NELCO 2012 Schedule

NELCO 2012 Carlisle Chelmsford Drawing Concord Board Room
Friday
July 20
8:00 PM Intro to BYOGs - LARP Theory 101 Character Writing Possible Friday Workshop Go attend something! Hangout
9:00 PM
10:00 PM Think BYOG thoughts!
11:00 PM Go hangout
Sleep, for most
Saturday
July 21
10:00 AM Get ready for a busy day talking about LARP! BYOG Writing Hangout
11:00 AM
12:00 PM Teaching LARP Game Wraps Introduction to Sewing for LARP Costuming
1:00 PM Social Conflict and Bleed Combat Bubbles Suck
2:00 PM Sets
3:00 PM Write the Damn Wiki Already! Narrative in Larp
4:00 PM Go to another room, or just talk here TV Tropes Playtest Interactive Props
5:00 PM
6:00 PM Dinner
7:00 PM
8:00 PM The Mechanics of Running a Weekend-Long LARP Does how we write affect how the game is played; Goal lists, Who you know, Background Stories Attend one of the other panels BYOG Writing
9:00 PM Baby Got Bustle War Stories
10:00 PM Transmedia Techniques for LARP
11:00 PM Hangout
Sleep, for most Sleep
Sunday
July 22
10:00 AM Sunday Panels Sunday Panels Sunday Workshops BYOG Stuffing and Prop Acquisition Hangout
11:00 AM
12:00 PM BYOG Run
1:00 PM
2:00 PM Hangout Hangout

Friday

8 PM: Intro to BYOGs - LARP Theory 101

Jeff Diewald

So you want to write a LARP, and you're here for the Build Your Own Game effort. Maybe you're just interested in what goes into creating a LARP, even if you're not going to write. (Oh, c'mon. Give the writing a try!) Jeff Diewald has written or cowritten more than a dozen LARPs in many different formats and genres. He's given previous versions of this presentation to other BYOG LARP writing efforts. Come listen to the interesting concepts and ideas that go into his LARP writing process, to give you ideas on how you can improve (or start) your own creative efforts.

You should attend this if you're going to take part in the Build Your Own Game effort. You're quite welcome to attend if you're not going to take part in the BYOG.

8 PM: Character Writing: Writing LARP Characters of Distinction

Writing LARPs is easy! Writing Characters for LARPs is hard! I've written 1000's of characters and, luckily for me, when I was finished writing characters, the LARP was written as well. Great Characters with distinctive backgrounds will write the LARP for you as long as you allow it to!

LARPs can be almost any genre, and can be short or long, but how do you actually write a LARP? Well one strategy is to let it write itself by creating distinctive characters with fascinating backgrounds!

Learn the techniques, resources, time limits, diversity and pitfalls of a successful LARP Character Writer! There are ample tools to create awesome characters. They can be drawn from everything from Historical Fiction to a Video Game. There are at least as many models for characters as ideas in your mind. We'll discuss the essentials of Character Writing and how to weave characters into a story of great import that will guarantee fun for players!

Saturday

12 PM: Teaching LARP

Art 488: Special Topics: Live-Action Role-Playing
Alan Kriezenbeck's and Neal McDonald's class at UMBC Spring 2012

Alan Kriezenbeck and Neal McDonald taught a LARP class last Spring at UMBC. We will talk about running the class, what we taught, the games we looked at and run, the people who enrolled, and what we'd do next time. Speaking will be short, followed by discussion and feedback.

12 PM: Game Wraps

How do you summarize a game?

12 PM: Introduction to Sewing for LARP Costuming

If you are a novice LARPer - or just a novice sewist - who wants to take your costuming to the next level with needle and thread, this workshop is designed for you. In this three-hour, hands-on workshop, you'll learn the basics of designing a costume, selecting materials, reading a pattern, cutting the pattern pieces, and finally, hand and machine sewing. The goal is to send you home with a started sewing project of some sort, and the resources to complete it on your own.

Along the way - and guided by participant questions - we'll touch on some of the special considerations of LARP costuming, such as making vs. buying, modifying existing garments, the importance of pockets, and staying comfortable.

Workshop participants are invited to come to class with a costume concept they want to start on, and any materials they might already have. If you don't have a project in mind, you can test out your newly-learned sewing skills on a bag to carry your character packet in, or a caftan/tunic that you can incorporate into a number of costumes.

Participants are welcome to bring sewing machines or any other portable tools they desire. (Machines and other tools will be available, but availability might be limited).

1 PM: Social Conflict and Bleed in Role-playing Communities

Sarah Lynne Bowman, Ph.D

Have you ever wondered why some role-playing groups seem to experience large amounts of "drama" no matter how hard the organizers and other players try to keep the game enjoyable? Have you ever dealt with a "problem player" and found yourself at a loss as to how to solve the situation? Have some of your fellow players experienced emotional devastation as the result of in-game events or out-of-game disagreements? Has your group experienced splintering, where out-of-character factions developed? Did schisms occur, causing groups of players to leave, some perhaps forming new "rival" games?

