OOG area

A

Aengus Óg

Newbie
The only thing I would change is to create a designated OOG (Out Of Game) area (other than the parking lot). It seems players would like a place where they can hang up their character for a while and decompress for a time, and eat some hot food without fear of having to run at a moment’s notice. The fire pit seems like an ideal place to set up an OOG spot. Here players can cook some food and eat while chatting about the OOG things that they are bursting at the seams to discuss, and NPCs will not have to worry about fighting near a fire area or what to do if PCs are at the fire during a combat.
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I have to agree with Dan on this. I think an out of game area would be a great Idea'er and i think i can suggest a way of making it feesable. That big buitiful pallisade that we made could be movved back to wear the path by the cabins metts the commons. Great Idea, huh? :thumbsup: It will still block the parking lot and will still allow access to the cabins and the back of Arties Tavern. That way the emersion is not violated when someone walks by and sees people smoking or cooking food with thier coolers on the ground.

I suggest we try it (plot permitting) and see how it works or if it works at all. ;)
 
I'm not a fan of taking the fire pit OOG just to apease the smokers and those that want to roast some weiners. There is a big cookhouse behind it and we will be using it for IG plot etc. There is no great way to isolate it.

There is this just HUGE parking lot that is OOG if people desperately need to talk OOG. :mer:

My concern is players just randomly dropping OOG. We should be working harder on staying in character, not looking for ways to be OOG. The problem becomes when the OOG talk starts to "drag" others that are trying to stay IG, OOG. Players have to be very aware of that.

We are new to this and things will come along better the more we play and strive to stay IG.
 
Don’t get me wrong, the longer you can stay in character and the more things you do in character the more rewarding the Role Play experience becomes. A weekend spent wholly in the skin of your character and surrounded by your peers doing likewise is an amazing experience, and I truly believe your game is headed in that direction.

I was hoping to present a means to ease into that level of RP. Alliance Calgary does have a bit of a wandering OOG atmosphere (when things slow down) at present, I thought by locking that to one location it would be easier to then begin moving away from it.

I want the players at Alliance Calgary to be able to experience the full potential of the game. I really can’t describe the rush of emotion that you can experience when you slip fully into character.

One day you may find yourself walking alone through a wooded path to confront and evil that can no longer be ignored. You know in your heart you are walking to your death and your hands and arms tremble, you feel sick to your stomach. As you walk a solitary flower still spotted with dew catches your eye, lopsided and partially stomped down.

As your hand straightens the stem you realise that you’ve stopped walking and are now kneeling by the flower, your hands no longer shake, and the ache in your belly has left. You realise that this may be the last flower you ever see, and you realise that you have come to terms with that even as you take in every facet of it worn petals.

Moments like these pale in the written form compared to the actual experience of them. The amazing thing about our hobby is that we can experience the most extreme of events, we can literally trick our minds and body into living through wondrous occurrences and terrifying surprises, but in a safe place free of the physical torment and mental anguish that a regular person would have underwent to have lived through such things. That is what being IG means to me.
 
I have to agree with Cory - the game is meant to be an In Game event. I sympathize with the players who want to be able to take a break now and then, however it generates a problem. There are many people who are trying to immerse themselves into their character 24/7 while at each weekend.

If we make the camp fire area an OOG place, then we are causing the players who want to be In Game to suffer, because now they can't enjoy the warmth and glow of the fire to tell tales at and stay in character.

If we make the camp fire area an IG place, then the players who want to rest OOG are now upset because they don't feel they have a place they can sit and relax at. (Actually, yes you can, just stay in character!)

No matter which way we do it, someone is feeling like they have the short end of the stick. We have to make a decision on it, and the decision is to be In Game the whole weekend. As already previously stated, we're getting better every event, and eventually we will be In Game for the whole event. If people truly have a need to talk OOG, they can - but please do so quietly, far away from others so they aren't dragged into it. If you absolutely must talk about the latest video game or Blog you read, please take the person you are talking to a good distance away from others and chat there, so no one else can hear.

I would also suggest this - the Tavern hall is a large place. There is plenty of room there to set up a table far away from all the others to sit and talk quietly if you are OOG. This would be good for people who want to be OOG, as they will not draw anything away from those who are IG in the rest of the camp site, or at the IG tables in the Tavern.

Bottom line, let's all of us work together to make this an IG event, each weekend, for the entire duration we're there. As Dan said, it is a lot more fun if you let yourself fully become the character you are trying to portray. I would rather strive for the end result immediately and get there sooner, than baby-step it all the way and take longer.
 
It'll be a year ago in August that I started LARPing. At first I could never get into character, always feeling uncomfortable doing so, thinking that person over there really needs to lighten up with the drama, always talking OOG (cause I never was really getting into game).

