Anti-LARP?

You can't stop bad publicity, because there are frequent points at which we DO look like idiots. Given, that's part of the fun.

There are plenty of bad LARPers, and bad LARPs to get a nigh-infinite number of bad LARP stories from. Guilt by association.

The only antidote to it is GOOD publicity. The only good publicity will be the kind you make for yourself, because bad LARPing is funny, and funny gets on Youtube, and 4Chan, and means the first image result on Google for " LARP" is:

larp.jpg


That's the first thing anyone who doesn't play will think of, and frequently the first thing most gamers who don't LARP will.

The second thing they think of?

71ac1cea88e4ad5b096413217e2838ef.jpg


Lightning bolt lightning bolt sleep death HURR HURR HURR.

The antidote?

You find geek-friendly media and you get in print, on video, and you don't stop. I wouldn't be a LARPer if it hadn't been for seeing Mike V's article in Dragon. There's about six zillion people who wanted to play a "LAIRE" game because of Role Models. Then they see picture #1 and #2 above. Most of the people who actually make good *ahem* role models don't want to say word one about LARPing, because they believe it'll have a negative effect on their real lives. What's that leave as the face of gaming?

Yeah, you guessed it. Lightning bolt lightning bolt lightning bolt basement dwellers whatsagirl realityhuh?

Pipe up with the truth when you see this kind of BS, or be put down and don't complain.
 
Tosh.0 wanted to do a "Web Redemption" for the "Lightning Bolt" guy. I actually tracked him down and sent him all of the information on it. He never replied to me. Guess he figures that geeking on a popular cable show was too much of a risk for his rep and/or that of the hobby.

This, IMO, shows that the stigma of being associated with a LARP publicly greatly outweighs the benefits of exposing it to a mass audience (not to mention a free trip to LA plus over $600 in compensation for his time). This, again IMO, shows the power of the haters.
 
markusdark said:
Tosh.0 wanted to do a "Web Redemption" for the "Lightning Bolt" guy. I actually tracked him down and sent him all of the information on it. He never replied to me. Guess he figures that geeking on a popular cable show was too much of a risk for his rep and/or that of the hobby.
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That's impressive. Exactly where DID that come from, anyway?

That the reflex answer to that would be "I don't know", even when you do...well, there you go below. Even though I'd actually like to know. It helps having the facts.

This, IMO, shows that the stigma of being associated with a LARP publicly greatly outweighs the benefits of exposing it to a mass audience (not to mention a free trip to LA plus over $600 in compensation for his time). This, again IMO, shows the power of the haters.
Click to expand...

It's a merciless circle. "LARPing is a horrible thing you should be ashamed for doing", ergo you treat it like a dirty secret- which means the only people who show up as "in the hobby" in most places are folks that aren't going to be people who care as they're low on the social totem pole anyway. Which reinforces the stereotype, even in other gamer-friendly parts of society.

Rinse, cycle, repeat.
 
Talen said:
markusdark said:
Tosh.0 wanted to do a "Web Redemption" for the "Lightning Bolt" guy. I actually tracked him down and sent him all of the information on it. He never replied to me. Guess he figures that geeking on a popular cable show was too much of a risk for his rep and/or that of the hobby.
Click to expand...

That's impressive. Exactly where DID that come from, anyway?
Click to expand...

Oh, you meant where was the thing shot. Stupid me. It was done from a LARP in CT. Since he might want to keep his anonymity, that's all I'll say.
 
I came to the game because of Monster Camp, oddly enough. I understood the documentary was skewed and painted LARPers in kind of a "sad" light but the actual game seemed fun. I researched the actual game and it sounded like fun. I was looking for a nerdy way to loose weight at that point. (2 games and down 10lbs btw!)
It was one line in the film that prompted me to actually try it out. Something to the effect of: "We see kids pretending and say that looks like fun but at some point we say we are too old to do that." I am sure I butchered the quote but Monster Camp is the reason myself and my best friend joined up. After playing I realized just how wrong Monster Camp was but in the end I am glad it was on Netflix streaming.

I am a nerd about fantasy and sci-fi but everybody is nerd about something. Have you ever seen people doing a fantasy baseball league, talk about full frontal nerdity.
 
HERE'S some stuff about Lightning Guy I found at: http://www.weregeek.com/2009/11/30/ - so it's not Alliance CT where lightning bolt guy was filmed.

----------------------------
I’m in this video.
I was an owner of the game when this unedited first attempt at a promotional clip was first leaked, and we all got a lot of grief over it.

THIS makes me happy, though: http://attractiveeightieswomen.com/inst ... htning.mp3

------------and-this-----------
The system is an independent LARP based in New England, so it isn’t based on World of Darkness or other nationally published books. That particular larp is at http://www.legendsroleplaying.com – and is one of the oldest, other than NERO, in the area. (And fwiw – the “phys reps” (physical representations) of the casting is a small birdseed packet.)

------------and-this-----------
Ah, lightning bolt kid. The reason I never get past the sentence “And once A month I go to LARP” when people ask me what I do with my free time. I think most anyone and everyone has seen this video, and thinks that this is what LARPers do. Of course I’m fairly certain that if anyone who made fun of LARP actually went to one they would either A) actually enjoy it or B) get their butts stomped into the ground.

