The 2013 movie Austenland is a romantic comedy set in “the world’s only immersive Austen experience” but it has far more in common with blockbuster larps than anything else. What does Austenland do well, where does it fall down, and what can we learn from pop culture understandings of larp?
Adrian Hon is a game designer, author, and former CEO and founder of Six to Start. At Six to Start, Adrian co-created Zombies, Run!, won Best of Show at SXSW, and worked with Disney Imagineering. Other works include the Perplex City ARG; You’ve Been Played, a critique of gamification; and the novel A History of the Future in 100 Objects. He writes at mssv.net and is Associate Artist at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Adrian is currently designing Strandfall, an highly physical outdoor larp using custom spatial computers, funded by Immersive Arts UK, and writing a book about the history and future of immersive experiences.
