The Bunk Problem

DR NY March 29, 2023

There’s a disconnect between the problems that larpers talk about and the problems that they really care about. Some concerns are pretty clear and constant: people want a safe game with supportive players, for example. Other worries are more insidious. One in particular rarely gets talked about… it’s one of the biggest problems our players worry about before the weekend, but rarely gets a second thought afterwards. We’re talking about the bunk problem… and our unique solution to it.

How To Travel

DR NY March 1, 2023

The weather’s getting warmer, and all across the network we have premiere games and national events springing up. This means a lot of us will be traveling over the next few months, visiting other chapters all across the country. Travel can be one of the most rewarding things about Dystopia Rising - you have dozens of games to visit and thousands of friends to see. But it can also be stressful, challenging, and even disappointing. So how do you make sure you have an awesome experience, worth the time you put into it?

What’s Old Is New - Returning Players

DR NY December 7, 2022

At Dystopia Rising New York - and to a degree, the network as a whole - we think a lot about new players… how to recruit them, how to make them have a good experience, and how we can bring them back for more. And this emphasis is important! New players are the lifeblood of any larp, and there’s a good reason we focus on them. But sometimes, in our zeal to improve the experience for new players, other groups get left behind. And one group in particular needs some attention these days: returning players.

How Much Is Too Much?

DR NY November 30, 2022

When you design a boffer larp, you’re not really making a competitive game: the players are going to win. Like a video game, there’s an illusion that you’re struggling against an opponent, but in the end, the NPCs are going to lose, and the storytellers aren’t really trying to defeat you. Instead, there has to be an “illusion of failure,” mixed with actual setbacks, minor defeats, and “reach goals,” to create the sense that you have agency, when actually, it’s really hard to lose. So the biggest challenge for designers is how much adversity should players encounter before they win… or “how much is too much?”

Tips for Travelers

DR NY July 13, 2022

With over 100 travelers expected for Honor’s Fall, it’s possible the locals might actually be outnumbered by visitors. While we’ve designed our modules, such as the Hot Zone and the Bacchanal, to include people with little to no experience with Requiem, traveling to another game, particularly for the first time, brings specific challenges. How do you get involved when people already know each other, and probably already have specific plans? We have two tools to offer travelers, as well as a request for locals to help them out.

Big Event Larping

DR NY July 6, 2022

There are games, and then there are games. A Dystopia Rising chapter typically runs between 8 to 12 games a year, and for the most part, they’re relatively uniform: a chapter has a typical level of attendance that remains constant, plots players can expect, and plenty of time for socializing. However, once a year we all get to host a premiere event, and when we do, we want to make it into an event. It is, after all, our game of the year. And so we’ll promote it, offer more build, and do everything we can to attract players. But doing so makes a problem for our players: with great hype comes great expectations. How can a large event live up to expectations?

Winning & Losing In Larp

DR NY June 15, 2022

“Playing to Win” gets a bad rap in larp. Larp is a cooperative act, where we gather and agree to a common story and context, and yes, competition gets in the way of that sometimes. Approaching a larp in a play to lose manner overcomes this, and is a valid (even encouraged) playstyle. But many larps, and Dystopia Rising in particular, are games, and games have optimal and suboptimal outcomes. So when you play a larp where you can “win” or “lose,” you have to understand the game and how it affects you.

How To End A Story

DR NY April 13, 2022

Our May event, The Reckoning, concludes a plot arc that began in January. We’re very excited about what we have planned, including the final showdown with Jim Jones, and the return of Anton Anastasia. We’re extremely excited to see what our players do when he shows up. But as we prepare for the end of The Reckoning, we have to ask… how do we end a story in a larp?

Your Character As A Tool

DR NY March 30, 2022

Previously, we talked about your character not as a person in a story, but as a tool you use for storytelling. As larpers, our characters are precious to us, and often we identify with them strongly. However, we create them, and they aren’t real people but rather tools we use to role-play. As such, we should make sure they’re an effective tool, designed to help us have fun and perform the way we want. So how do we do that?

Serve Yourself - Self Steering

DR NY March 23, 2022

There’s no wrong way to larp… as long as you’re having fun and respectful to those around you. For the latter part - respect - we have many tools and techniques to make sure we treat other players properly. This includes the concept of “steering,” making out-of-character decisions for the sake of other players. Examples of steering include making sure you have consent, avoiding problematic or triggering role-play and purposely including other players in activities. But what about having fun? Sometimes, players should steer themselves with out-of-character decisions to make sure they have a good time.

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