Overview: Player Experiences and Documentation
Unit 8 Overview
In Unit 8, we will examine accounts of player experience and documentation. Here, our emphasis is not on documentation that does not just cover the design or intent of the game, but also the experiences of actual play. These accounts can be written from a first- or third-person perspective, meaning we are learning about what occurred during implementation through the perspective of the author through first-hand or third-hand experience.
The common joke in role-playing communities, “No plot survives contact with the players” is particularly apt here. When reading these accounts, consider how much of the play experience described is influenced by a) the game design, b) implementation strategies, or c) player impetus/choice. Some accounts might emphasize how well the design and implementation led toward the intended goals of the game, whereas others may emphasize moments where players “hacked the larp” or took it in an unexpected direction. Either way, play accounts can be critical as sites from which not only to learn practices to encourage vs. avoid, but also the nature of the role-playing experience itself.
In this Unit, we will cover:
- Play documentation
- Learning from play
Note: Some of the materials below may not be available outside of this course and the Uppsala Library for free. We are providing them as part of your education within this course. Do not distribute PDFs.
Recommended materials:
- AbdulKarim, Fatima. “Doing Self-Dissection.” In Crossing Physical Borders, edited by Karete Jacobsen Meland and Katrine Øverlie Svela, 56-60. Norway: Fantasiforbundet.
- Aronsson, Frida, and Erik Pihl. 2015. “Starting a Russian Revolution.” Nordiclarp.org, September 25.
- Dahlberg, Carolina. 2015. “I Will Never Larp Again.” Nordiclarp.org, October 7.
- Dalstål, Elin. 2014. “Sharpening Knives: Integrating Phone Use in Larp Design.” In The Cutting Edge of Nordic Larp, edited by Jon Back, 45-50. Denmark: Knutpunkt.
- Koljonen, Johanna. 2004. “‘I Could a Tale Unfold Whose Lightest Word Would Harrow up Thy Soul’: Lessons from Hamlet.” In Beyond Role and Play: Tools, Toys, and Theory for Harnessing the Imagination, edited by Markus Montola and Jaakko Stenros, 191-202. Helsinki, Finland: Ropecon ry.
- Koljonen, Johanna. 2008. “The Dragon Was the Least of It: Dragonbane and LARP as Ephemera and Ruin.” In Playground Worlds: Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-playing Games, edited by Markus Montola and Jaakko Stenros, 33-52. Jyvaskyla, Finland: Ropecon ry.
- Kriel, Jo. 2013. “Mad About the Girl.” In The Wyrd Con Companion Book 2013, edited by Sarah Lynne Bowman and Aaron Vanek, 38-41. Los Angeles, CA: Wyrd Con.
- Pettersson, Juhana. 2017. “Hamlet, Vampires and the Italian Alps.” In Once Upon a Nordic Larp… Twenty Years of Playing Stories, edited by Martine Svanevik, Linn Carin Andreassen, Simon Brind, Elin Nilsen, and Grethe Sofie Bulterud Strand, 79-84. Oslo, Norway: Knutepunkt.
- Pettersson, Juhana. 2021. “Terror and Warmth.” In Book of Magic: Vibrant Fragments of Larp Practices, edited by Kari Kvittingen Djukastein, Marcus Irgens, Nadja Lipsyc, and Lars Kristian Løveng Sunde Oslo, Norway: Knutepunkt.
- Pettersson, Juhana. 2023. “The Spirit of Christmas.” Nordiclarp.org, January 21.
- Pihl, Erik. 2016. “Larp-poem 1905: Re-writing Russian History.” In Larp Politics: Systems, Theory, and Gender in Action, edited by Kaisa Kangas, Mika Loponen, and Jukka Särkijärvi, 16-29. Helsinki, Finland: Solmukohta 2016, Ropecon ry.
Videos:
- Nordic Larp. 2011. “Behind System Danmarc.” Vimeo, January 26. (Watch embedded in Nordic Larp Wiki).