Playstyle & themesThe setting is not seen by any of the characters as dystopian or oppressive – this system is the best solution humankind could come up with given the situation with the infection. Rebelling against it would be seen as something similar to e.g. rebelling against public schooling or vaccinations, It is not the theme of the larp except, optionally, at the very end, when two characters could potentially choose to be Banished together.
The intended tone of the game is mildly absurdist relationship drama – we recommend you watch one or both of our inspirations (Hang the DJ and The Lobster) before you play the larp (we want to reassure you though, in a spoiler-free way, that unlike Hang the DJ there will be no unexpected setting twists in the larp). It is a story about attempting to have romantic relationships with a variety of people, some better suited to you than others, about growing as a person and looking for true love, whatever that means. It is not intended to be “misery porn”, though there may be some difficult themes in the character backstories (e.g. depression, bullying, emotionally abusive parents). However, there will be no sexual abuse. |
The world our characters live in is slightly more progressive than our current world – there is a bit less racism, a bit less homophobia and more social equality. These themes may still exist but are not the focus of the larp. Babies are grown in vats and created based on the genome of both partners regardless of their sex, so any couple has the option to procreate.
Playing on romance is the main theme of the larp (with personal growth and discovery being a secondary theme). A common worry is “I don’t see myself as attractive, so no one will want to play romance with me” – we want to reassure you that the larp design prevents it from turning into a “popularity contest”. The larp design on a meta-level ensures that the emotional tone of each relationship is pre-planned to provide everyone enough play of the kind they like, be it star-crossed lovers, unreciprocal crush on a best friend or being stuck with a partner you hate (you will be able to specify your preferences in the sign-up form). |
GameplayThe larp will last around 50 hours. During that time, your character will go through a sequence of 3 computer-assigned romantic relationships. Much of your time in the game will be spent interacting with your currently assigned partner, but there will also be time to play with your family/friends who are also in the programme, or have secret trysts with exes (even though that risks miscalibrating your implant and is strictly against the rules of the programme!).
During daytime, your characters will be able to participate in various group activities, e.g. partner yoga or ballroom dancing classes, relationship councelling, or a beginner's parenting lesson. You might want to introduce your partner to your family and friends, play billiards or other games together, solve a jigsaw puzzle or take a walk. Evenings are dedicated to romantic dinner dates followed by couples mixer parties. In 2070, most characters wouldn't be able to stay away from social media too long, so there will be some room to post on your "Facebook" wall or message your overbearing parents back home (we will facilitate creating online NPC connections like that before the game). There will also be the possibility of engaging in online preplay before the larp. |
Roleplaying intimacyIn order to ensure that the players feel safe and comfortable roleplaying on romance and intimacy, we emphasise clear and precise off-game communication and calibration. Since much of the play is done in couples, it will be possible to fine-tune the level of physicality in your larp experience to suit your needs. We will expect you to calibrate your play preferences before the game with your pre-existing relationships -- there will be time dedicated to that during the pre-larp workshop. We will explain our approach to calibration it in more detail in the design document, and practice during the workshop; we will also teach you or remind you of several potentially useful techniques to represent kissing and sex.
All this will let you calibrate how you want to represent kissing, making out and sex individually for each relationship where this is relevant. The baseline for other kinds of contact without asking for consent is hugs, touching hands, arms, shoulders, face and hair (e.g. holding a friend's hand to express support, wiping away a sibling's tear etc.), and violence represented by carefully shaking someone's shoulder and making a slow-motion punch without connecting. If you're uncomfortable with anything from this list, you will be able to announce it to the group during the workshop, and your wishes will be respected. You will also be able to use safewords to de-escalate/opt-out/stop the scene during the game in case people forget. There will be no play on non-consensual sex. Non-sexual nudity is allowed, though we don’t expect lots of it. If your characters are engaging in any kind of sexual activity, however, we request you keep your underwear on. |
SafetyThe larp's safety approach is to provide a brave space where participants feel supported and confident in exploring their emotions. We emphasise player agency: there will be a single safeword, "offgame", which can be used for all purposes, but other well-established safety techniques will be respected as well.
Play up slowly to scenes that might be potentially upsetting to other players and give other players the option to opt out or approach the scene in a way that they are comfortable with. It is always okay to ask someone for a brief off-game discussion to calibrate any aspect of play. Negative comments about any physical characteristics of the players/characters are not allowed. Any relationship drama will always be due to e.g. incompatible personalities or being in love with someone else, never due to finding someone unattractive. Compliments are encouraged, though! There will be an off-game room available at all times, and you are always welcome to talk to the organisers. |