Las unidades aristotélicas en el larp

Las unidades aristotélicas buscaron revestir al teatro de una estructura básica para una mejora de la calidad. Cuando estas sugerencias fueron tomadas como normas y llevadas al absurdo cohibieron la libertad creativa.
Pero, ¿y en el larp?, ¿pueden tener algún uso en la búsqueda de calidad o inspiración?

La autolimitación como camino de experimentación

El larp se caracteriza por su enorme libertad. Pero lo que en un principio supone una gran ventaja es a su vez un arma de doble filo que puede llevar tanto a la perdida de foco por aglomeración (ver artículo Más no significa mejor) como a dificultar el aprendizaje y progreso del organizador.

En cualquier disciplina es necesario poder diseccionar el trabajo a realizar para lograr un avance adecuado. Focalizar cada uno de los elementos por separado, diseccionándolos para que, una vez reunidos, su suma camine hacia la perfección.

Flashbacks

A Flashback is a methatechnique widely used both in larps and larp workshops. I do not claim ownership over it, but since I was unable to find a full description I have decided to write my own.

Meditation applied to larp

Meditation is a powerful tool when applied to larp.
Whenever it is used to free participants´thoughts, enhance a state of mind or provide the break required to reflect; meditation can have a huge impact in a larp development.

Character's triangle - A pre-larp workshop for character development

A pre-larp workshop to increase character development and help with the early immersion.

Perfect prior to in-character workshops.

Basic meditation technique for larps

A simple meditation technique to be used before or during a larp.

Due to this technique's simplicity it can be taught during workshops, making it perfect for larping.

Physical simulation workshop

Pre-larp workshop for physical contact simulation where participants experiment physical dynamics with the help of color keywords.

This workshop is intended for the physical simulation process at Somnia larps as well as part of the Spanish larp scene. It was tested during la sirena varada.

Guides

This post-larp workshop is aimed to those participants that have an excessive bleed or suffered a personal issue during the larp.
During the duration of this workshop this participant will benefit alone from the help of another participant or organizer.

Aggressive peace - A post-larp workshop

A post-larp workshop to break frictions between participants that are alien to each other but whose characters had a difficult interaction.

What is going on - An icebreaker workshop

An icebreaker workshop for larps that include tension and mystery as primary topics.

It seeks to break shyness, put in contact between participants and set their actions and reactions in the larp to come.

Guided regression - A characters' past workshop

Workshop intended to deepen characters' past.

Tandem - A relations co-creation workshop

A diegetic/extradiegetic pre-larp workshop for the creation or improvement of relations between characters.

It has been put to test during the larp la sirena varada.

This workshop follows a process quite similar to the one in Coffee for 2.

The interaction between participants and characters has many similarities with speeddating.

Coffee - A character co-creation workshop

Coffee

A diegetic/extradiegetic workshop for character co-creation.

Participants move between 5 different kinds of symbolic spaces to help each other create or enrich their characters.
Conversations take place in and out of character and must follow the rules of each space.

Diegetic steering

Full immersion is the unreachable desire of many larpers. A reminder of our first larp. A demanding path that rewards with deeply moving experiences. But this approach is not free of danger, one of the most relevant being the possibility to prioritize the characters desires over the larp ones.

The steering technique allows to modify non-diegetically the direction and motivations of a character. This while useful, requires an extra effort for the participant and creates an immersion gap. Therefore a diegetic steering approach would be more desirable.

The survival of non-remunerated larp organizers

Organizers often feel that they sacrifice themselves in exchange of... nothing.

After more than eleven years as a larp organizer I do not consider myself better than the newcomers, but there is a quality I have proven to posses and they still not: I am a survivor.

Why have I survived and so many others have not?

Design mistakes as opportunities

After my encounters with different larp cultures I got shocked to find that what defines them, what makes them unique, was not new to me. In fact those elements used to be part of our larps until they became marginal, design mistakes to implement if no other option was available.

For this countries these elements were their biggest advantages. Their larp designers had taken a complete different approach and where we saw outdated elements they found their trademark.

Errores de diseño a modo de oportunidades

Tras conocer varias culturas de larp me quede sorprendido al encontrar que lo que las define, lo que las hace únicas, no me era nuevo. De hecho los elementos que usaban solían ser parte de nuestros larps hasta que se volvieron marginales, errores de diseño que implementar si no había otra opción disponible.

Para estos países estos elementos eran su mayor ventaja. Sus diseñadores de larp habían tomado una aproximación completamente diferente y donde nosotros vimos elementos desfasados ellos encontraron su distintivo.

