional video like this could be used for practically any LARP game. Might be a project worth trying.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Origins Recap
Last weekend, I got to do some serious gaming at the Origins Game Fair. Since I write about LARP for a gaming website, I figured I'd get as much LARPing in as possible and get some company names out.
All in all, we participated in 6 LARPs. Belegarth, Amtgard, Amber, 10 Bad LARPs, Rising, and Dark Aeons. Here's what I thought of each.
All in all, we participated in 6 LARPs. Belegarth, Amtgard, Amber, 10 Bad LARPs, Rising, and Dark Aeons. Here's what I thought of each.
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