YouTube Friday: The Invasion of Games

Anyone who knows me knows that I totally dig the theories behind gaming and game design. Today's video is a little old, but it's still totally awesome. And for the astute reader, you might recognize the name Jesse Schell from an earlier post (or you can just follow the link).

This is from the DICE Summit (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) in 2010. It's another one of those marvelous conventions for innovation in gaming, held by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS). LOVE THOSE ACRONYMS.

So gaming has changed a ton in the past 10 years, but have you really tracked what's happened in the past 2 years? Jesse talks about how invasive games have become in our culture and can be found everywhere. I found that final part that talks about what it will be like in the future was most appealing.



Part 2

Part 3

Back to Basics: Double-Hooking

As I noted in the comments from the last post, we sometimes get away from talking about basic concepts that I might take for granted. So let's do that.

Let's talk about double-hooking.

Double-hooking is the act of using your PCs to NPC for one another. That's pretty much it. Nothing complicated to it.

Pros:
This greatly reduces the need for NPCs, and when utilized at proper times, gives the ability for overwhelming numbers of monsters against a smaller group of PCs. It let's you focus your time on guiding full time NPCs into more advanced roles. Finally, it lets you run stuff faster than if your NPCs had to change costumes when running multiple modules.

Cons:
NPC shifts break immersion, so doing so in the middle of an important story can be bad. There is less time to guide the NPCs when they're double-hooking, so you might not get the results that you had planned for the module. Also, in costume heavy games, it's a pain for players to change into NPC cosutmes. Finally, you shouldn't require it, because players want to PC. And if you don't require it, you might not get the NPCs you'd hope to have for a specific module.

Have any questions about double hooking? Drop them in the comments!

"Using" Your Players

I know it sounds bad when presented this way, but a good plot team knows how to use their players for the minor tasks at an event.

Doing so frees you up to run the event.

The two best examples of this is the use of the guildmaster position in WAR and a PC running the general store in Exiles.

The guildmaster is the person who manages the players' needs from the guild.  This creates a buffer between plot and the players, and also allows for players needs to meet.  For example, a player might want dispel scrolls while another player might want to trade in/sell those scrolls, so no logistics are necessary.

In Exiles, a PC can work for the general store, selling bullets and other supplies to the players.  This basic task doesn't really require staff to perform.  This frees up that staff to set up the next big thing.

Now, the obvious problems with farming out this work to players is that it cannot be something important and you have to be able to trust your player doing the task.  If you're afraid of that, this might not be for you.

But if you can farm it out, it's totally freeing.

Electronic Puzzles

One of the best things about playing a game with some form of technology (Steampunk/Modern/Post Apocalyptic) is that you can turn your riddles into electronic puzzles to be solved by the PCs. I used one at the last Exiles event and it worked well.

The big benefit of a puzzle like this is that you can have a trigger that doesn't need to be marshaled. You can simply use terminals for a key code or a 1 in x chance to pick the right answer (that's what I did). It's great for immersion and if done correctly, doesn't need a hands on marshal or a break in play.

Of course, I may be biased in favor of electronic puzzles. I am an Electrical Engineer after all.

The one I used had six terminals, one of which turned on a light bulb and played a pulsed buzz. The five wrong ones would simply play a constant buzz, so I would know from a distance what happened and could react accordingly. If I was at home, I'd include a picture of the prop, but alas, I'm in NY/NJ this week.

The Week In LARP - October 10th

Last Week In LARP

Did you attend a LARP event last weekend? Let us know how it was in the comments!

This Week In LARP

Get in some LARP before winter hits!

NERO

NERO Cincinnati will be hosting a 2-day event this weekend starting on Friday, October 14th and ending Sunday, October 16th. The game will be held at Camp Graham at the IG location of Ironpost. It's $50 to PC ($45 with prepay) and is free to NPC. This game wll be using 9th edition rules.

Dagorhir

Einherjar will be hosting their September battle this weekend on Sunday, October 16th at Plum Creek, South Side in Medina. Weapon Check starts at Noon and fighting starts at 1:00 PM. It's $3 and minimum garb rules apply.

Independent

Vandlar will be hosting a 2-day event this weekend starting on Friday, October 14th and ending Sunday, October 16th. The game will be held at Lewis Arboretum. It's $55 to PC ($40 with pre-registration) and is free to NPC, but all players must bring $10 extra for food.

If you've got a game running this week and we didn't mention you, either drop a comment here or shoot an email to larp.plot.tips@gmail.com, and we'll add you as soon as possible!