Larp Creatives Manifest

(This article uses the term Creative to refer to: design, plot and character writers. But the manifesto can be aplied to any creative activity within the larp)


I have decided to speak my mind about the importance of the Creatives in larp. Presented as a reflection, with a manifesto as its conclusion.

Larp is evolving towards specialization. Projects are more ambitious and therefore workgroup teams are needed.
The importance given to each task follows a similar path to the one that took place in cinema. The values of production: location, atrezzo, technology, costumes, logistics, etc. are growing higher while other elements purely creative as is general design, character and plot writing are left in a secondary place.

Manifiesto - Creativos en el larp

(Este manifiesto reflexiona sobre diseño de larps y escritura de personajes y tramas, pero puede aplicarse a cualquier actividad creativa dentro del larp)

Tras reflexionar sobre la importancia de los creativos en el LARP he decidido poner mis ideas por escrito.

El Larp va camino de la especialización. Los proyectos son cada vez más ambiciosos y por tanto se necesitan equipos más amplios divididos en tareas.

La importancia concedida a cada una de estas asignaciones está siguiendo una evolución similar a la que encontramos en el cine. Donde los valores de producción: localización, atrezzo, tecnología, vestuario, logística, etc son cada vez más altos, mientras que otros elementos puramente creativos como son diseño general, personajes y tramas se están relegando a un segundo lugar.

Nothing human is alien to me

 

If something I seek in this blog is to explain myself as simple as possible. This time as an exception I will make use of two Latin phrases.

“Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.”

I am human, nothing human is alien to me.

To which Unamuno answered:

“Homo sum, nullum hominem a me alienum puto.”

I am human, no other human is alien to me.

Nothing human is alien to me, unreachable possibility if not by the use of self-deception. But again absolute empathy that gets closer with each larp that takes place.

When a character is played, wearing its skin, we acquire a certain affinity towards those of similar reality.

Do not be absurd, to play an experience is not the same as living it and still…

And still this constant taking the place of others, performs an estrange change until we can almost affirm: Nothing human is alien to me, no other human is alien to me.

Recently a larp in Switzerland took place. In it during few hours delegates and politicians walked a mile in the shoes of Syrian refugees. In the comments I did read: “That´s the last straw, that our politicians felt empathy for the refugees”

Of course!, empathy is essential in a world that seeks to divide us in small and pliable groups.

But this closeness in the experience is necessary not only towards the ones that suffer, also towards the victorious, the ones that cause pain, the ones that have an anodyne life. In short, with everything that is alien to us. What do we want to achieve with those connections when they are directed always towards the same sector apart from polarizing ourselves even more?

Saying something like: Larper sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. Is without doubt excessive, conceited and pedant, but that does not change the fact that larp is, sometimes by accident, the unconscious way towards empathy.

Nada humano me es ajeno

 

Si algo he buscado en este blog ha sido explicarme con la mayor simplicidad posible. Esta vez a modo de excepción voy a valerme de dos latinajos:

“Homo sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto.”

Hombre soy; nada humano me es ajeno.

A lo que Unamuno respondió:

“Homo sum, nullum hominem a me alienum puto.”

Soy hombre, a ningún otro hombre estimo extraño.

Nada humano me es ajeno. Es esta una posibilidad inalcanzable sin el autoengaño, empatía absoluta que, sin embargo, se vuelve más cercana con cada larp que pasa.

Cuando se interpreta a un personaje, se viste su piel, adquirimos una cierta afinidad hacia aquellos con una realidad similar.

No seamos absurdos, interpretar una experiencia no es lo mismo que vivirla y aún así...

Y aún así ese constante ponernos en el lugar de otro, va realizando un lento cambio hasta que casi podemos afirmar: Nada humano me es ajeno, a ningún otro hombre estimo extraño.

Recientemente tuvo lugar un larp en Suiza en el que durante unas horas políticos y delegados se pusieron en el lugar de refugiados Sirios. En los comentarios pude leer: “Lo que nos faltaba, que nuestros políticos sientan empatía por los refugiados”

¡Pues si!, la empatía es algo muy necesario en un mundo empeñado en dividirnos en pequeños y manejables grupos.

Pero esta cercanía en la experiencia es necesaria no sólo con el que sufre, también con el victorioso, con el que causa dolor, con el que tiene una vida anodina. En definitiva con todo aquello que nos es ajeno. ¿De qué sirve esa conexión si va dirigida siempre hacia un mismo sector a parte de para polarizarnos aún más?

Decir algo como: Larper sum, humani nihil a me alienum puto. Es sin duda excesivo, presuntuoso y pedante, pero eso no cambia que el larp sea, a veces por accidente, el camino inconsciente hacia la empatía.