Now a year later it’s a whole new game, and I enjoy it even more. I can getting into character and stay there a lot more easily now. I have a lot more emotion as Dan has described. Here is an example. Last event I played in, through the actions of someone else, an undead army was released in my chars home town, completely killing everyone. I was shocked, devastated, and angry all at once. That same action broke the control over the undead in the area and we were going to be attacked. While readying the defenses the Duke called me over to watch a section of the defensive lines, he forgot my name so I reminded him. “I’ll write it on my arm so I don’t forget it” he said. My reply was “doesn’t matter we won’t be here by morning” I was hollow and lost. I sat down and started to cry, really cry, something I have not done in a long long time. This was an emotion I’ve never felt, of losing everything. During the fight I was cursing the people I was now defending, blaming them for my loss, why am I defending them? I could sneak off into the night. During the battle I had my armor breached four times and dropped below zero five times. Three of the times I was brought above zero, it were at the hands of a new char in town. A sweet innocent deaf healer, (she would get mad if you offered to pay for her healing) it was because of her innocence that my char has sworn that no one else will fall to the darkness that is this town. Come morning after the battle, there was a service hold for member who had died. Folks were gathered around and after saying a few words, some were crying, there were a lot of sniffling, (I think even the corpse was sniffling) but everyone felt the loss of that character.

These are all emotions I would never have felt from reading a book or playing a video game or watching TV. Also most of these emotions I would never want to experience in real life, but I get a chance to experience them in LARP. Come Monday morning you are both physically and emotionally drained, but damn you love that feeling.

These are also tales to be told around the camp fire at a later date with new folks that come to town. The tales will hold more meaning when in Char and not sitting around OOG. A year ago I didn’t care about being OOG, now I get annoyed with OOG talk. It’s that simple, if you really need to go OOG and talk, KEEP IT QUEIT, don’t drag others into it. When a group 10 feet away come over ask about this tale you are telling about you being a werewolf, guess what, you are too loud and not in the right location.

This will all get easier as time goes on and we play more. We have a good group of folks, and we are all still learning. As a member who assists the plot team, we’re slowly bringing in some of the rules. We don’t want to drop a ton of enforcement you the player base and piss people off to never return.

But believe me when I say, when you get into your character for the whole weekend, you’ll come out of the weekend with a lot more enjoyment.
 
"One day you may find yourself walking alone through a wooded path to confront and evil that can no longer be ignored. You know in your heart you are walking to your death and your hands and arms tremble"

I had that at the June Event. One of the NPC Gypsies was kidnapped, and MAth (who did not know how to use a weapon) was part of the group that ventured onto Smuggler's road to try and find her, with his huge basket of alchemy and not much else. He and another non-combat healer wound up sneaking through the brush to untie her while everyone else was busy fighting (tee hee) so he didn't feel useless - it was the first time he had left the commons area, every other time people went somewhere dangerous he stayed in town, but he had a REASON to, because he had a vested interest in Nadja's safety.


As for the rest of the topic - I think the parking lot area is big enough for people to congregate in OOG. Sure it doesn't have the fire, but maybe if we moved a picknic table to, say, the path leading up to logistics then people can go OOG and relax w/o interfering with anything else? (Granted, I noticed the Logistics windows were open and it might be a problem if someone overhears something they shouldn't)

I would also suggest this - the Tavern hall is a large place. There is plenty of room there to set up a table far away from all the others to sit and talk quietly if you are OOG. This would be good for people who want to be OOG, as they will not draw anything away from those who are IG in the rest of the camp site, or at the IG tables in the Tavern.
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This could work! Set aside one or two tables for 'OOG' maybe with a white banner near them or w/e off to the side.


As for 'baby steps' vs 'forced into full immersion' I had that the first morning when I was in the Imperial's cabin. I quickly learned as soon as I was crawling out of bed "Oh.. my cabin mates are already in-character *grumble*". The 2nd morning I got right into it as soon as I woke up - let me tell you the 2nd morning was a WHOLE lot better (ofc then at breakfast a few people were engaged in OOG conversation at my table, which was a little annoying, but I just ignored that conversation. Actually that would be another good reason to have an 'OOG' table at the tavern. Don't want to have breakfast in character? Go sit over there!)

One of the Edmonton players came over to the campfire on Saturday night to complain, because she could hear bits of OOG conversation off and on for the past 3 hours. Most people didn't get what she was complaining about (because the current conversation was one that could be IG or OOG), but I totally got it, and appreciated her having the courage to speak up, because I had been feeling the same way, just didn't want to be rude.

If your OOG chatter is affecting people's RP who are not even at the campfire too, then it's a) too much and b) too loud.
 
