Mike Pohjlola talks about the history and pre-history of larp from Egyptian ritual dramas to Greek Tragedy to commedia dell'arte to improvisational theatre to boy scouts and pioneers and Hungarian summer camps.

What is it that larp designers, writers and organizers expect of players? How are these expectations set, and what do players expect in return? We can say common sense all we want, but as the saying goes, it is not as common as we think.

In this presentation, Sándor Mesterházy will present various examples of bad experiences from different larps in the history of Hungarian boffer fantasy games, which result from deviations from these basic assumptions of expectations.

Can roleplaying be sanctified, either as a part of religious practices or as a replacement to them? Starting from the works of Johan Huizinga and Jacob Levy Moreno, I'll explore the fundamental roles of roleplaying practices in the healthy function of human societies, and suggest some practical goals we can strive for in order to fulfill those roles.

Roleplaying and storytelling keep getting intertwined during our history time and time again... And this was never an accident. Both are firmly rooted and are integral parts of our most ancient medium of change and education: rituals.
By retracing the classically ritualistic elements in both tabletop and live action roleplaying, a whole new perspective may be gained. One utilising both anthropology and creative writing. One that allows us to take these well-known tropes and gestures, and either greatly enhance our adventure's storyboard with them, or to design scenes and interactions which vastly improve personal impact. (Mostly in accordance with the tales of old.)

Short presentation aiming at triggering moderated discussion about designing larps inclusive for pregnant and kids parents. Based on own experience and examples from different larps, but looking for bigger picture and good practices.

Theater actors work with a defined staging, whereas the Larpers generate spatial narratives in response to the actions of others and the location of the Larp. Theater spaces are alternate reality containers, whereas Larps are often situated in open-world narratives. The theater presents a visual narrative design on a distant stage of activity. In Larp, the shared spaces create an ever-expanding magic circle that enables narratives to progress and personal and character journeys to unfold.

Hiking larps are a specific kind of larps that can draw a lot from the "average" larps and chamber larps. It could be a good stepping stone for new players and a very unique thing too.
Experiences, designs and stories.

Máté talked about how I started out with RPGs and Airsoft and how he got introduced to LARP. What does it mean for him to attend an Airsoft LARP game and how does he prepare for it.

Most of us have heard plenty about sustainability, or sustainable development, but not so many have heard about ESG. What does it stand for and why is it important? How can we use it in larp, and how can we use larp for the purpose of ESG?

The talk will cover a range of topics from some basic information on ESG and UN Sustainable Development Goals to how can ESG be useful for your larp, and how can larp help with ESG.

Summer Scriptwriting Base is an immersive learning experience, a unique combination of summer school, creative adventure, and rural retreat. The participants gained a deep understanding and know-how of the art of storytelling: how to create compelling characters, how to build captivating story worlds, and how to use thrilling elements to grab and hold the attention of the reader or viewer.

Participants take a deep dive into exciting and cutting-edge topics such as interactive and immersive storytelling, game and experience design, adventure design, and live-action role-playing.

Ever wanted to feel like a god? Forgotten Gods is a city game exploring European cultural heritage through larp elements. What first started as a larp, has over time transformed into an Erasmus+ project resulting in an edu-game for total beginners meant to discover a city in Europe and the cultural heritage it has. Moreover, it challenges the players to critically think about what could be improved, especially sustainability-wise. During this talk I will elaborate what are the roots of the FG larp, what’s it about and how did it change over time in design.

Hearing the term EDU-LARP (a larp aimed at educational goals) can be intimidating, which is why we want to help you ease into it by demystifying it one step at a time. In this workshop we will touch upon what are edu-games, look at some edu-larp case studies (also from the Erasmus+ field), and help you take your first (or second) steps through an edu-larp design session by sharing some materials we found so far.

Thinking bodies • moving minds is a talk with workshop elements on the subject of embodied experiences in larp, focusing on how to design for our senses and the way in which we are physically in touch with our surroundings. The talk will consist of a light theoretic background on body-mind philosophy as well as practical advice for how to create meaningful, physical larping experiences.

The main emphasis of the talk will be on physical, abstract larps as a genre, where movement and senses plays a fundamental part in the experience. Some elements and thoughts will still be usable in the design of larps with a narrative or verbal focus.

What are the connections between immersive theater and Larp? How do both of these forms engage participants in transformative stories and how does that relate to more traditional art forms like classic theater or cinema? What’s the experience as a participant in a Larp or in an immersive theater play? What’s the experience as a designer in a Larp or in an immersive theater play? What are the ethics of creative such experiences? Is there a difference between players, participants, audience members? What’s the possibility for social change and empowerment through narrative engagement in these forms?

What can a LARP organiser learn from a design thinking training?

How do business leaders react to a nano-LARP as a part of their leadership training? And overall - how did we design the game so that they can step into a role and learn from the experience?

Watch this video about the panel discuss how LARP can be applied in a business setting and how good business practices can be applied to improve LARP organisation.

A story-driven workshop about how and why to invest larp-knowledge in building educational simulations. Examples from the rescue and emergency world, where sims are vital for safely skill building, risk assessment and planning. Ideas for business education sims where stress testing ideas and approaches can save a lot of time, nerves and money. A simple try to push your creativity to serve your intentions to teach, learn and achieve goals. Welcome on board!

Communication is key. Whether we are asking questions, listening actively or simply showing an international ’OK’ sign – there is communication. And where is communication there are also misunderstandings… But let’s take one step back.

Corporate and LARPing – what do they have in common, if anything…? First, there are a bunch of people at the same place for a more or less same purpose. Goals? Check. Motivation? Check. Bad guys? Um, check. Probably. So why don’t we steal, I mean borrow some tips and trick from LARP negotiations, safety and consent talks to our work environment?

In this presentation Mark speaks about his methods, his principles, his experience about how to use Larp and Game Design in Education and with children for long term.

The LARPshop presentation will visit some of the not-so-obvious design questions of LARP. Including the theme of the game, the structure of rules, the player motivation, the environment, the immersion, and the tools of the game. The goal is to provide a high-level overview of some of the fundamental topics, you can use as a general aid in the design process. The advanced version of the workshop is discussing more complex topics of game design.