What are Afters? So, the term Afters is a non-universal term for what is done after a gaming session. There are a few different types of afters that all work somewhat differently, but I would argue that what happens after a game is nearly as important as what happens in the game itself. Gaming, by its very nature, is retrospective storytelling. The way in which challenges are resolved after the fact means that the shape of the story isn't evident until after the fact. In LARPs, this is compounded by the scale, with nobody able to see everything that happened within the game. These linked problems are why 'Afters' are one of the most important parts of any LARP and I will discuss that here.
So, backstory. When I started grad school, I moved into a new town where I knew absolutely nobody. Wandering around town, I came across a game flyer and ended up participating in a LARP that I would be part of for nearly seven years. However, I found that I wasn't really a part of the LARP, a part of the community that made up the LARP, until I started going out to Denny's after game. It was my participation in the Afters ritual that ended up building my ties to the community and helped me become more connected to the game.
Session Closing Rituals
One type of Afters comes in the form of session closing rituals. The time between the wrap of the action of game and the departure of participants from the game space is handled differently among different groups. Some games simply call a stop and have everybody leave, but in my experience, an organized game wrap ritual can be an important form of Afters. By having an organized game wrap, the Storyteller can help provide players a greater context for the events of the evening within the game. Here's how I handle the game wrap ritual in my current game.
1. 10 minutes before game, I let everyone know that the game is about to end. This allows people to wrap up individual scenes and such.
2. I try, if it makes sense within the context of game, to have an event at game wrap, essentially, the last scene of the night. That scene may set the stage for later games, may encapsulate the action of the night or simply be a cool and dramatic end point.
3. After play has concluded, I gather everyone together in the main game space. I start by thanking them for coming and stating any contextual information about game wrap (i.e. everyone now has a harder time finding silver bullets in the city, but hey, fewer werewolves).
4. We then do "Nods". This is a practice in which people have a chance to call out those who made their game better in some way. While this can take some time, about 15-20 minutes in a game of ~25-30 people, I feel it is time well spent. In my mind, at its best it serves two purposes. First, it is a way of saying thank you and indicating a personal connection between participants. It feels good to be appreciated and this is a form of appreciation that can help fuel connections on a personal or small group level. Second, it can give non-involved people a sense of the greater context, even without specific details. Knowing that dramatic interactions are happening within certain groups and dashing adventure is happening within others can allow more selective engagement within the game context.(i.e. I want to get involved in more adventure plot, I should steer myself towards that group of people). Sure, there are occasional self-indulgent moments, but in the right context, I find that "Nods" provide interesting opportunities for context building, allowing people to have a greater sense of the game beyond their own personal experience.
5. Clean-up. Now, this seems like a weird thing to include here, but I think it's helpful to have a few tasks people can specifically help with in cleaning up a game space. Many people like to pitch in in some way and having a context in which they are able to do that helps give them a greater sense of investment in the work being done at game. Plus, many hands make light work.
After Session Rituals
So, those are the end of session rituals, but there are other rituals that go beyond game. One thing that I've seen in many games is a tradition of going out for food after game, generally to whatever nearby eating establishment can handle a large number of people right after game. I have seen in some cases a traditional after-party, sometimes on a monthly basis, sometimes every few months to a year. These out of game traditions are, in my opinion, every bit as important as what happens within game-space for a few reasons.
1. As I said in the opening, gaming is retrospective storytelling. Afters provide a handy context for the processing of what happened within a group environment. Afters can be a forum for discussion of what happened in a less public context, as it is much easier to get someone one on one at an after party or restaurant.
2. Afters is the context where people can learn each other's real names. And of course, more than just that. I think community building in a LARP should be a priority and Afters is a context in which deeper connections can be made. Part of this comes from how people are socialized. In the context of before and after game, when people are rushing around and preparing for an event, it can be hard to break the ice with other people. But we are all more or less socialized to interact over food and at parties, so they provide a context that eases those processes.
Things that are Important!
So, there are two things that are very important when it comes to Afters.
1. Make sure you have a good relationship with the venue in which you have Afters. This takes a few forms. It can be a matter of arranging reservations, or at least checking to see if they are too busy to handle a large group. Also, tip very well. Handling a group of 20 people who want split checks is a lot of difficult additional work for a server and bad relationships with servers can make it difficult to get a table at a restaurant. Also, make sure that everyone pays. It seems like a no-brainer, but I've seen enough examples where someone failed to pay that I feel it's necessary to call out.
2. Try to avoid excessive cliquishness. What I think is more important about Afters is that it is a chance to break down social barriers. When there is a 'cool kid's table', that just erects more social barriers. Afters should not be the high school cafeteria.
Overall, I think that LARPs build communities when done right. Afters is an important part of that community building ritual and is not without precedent in greater culture. Think about cultural rituals that you know. Weddings, Funerals, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, Sweat Lodges, etc. What all these rituals have in common is that you generally have food afterwards. If you think of the cultural process at the heart of a LARP, Afters just make sense.
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