Also need to remember that 2am to 8am is NOT game off. It's still game on, just quiet time so we can all get some sleep and continue having fun in the morning.
 
the main reason I like the idea of being OOG at all is so that I can get to know the people around me. what if we could find a way to go hang out after the event is over; maybe get reservations for a few tables somewhere on the edge of the city. that way we don't take any time away from when we can be IG. It would give us a chance to talk about the highlights of the weekend, whats new with our lives in general, and get to know each other better. Knowing wewill get the opportunity to talk later might help us to make the choice to stay IG more often. We do have other outlets as well (such as these forums) but its not the same as face to face conversation.
 
We actually do have an after game supper. 6:30 for sushi is the norm. :)
 
Just to point out, the tavern is a very bad place to have an OOG area. It's to quiet in there and it echoes way to much. Seriously, just sit in there and listen alone and with a gourp of people in there. It's loud and just not going to work.
 
I think meeting after on Sunday afternoon / evening is a great idea, except that sushi is a serious turn off. Serious. Turn...off. Eeew. :unsure:
 
It also sucks for the people that drove many hours to get there, driving to Calgary for foods and then back to Whitecourt after? Nope, not gonna happen.... we should go to Cremona for chinese - me and Aaron stopped there on the way home and it was SOO good!!! :lol:
 
Harlequin Katzchen said:
It also sucks for the people that drove many hours to get there, driving to Calgary for foods and then back to Whitecourt after? Nope, not gonna happen.... we should go to Cremona for chinese - me and Aaron stopped there on the way home and it was SOO good!!! :lol:
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Ooh that would be a good idea, pending on if people's rides are willing (IE - I'd only be able to do this after the game if Lorne is okay with that - or otherwise getting a ride back to Calgary after from someone else.) But yeah, Cremona is right close.
 
mythic said:
We actually do have an after game supper. 6:30 for sushi is the norm. :)
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Sadly thos tables are shite for conversation as you can chat with the peopl immediately next to you only. Either way though remember they are closing so we're gonna have to find a new spot.

Sadly I have my Song of Fire and Ice RPG running on Sundays at 7pm, so won't make it often.
 
Yeah, I was thinking about that too. maybe the new place will have a place we can designate OOG. Or maybe we'll be so well trained by then as to not need it :D

At any rate - here's hoping for a tavern area that has more windows and therefore has better natural lighting (and without that nasty step if you instinctively go straight for the dining area instead of down the ramp in the dark!!!!

(love ya Artii, but your tavern is an accident waiting to happen :eek: )
 
I'm actually referring to the Sushi King restaurant as they are closing up.
 
This Chinese idea seems interesting. What's the pricing and tables?
 
I found pricing to be pretty exceptional... I mean it's a little small a restaurant but the Coding says it can hold up to 56 people...

It is located beside a small grocery store on the drag from the highway... and it is pretty darn good.. deserving of good business.

I myself love Sushi, but it is true sometimes I cannot make it back to Calgary to have a fantastic feast with people..

<3
 
One of the Edmonton players came over to the campfire on Saturday night to complain, because she could hear bits of OOG conversation off and on for the past 3 hours. Most people didn't get what she was complaining about (because the current conversation was one that could be IG or OOG), but I totally got it, and appreciated her having the courage to speak up, because I had been feeling the same way, just didn't want to be rude.
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Yeah, that was me... sorry if I sounded rude at all - that wasn't my intention. Also I was actually talking about 2-3 hours of constant OOG talk in the middle of the day during the festival, not 3 hours of intermittent OOG conversation in the evening. I know we're all working towards this, but again, whenever possible, please keep OOG conversation 1.quiet 2. separate from those trying to stay in-character. It's only a nuisance if you're actually pulling other people out-of-character.. otherwise there's no problem, really.

the main reason I like the idea of being OOG at all is so that I can get to know the people around me. what if we could find a way to go hang out after the event is over; maybe get reservations for a few tables somewhere on the edge of the city. that way we don't take any time away from when we can be IG. It would give us a chance to talk about the highlights of the weekend, whats new with our lives in general, and get to know each other better. Knowing wewill get the opportunity to talk later might help us to make the choice to stay IG more often. We do have other outlets as well (such as these forums) but its not the same as face to face conversation.
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The Underworld crew makes a habit of having meet-ups at a Boston Pizza or a similar restaurant after a game, since everyone is aching for a big meal and dying to share their stories OOG. What about heading to Airdrie after a game? Also, don't Alliance players hold weekly get-togethers for wings in Calgary?
 
Yes, we have wings Wednesday every week. Bootleggers at 8:30ish. We are usually around until 10ish.
 
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