I know many people who play NERO and say that it’s fun, though I have yet to actually go. The LARP I go to is a fairly tight knit group of people who all know eachother and hang out after game is done. It’s a great game with great story line and awesome people. I’ve also been to the local LARP vs LARP event that happens once a year, The Blood Games, which is simple but tons of fun as well.

Now if only we could get all of the people who watch this video to actually go to a LARP…
 
8-) And, just for clarification, I did not say that he said it was Alliance CT -- I was just eliminating what some people might have been thinking. 8-)
 
You are absolutely correct.

Good press is the only way to counteract bad press.

No spoilers guys.... but I THINK our Alliance GM has a plan... A good plan.

Lets just say Christina "knows a guy."

Cheers,

Stephen
 
For sake of curiosity though.

How would *YOU* counteract it?

What kind of good press would YOU use if you were the one in charge?

Cheers,

Stephen
 
jpariury said:
"New translation of Dead Sea Scrolls shows Jesus was a larper."
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"...Apparently, all the things he is credited as doing were things that his character did, from performing amazing healing spells, to creating food and water, to resurrecting. We are sorry for the confusion over the past 2000 years or so."
 
Are we really now turning this into a mildly sarcastic anti-christian bash now? That seems a bit ironic... :?
 
David, there's a difference between anti-christian sentiments and lighthearted joking... don't take it seriously.
 
The only way to counter "Lightning Bolt Guy"-type stereotypes is to have someone internationally famous and "universally cool" to talk about larping. Larpers would need their own "I'm Mr.T, and I'm a Mohawk Night Elf", or Hugh Laurie on Inside The Actor's Studio talking about how they did it as a kid, or something similar. When the best you can field to counter "abnormal (bad)" is "normal", you end up averaging out at something less-than-normal.
 
Thats fair.

My issue... I don't see whats wrong with Lightning Bolt... The video looked pretty similar to what our LARP actually looks like.

I mean... our game is not terribly attractive to watch from a combat angle. Its a bunch of people fighting in odd and unnatural ways shouting at each other.

Can someone point out what is so terrible about it other than it being a LARP video?
 
To you and me? Nothing. From the view of a person not into it? It's silly. It's one step away from "Bang bang, I got you!-Nunh-Unh!!!"

My comment is probably more appropriate reflected against some of the people Matt mentioned from Monster Camp, tbh, but I'm going with the more "public" face of larping. Most of what people are calling "bad press" is just stereotyping, much like "Nascar is for rednecks". Even the most positive portrayal (Role Models) suggests it's an activity for social, awkward misfits (Augie, Esplen... heck, Ken Jeong's character was a total ***, even away from the game). And, tbh, I don't know that it's that far off. To paraphrase Avenue Q - stereotype jokes might be uncouth, but you laugh because they're based on truth.
 
Certainly there are people who larp who could be described as socially awkward, but I don't think we have more than our fair share of those types, especially when compared with the gaming world, as opposed to the world at large.

I wonder if part of the abuse we get is because in order to larp you have to be willing to lose some of your inhibition about being silly in public which, I can imagine, could be very threatening to someone who is still very inhibited in that way. When I first started playing the game, my second or third event I brought a friend with me who was part of my regular gaming group. She loved the combat aspect of the game, but the first time she went out for an RP role she literally froze and had to leave the room, even though everyone around her was roleplaying. She stuck to combat for the rest of the event and didn't come back again.

There is something in the roleplay aspect of the game that can make people feel very vulnerable, even if they are just on the outside looking in. And the irony is that I think in many ways larping helps overcome some of the social awkwardness. Let's face it, the society we live in does not exactly place a high value on a person's capacity to play, not in a child-like, imaginal way, but we all have that within us. Finding a group that accepts and encourages that type of expression can be a huge step in overcoming that awkwardness. I know it was for me.
 
I'm not sure if i am repeating some things which have been said here, already.

I did an experiment. I searched YouTube for "LARP". What do YOU see when you watch these videos?

Number one on the Hit Parade -- Scantily clad Blue People playing an Avatar LARP in Hometree Wisconsin. Even *I* think they are kind of strange.

Second up - an English LARP with an exposition of Character Creation, showing most of what's best in their LARP. It seems to be a Latex LARP, with sound effects of steel on steel. They are showing some pretty nice costuming. The representatives are well-spoken. The production values are high. It looks like a lot of fun, with some hint of the real excitement of LARPing which we experience at a well-run event.

Third one: this is a (I think) Scandinavian LARP version of Battle of Azeroth -- production values not quite as high -- very large attendance (that contributes to the coolness factor) -- and pretty decent costuming, overall.

Fourth, what seems to be Scottish battle LARP -- not as cool as the second and third LARP videos. No real production value certainly takes away from the coolness.

The fifth example, there's this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tovznQvqVok - a pretty cool rap with pretty darn good production values, kind of kitsch, kind of making fun of themselves - but it makes LARPing look pretty cool. I call this one TAKING THE BULL BY THE HORNS AND ThROWING IT ON ITS BACK.

It's a pretty wide catch on just the first five hits -- but if we want to make LARPing cool, we need LOTS more of examples of the second and fifth videos, and even the third one is alright.

What we don't need are the weird Avatar type LARPing group to be thrown into the mix with us -- and we can distinguish our kind of LARPing from the Blue Weirdos if we make sure our production values are high, our explanations are friendly and inviting, and we avoid videos like LIGHTNING BOLT GUY, with its low production values and presentation with no plot and no coolness factor.
 
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