Fwd: [Transmedia-LA] Blueprints for Transmedia, args, larps, etc.

[Dan Novy]

From Aaron  of the Transmedia Group. Looks like some nice primary source material.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: AaronLARP <aaro...@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Jan 29, 2011 at 1:51 AM
Subject: [Transmedia-LA] Blueprints for Transmedia, args, larps, etc.
To: Transmedia LA <transm...@googlegroups.com>


Knutepunkt is an annual convention that rotates amongst the Nordic countries, and is focussed mainly on larp, but also transmedia, ARGs, pervasive games, etc. 

Each year they have a week of events, conferences, discussions, panels, etc. This year it's February 17-20 near Copenhagen. 

Besides the actual conference, they also put together some very fine "books", which are a collection of essay and recaps and other ideas behind larp and whatever else it is that we're doing. These are released as PDFs as well as printed copies.

For 2011, they released three books: "Think", which are theoretical essays, "Do", which are blueprints of events, and "Talk", which are  provocative op-ed pieces. 

They are available as free PDF downloads here ("Talk" will be available this Sunday). 

I believe they are all in English, they seem to be.

Of note: In "Do", Jaakko Stenros & Markus Montola write about "Conspiracy of Good" which they describe as "a pilot project in pervasive transmedia storytelling combining elements of alternate reality games, mobile phone games, treasure hunts, benevolent gaming and live action role playing. It ran for five months online and culminated in four live events on the streets of London in August 2010."

Also, Morgan Joeck and I have the blueprint for our larp "Rock Band Murder Mystery", which we ran at Wyrd Con last year in the same book. We used the Rock Band video game to simulate instruments for a group on tour that finds a dead girl in their penthouse hot tub. This was all set in the penthouse of the hotel, the one with the hot tub and the wet bar. 

This year, Morgan is running a very dark larp called "Mirror Room", and I am running a hybrid table-top RPG/larp of the classic "Call of Cthulhu" horror-mystery game based on the works of author H.P. Lovecraft. I also am going to run what I think is a transmedia larp called "Steeds", which is like a first-person shooter with live bodies. If this test works, I want to run it again, later, and make it "Being John Malkovich: the larp". There are a bunch (more than a dozen) other great games going on at Wyrd Con this year. Come out and play! Wyrd Con website. Use code WYRDCON to get a discount on tickets.

I also have a piece in "Talk" about what's wrong in the U.S. larp community, and I blame Dungeons & Dragons. ;-)

Cheers!

Aaron