Diary of a Croatian larper

With Jaska 11 being canceled, the main thing happening this weekend in larp circles will be Rikon, a sci-fi and fantasy convention in Rijeka which starts today. For Croatian convention standards, Rikon is a medium-size convention - however, unlike its relatively small larp scene, Croatia is a regional leader in number of sci-fi conventions and numbers of people they draw in, so it's quite a significant convention. Larp-wise, Sven Nemet will hold a presentation about Para pokreće svijet larp today at 9 PM today on Rikon, in a room or section named "Gondor", so if you're attending Rikon be sure to see that presentation. It seems that Jaska 11 is not the only thing canceled these days. Rajski Vrhovi feast planned on December 15-16 also got canceled (before it was announced though). Not due to weather or injury, but because the venue cost has been rised nearly three times compared to last year... So unless another larp gets announced (such as last year's Gai...

Ognjeni Mač association's larp Jaska 11 has unfortunately been canceled. Three reasons cited for cancelation are the following: bad weather (though the forecast is better than for the last year's Jaska 9 ), a shoulder injury of one of the organizers (have a speedy recovery!), and emergency situation at work causing another organizer's days off work to be canceled. This means that the next Jaska larp - probably in May 2013. - will be named Jaska 11 instead. Instead of Jaska, Maksimir 62 will be organized as a longer than usual Maksimir larp. It will be held on October 20th. Unfortunately, that means it'll clash with Chronicles of Demgard in Hungary. The Croatian team going to Demgard is being formed, although it's rather smaller than expected - three people so far. But it's a first Croatian visit to a Hungarian larp, after they visited Terra Nova this June, and there will certainly be things to write about. It's not the only thing clashing...

"To really understand larp, you need to experience it." It's a sentence we often tell new players when they ask us about larp. And it's true. You cannot really describe immersion . You probably cannot even remember all the tiny details on other people and in the environment that added to your experience and immersion. A photo may tell a thousand words, but no amount of photos can truly show you how it really is. Words and images of larp are only pale shadows of experience. Larps are meant to be felt. But for some inexplicable reason, lots of existing larpers seem to think this no longer applies to them. In a way, your first larp is a very defining one. You always remember your first larp. It leaves a huge impression on you. It also tends to define the way you see larp in the future. Seeing your first larp defines your perception of what larp is - not just the larp you saw, but larp in general. After it's done, you tend to expect certain things from larps...

It's one of those larps where I'm not sure where to start. There's many things to write about, I'm not sure where to begin. Perhaps from the beginning, which was some two years ago when Ana Rajner and Božo Špoljarić decided to make this larp. It was then organized, scheduled and re-scheduled several times until it was finally scheduled on this weekend as the first larp of the newly founded Lateralus association. A one-shot fantasy larp hasn't been done before in Croatia. After some talk with Croatian fantasy autors to secure rights to use elements from their books in larp, Tragači zore (Seekers of the Dawn) was slowly being formed, planning to be a very different style of fantasy larp than what is usually played in Croatia. Players preparing for the game. It's important to note that the game itself wasn't photographed . All photos are from either before the game started or after it ended. You can see the full gallery here . One huge dif...

The first larp organized by the Lateralus association, Tragači zore (Seekers of the dawn) starts today. If you don't know what it is, check my announcement of 2 months ago, but basically it's a new fantasy larp in Croatia, organized in its own game world based on literary works of several Croatian authors. Unlike Criatian fantasy larps so far, it will be a one-shot larp, meaning characters and game world exist for only this one game. There's plenty of stuff about this larp that has already proven different from other Croatian larps so far, but I'll reserve it until the full review afterwards. Earlier weather forecasts showed some rain, but today's forecast shows clear weather for the duration of game play, so we should be good (knock wood). If you're going - see you there. I'm off to resume packing.

Immersion . One of the most commonly used and misused terms in larp, very few people will view immersion in the same way. To put it simply, it's a state of mind where player doesn't need to actively suspend disbelief in the fictional surroundings. All the mental blocks are removed, and the flow of role-play is as smooth as if you were truly the character you're playing. And you truly start feeling like your character, as if the stuff happening to your character is really happening to you. Camp details and game props can help you achieve immersion - besides serving as plot locations. Several scientists have broadly defined these different types of immersion : Tactical (or Sensory-motoric) Immersion is experienced when performing tactile or physical operations that involve skill. Players feel “in the zone” while perfecting actions that result in success. Strategic (or Cognitive) Immersion is more cerebral, and is associated with mental challenge and decision makin...

This is not just any other article. This is my call to you, dear readers. I made some calls before - among others, I asked you to start a larp and realize that every larp you're on is your game . I wrote larp reviews , I wrote about larp theory , I wrote of my personal experiences as a larper, and I wrote about other related stuff. I'd like to invite all of you to the comments section of this post. Share your thoughts and your opinions on this blog, what you like and what you don't like. Ask me questions. Tell me what you'd like reading about. Or just drop in to say hi.