Based on two years of scholarly research and over thirty interviews - both nationally and internationally - this lecture will explain some of the major problems role-playing communities face in terms of social dynamics. I will offer suggestions for diffusing conflict pre-game, during game, and post-game. Personality traits and behaviors that disrupt player groups will be detailed, as will behaviors that help enhance communal cohesion. Player cultures from the U.S. and the Nordic countries will be contrasted. Come learn how to keep your community vibrant and healthy!

1 PM: Combat Bubbles Suck: Redesigning Theater-Style Combat Mechanics for Immersion

As theater-style LARPers, we value story and immersion -- we don't want mechanics to get in the way of the choices that our characters are making and the emotions that our characters are feeling. And then some character pulls out a knife and game stops for twenty minutes while the players try to remember their stats and calculate modifiers and the GMs figure out what happens.

This talk introduces some ways to design combat mechanics which require no memorization or special equipment and which operate safely in near-real time without requiring GM intervention.

2 PM: Sets

Cameron Betts, Dave Kapell

How to build sets that add atmosphere and ambiance to your LARP.

3 PM: Write the Damn Wiki Already!

One of the things that has come up in conversation is the idea of passing along various bits of wisdom for the next generation of creatives. It's a great idea. However, why not collect these knols in a manner that allows them to be preserved and refined? Perhaps, even distilled to best practices! So let's talk about why we should stop talking and start using this weird thingie called the interwebs.

This was inspired by Lizzie Stark's "Write the Damn Rulebook Already" rant at Solumkohta 2012.

Warning: During this irreverent conversation/discussion/rant, we'll talk about why we should stop talking.

Perhaps, we'll even cover why we should start documenting (and exchanging information virtually) in an effort to preserve key truths such as:

3 PM: And Then Ninjas Attack: Narrative in Larp

Would you rather talk about fighting ninjas, or actually fight ninjas?

If the GMs have real ninjas attack, how does that improve the game? (Also, what about the difficulties of hiring ninjas and retraining them not to kill people awesomely?)

There's something to be said about the line between game fiction that happens in the heads of players and fiction that plays out in the real world in a visceral way. On the other hand, a purely "in world" game limits the scope of what you can do. What are some of the limitations and affordances of playing with that interstitial line that forms the boundary of the magic circle?

Plus, we'll talk about the "lenses" GMs use to create that fictional reality that overlays our own. If we have time. We like to talk.

4 PM: TV Tropes Storytelling Game Playtest

You are authors in Tropespace competing to collect tropes for your next work with which to tell the best story. Somehow everybody wants a Xanatos Gambit... Baron Munchausen meets Apples to Apples with cards sourced from TV Tropes. Still a bit beta, and very much looking for feedback, but hopefully fun.

4 PM: Introduction to building interactive props

Dave Kapell

Learn to develop simple microcontroller-based props to enhance your games

Interactive props can aid immersion to some games. Learn how to create simple digital circuits and the basics of microcontroller programming from Dave Kapell. Experience with programming is useful, but I'll be tailoring the workshop to the skill set of those interested.

8 PM: The Mechanics of Running a Weekend-Long LARP or How to Lose Your Sanity in 1 Easy Step

Stephen Kohler

Ever wanted to run a weekend long LARP? Don't have the time or energy to put together a weekend's worth of plot, but wanted to try your hand at GMing anyway? Come and listen to one guy's way of making it happen!

So, you want to run a weekend-long LARP? WHY!?! Dear Lord, why!?! Run! Run while you still can!!!!!!

Ok, now that we've scared off the lightweights, hi there! Once upon a time, I was like you; I wanted to run a weekend-long LARP, but didn't know where to go or what to do. So I set out on my own, and now I'm back to tell you how it's done. I will work you through the logistics of acquiring a game, getting together a GM team, getting players, casting, stuffing, and running the game, as well as pointing out some of the classic pitfalls along the way. There will be answers to your questions, and a good time will be had by all.

8 PM: Does how we write affect how the game is played; Goal lists, Who you know, Background Stories

Cameron Betts

How do these stock tools of LARP writing affect the outcome of the game?

9 PM: Baby Got Bustle: All About Victorian Booty

Lise Fracalossi

Expand your knowledge of this late Victorian foundation garment with a presentation on the evolution and construction of the bustle. Pictorial and hands-on examples will be provided, and questions answered.

9 PM: War Stories: LARPers are scum

Join us for round-table storytelling and discussion of LARP experiences that didn't go quite how you expected.

10 PM: Transmedia Techniques for LARP

Transmedia. When you hear the word "Transmedia", your first thought is "Oh, that's a Hollywood buzzword. How would that ever apply to LARP?" It's a simple word attached to a complex concept. At its core, it's just an umbrella idea about how to build a storyverse or storyworld across different media. Even a LARP can use or has used these techniques. So let's talk about some of these techniques as a way of enhancing and building the story experience.

Sunday

12 PM: Play the Build Your Own Game

Run by a very tired group of game authors

The Build Your Own Game team has been working since Friday to produce a game. Come be the first players to play this new game!