Nordic Larp Talks

Tag: immersive experiences

  • Austenland: A Bad Immersive Experience and a Bad Larp – Adrian Hon

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    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.

  • Play at Scale – Caro Murphy

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    The creative success but business failure of projects like Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser prove that masses of people want to roleplay in themed immersive environments – but not everyone can afford to pay what it takes to create and sustain them. So the question becomes: can this artform be brought to the masses without sacrificing quality, depth, and intimacy of experience?

    Caro Murphy is an educator, game, and experience designer who is obsessed with creating systems that make live action roleplaying more accessible, inclusive, and fulfilling. Their ultimate wish in life is to train the next generation of game designers and design themself into irrelevance. They are privileged and honored to have worked in the immersive sphere with Disney, Sage & Jester, Green Door Labs, their own production company Incantrix Productions, as well as many other larp companies worldwide; and have won awards from the THEA to Immies.

  • Agency versus Sovereignty – Adrian Hon

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    Many people believe larps and immersive experiences will give them the agency they lack in everyday life. Adrian Hon argues this is merely relative to other media, and that the promise of “sovereignty” exerts an even stronger, darker pull.

    Adrian Hon is a Scottish game designer and writer. He is co-creator of the smartphone fitness game Zombies, Run!, and the alternate reality game Perplex City, and has worked on multiple projects with Disney Imagineering. Adrian is currently Associate Artist at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and is writing a book about the history and rise of immersive art.