The first game of an ongoing LARP is an experience both exhilarating and anxiety producing. After months of preparation, the day approaches and everything changes from being completely potential energy to being kinetic. In some ways, the first game is the most important game of a series, it can set the tone for everything else to come for better or worse. In some ways the first game is the least important, as it is often like a dress rehearsal for game, a chance to have everyone try on their costumes and characters and see what fits. Regardless, there are a few tips for Storytellers and Players alike to help make game 1 go as well as possible.
The ST approach to Game 1
Starting Things in Motion
One of the biggest challenges to game 1 is the lack of momentum. Game 1 doesn’t have ongoing plots or continuing drama. This can be a real challenge, because one of the things that really gives a game oomf is the sense of continuation. To address this, I like to make sure that a game starts in motion.
Starting in motion is about having something propelling characters to the event that the game represents. I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post how LARPs benefit from a sense of eventfulness, well the first game can set that tone by making a big deal about the initial inciting event. A first session should feel like a big deal, a new beginning, and that involves starting things in motion.
For the game I’m starting now the inciting motion involves a major shift in the status quo. What had been an open meeting that only NPCs attended changed by the removal of those NPCs, creating a sense of disquiet and questioning that drives the PCs to seek out answers. This changes the dynamics of the world and also sets things up so that nobody is quite familiar with what is normal. My hope is that this will bring characters together with a drive to create something new.
The Pilot Effect
When players come together for the first time as their characters, everybody is new and the dynamics between them are unexplored. In many ways, this is like the pilot of a television show, a demonstration of some of the potential, but also a chance to try out things and see what works. Some players may realize they created a character too mean or too aimless or didn’t make use of the system to represent their character properly.
As a storyteller, it’s important to embrace this and allow the first game or two to work out some of the kinks. Let players know that they aren’t completely locked into choices made in the first game. Don’t set up permanent choices in game 1 for social structures that may not fit down the line for the game. Keeping an informal pilot atmosphere to things puts less pressure on players to decide everything instantly.
For the game I’m starting, there will be room during the first act to tweak certain aspects of backstory and system to better suit how character dynamics develop. The new nature of the social structure also allows for a period of negotiated social dynamics to represent how things become rather than setting up a completely new dynamic.
Making a World Feel Lived In
While game 1 may be the first time that the characters are together in the same place, it’s rare that the world did not exist before the characters came into being. In preparing for a first game, it’s important to make it feel like the world didn’t just appear ex nihilo(unless that’s what you’re going for).
There are multiple ways of doing this, and every game will have some degree of this from the existence of the characters, but this is not usually quite enough. At the same time, one of the worst ways of establishing this is the creation of a 75 page text history of the world. Because from experience, nobody is going to read the whole thing and regardless, they aren’t going to absorb it. The best way to approach this is to make the development of the world an active pre-game and in-game activity. People learn better by doing and may absorb information better by contributing to that information/actively engaging with it.
At the same time, one of the truest ways of living in the world is having limited knowledge. It’s fine for people to only know their corner of the world and have the ability to discover the world around them. Some players revel in playing the completely new person, some want to be steeped in the world’s lore ahead of time.
For this game, I did a combination of active pre-game exercises and in-game exercises to try and simulate the lived-in nature of the world’s history. I did collaborative worldbuilding from the beginning to help people be involved in the world’s details and followed up with more detailed faction building to give people a sense of the small world in which they live. I have also put together a pre-game/in-game exercise where players provide rumors about their characters, some true, some false, and then receive rumors about other characters at the first game. This gives them a chance to know a bit about the world, but also gives seeds for social action, where they follow up on these rumors in some way, fueling the development of the world through interaction.
If You Love Something, Set it Free
Once game 1 runs, the storyteller has to be prepared to let go. Before game 1, the game often feels like it belongs only to the storyteller, with everything that happens subject to storyteller approval. But the moment that the game on statement is given, the game is no longer solely the property of the storyteller. This can be a hard thing to accept, but it’s very important.
The Storyteller will still be one of the most influential hands steering the game, but once things start, they share control with everyone in the game. My advice is to embrace this and watch how things develop, following the leads of the players rather than pushing back too hard. There’s an often misinterpreted statement about product development, “the customer is always right”. If the people in the game are telling you they want drama and you think they want comedy, you’ll have more success running a drama because they are generally right about what they want and no amount of direct pushing is going to change that.
Advice for Players in Game 1
So, as a player, how do you approach game 1?
Finding Your Voice
Well, I find that the first thing to do is to find your character’s voice and mannerisms. Be prepared to introduce yourself a lot, and to tell people who you are. If the game is a first meeting, this is your chance to establish details about yourself and your public image. How do you want other characters to think about your interactions and how does that inform how you speak and act.
The exercise that I often do as a player before playing a new character or a new game is to simply practice my character’s personal introductions, “Hello, my name is Cecil Marley Philips but my friends call me Yorkie.” “I’m Alexander Hamilton, I’m at your service, sir” “Murph.” There’s a lot that can be conveyed in an introduction, so make it work for you.
Finding Your Friends(And Enemies)
LARPs are about relationships and how relationships influence the decisions we make. If at all possible, come in with some established relationships before game 1, friends and allies are a great place to start, and that often brings along with it goals and motivations, why do you hang out with these people, what common interests do you have?
Even if you don’t have things set up beforehand, build bridges at game 1. Make friends, find those who you can form relationships with and who may have your back down the line. Find unlikely allies who you can get to know and have uncomfortable alliances with.
And make enemies. In real life, we generally seek not to make enemies. That’s good, you don’t actually want people to hate you in real life. But in game, enemies can make for an interesting story. Especially if you are nominally allies. Find the points of contention and lean into them. Turn those into momentum and motivation. This will help drive your character and make game more fun for everyone.
Finding Your Style
It can be tempting to wait on costuming until you have a sense of the character. You may have something big you want to purchase but aren’t sure it fits for the character. That’s perfectly reasonable, but don’t take it too far. Costuming and props are one of the best ways to establish character and can be an excellent way of getting into a character’s mindset. Hats, wigs, props of various sorts, little things can make it feel less like you are dressed like yourself and more like you are dressed like someone else. So even if it’s a token costume, a single prop that will carry through, definitely do something for the first game.
Everyone Has a First Day
So, what if it’s your first LARP ever and you are not sure what to do. A piece of wisdom I have for every situation is that everyone has a first day. Every expert you meet, everyone you see excelling at something, every person who can make something look easy had a time when they were new. You get to be new at something, and the community should support you.
For those who are experienced, don’t drive people away who are new, keep the game open and allow the fresh perspectives to expand the world around you. I guarantee if will make for a better game if you are more welcoming to the inexperienced.
Overall, game 1 is complicated, but those complications can be opportunities if used correctly. The energy of game 1 is unlike anything else and while it comes with a lot of stress, you can’t get to game 2 without game 1, so embrace the chaos and move forward into the future.
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