Wyrd Con Companion Book 2014, Edited by Sarah Lynne Bowman (Los Angeles, CA: Wyrd Con, 44
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Wyrd Con Companion Book 2014 Edited by Sarah Lynne Bowman, Ph.D. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Tips for interacting with the Wyrd Con Companion Book: To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 444 Castro Street, Suite 900, Mountain View, California, 94041, USA. Use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader The views, opinions, and statements expressed in the Wyrd Con Companion Book are solely those of the Red text (except names) links to the web if you are connected to the Internet contributors and not necessarily those of Wyrd Con, its affiliates, or the editors. You will need to trust the document for the links to work Join the discussion about The Wyrd Con Companion Book on Facebook: Text in blue will link to other articles in the document http://www.facebook.com/groups/390244477724076/ Clicking on will bring you to the Table of Contents WyrdCon 5: May 22-26 2014 in Los Angeles, California Wyrd Con 6: September 24-27, 2015 in Costa Mesa, California: http://wyrdcon.com/ 5 Table of Contents Foreward .................................................6 Playing With Myth: The Academic Section of Larping the Past: Research The Wyrd Con Companion Book ......94 Report on High-School Edu-Larp Introduction from the Editor ...................7 Applying Mythic Imagination to Live Action Role-play Michal/ Mochocki ............................132 Craig Page .......................................60 Pulling the Trigger on Player Agency: The State of Amtgard How Psychological Intrusions in Larps Lessons Learned from Larp: By Sarah Budai Affect Game Play Promoting Social Realism in and Kristin Hammock .......................11 The Parlor Sandbox: Counter-Players and Ephemera Maury Elizabeth Brown ....................96 Nursing Simulation in American Freeform Anne Standiford .............................150 The Therapy Game: Nordic Larp, Evan Torner and Educational Live Action Psychotherapy, and Player Safety Katherine Castiello Jones .................68 Role-playing Games: Kevin Burns ......................................28 A Secondary Literature Review Entering and Leaving the Sarah Lynne Bowman .....................112 Culture Shock: Building a Freeform Scene “Magic Circle” as Symbolic Acts: in Edmonton The Case of Russian Field Larps Eleonora and Mikael Hellström ........42 Olga Vorobyeva ................................76 The Origins of Geek Culture: Level Up: Guys, We Need to Talk Perspectives on a Parallel Peter Woodworth ..............................88 Intellectual Milieu Lars Konzack ....................................52 Editing by Sarah Lynne Bowman, Ph.D. Layout and design by Kirsten Hageleit Published by Wyrd Con under Creative Commons License December 18, 2014 Cover photo by Theresa Garcia: At Dystopia Rising: Lone Star, a priest of the King’s Court, a religion that worships music and idolizes rock stars from the past, baptizes a new member. He leads her blindfolded down a rocky path, with her friends and fellow Court members guiding her way. At the end of the journey, the priest removes the blindfold, has her greet the sunset, and asks her to announce the band she wishes to follow. 7 Foreward Introduction from the Editor A Maturing Subculture the current state of affairs within this widespread or- yrd Con is a crucible of ideas and concepts. It is with pride that I welcome The Wyrd Con Com- Investigative analysis of interactive storytelling in ganization to an internal audience of Amtgard officials, At our core, we have strived to establish a panion Book 2014 to our audience and I personally its many forms continues to evolve. As our communi- Budai and Hammock graciously agreed to adapt their W gathering place for the open exchange of thank the contributors for their blood, sweat, and tears. ties mature, so, too, do the levels of discourse around report for the Companion Book. They explain how ideas in the world of Storytelling. The passion that is required to build a document that topics as important as the psychology of play, docu- Amtgard—which focuses on touch-based combat with However, as this Companion Book will reveal, far pushes the boundaries of understanding is a daunting mentation of projects, gender biases, innovative new foam swords, magic, and skills—began in 1983, even- more than our physical location exists in the larger one. I am grateful for the effort put forth by our authors forms, examination of historical roots, and storytelling tually branching out to 12 countries worldwide with world of Storytelling within which we interact. Our and our editor, Sarah Lynne Bowman. Without each of as mythmaking. This year’s journalistic section of the 984 total groups. Budai and Hammock also explain purpose is to grow and learn in ways that we find both you these books would not be possible. Wyrd Con Companion Book tackles all of these subjects the leadership structure of the organization, includ- entertaining and intriguing. People come to Wyrd Con The Companion Book is the foundation of what and more, including voices from countries as diverse ing the election of local monarchies and knights. The for the dialogue it generates, the social atmosphere, makes Wyrd Con a safe place for what we call clever as various American communities, the United Kingdom, article provides a vast array of statistics regarding and the opportunity to experience new stories and debate. However, we must also realize that everyone Denmark, Sweden, Canada, and Russia. This maturation the growth and decline rates of individual groups; the worlds dormant in our psyches. is welcome in that debate and to have fun. We see is also evident in our featured academic submissions days and times in which Amtgard games take place; We welcome those who are curious about a level Wyrd Con as a clever, creative, and fun place for all. this year from the United States and Poland, which ex- and the most common means of promotion and com- of personal experience that many modern forms of As a matter of fact, these facets are now in the core amine psychological safety in larp and the benefits of munication. To date, I have yet to see a more thorough entertainment lack. We focus on the development of of what Wyrd Con is. You will see our identity develop educational role-playing. quantitative analysis of a larp group. I encourage other worlds that you can see, touch, shape, and feel. We further over the coming years, but we recognize the For most of our authors this year, interactive sto- games to utilize Budai and Hammock’s research model create emotional ties through story, friendship, and need for a solid foundation. I encourage those who rytelling is not just a hobby, but rather a meaningful in order to further increase our understanding of the ideas that are not fully experienced in a traditional read this book and these words to discuss and debate object of passionate interest and, in several cases, a organizational details of larps worldwide. television drama or film. Wyrd Con ties together more what they feel Wyrd Con will offer them. profession. The Companion Book works to serve as a Next, Kevin Burns takes us on a fascinating journey than a single moment of experience, showing those I once again welcome and thank all those who bridge between diverse voices from around the world, through various psychological theories, eventually around us how to collaborate in new ways and demon- have contributed to the 2014 Companion Book and have each with their own vested interest in the subject mat- applying them to Nordic larp. “The Therapy Game: strating how to generate new adventures at a deeply considered what Wyrd Con seeks to develop. ter. Many of the articles in this volume were inspired, Nordic Larp, Psychotherapy, and Player Safety” covers personal level. Clever, Creative, Fun. Wyrd Con is about shaping in part, by previous editions of our publication. We a vast array of psychological theories: psychoanalysis, This book reveals how you can experience a greater stories, worlds, and adventures. The next level of play hope to continue this fruitful dialogue and provide a psychodrama, play therapy, psychosynthesis, family dimension in your designs and, in many ways, it dives for the curious human. space for discourse among authors who normally might constellations, the collective unconscious, archetypes, deeply into the technical complexities that many may never come in contact. Through this collision of ideas the shadow, individuation, and active imagination. Burns find daunting. However, Wyrd Con realizes that all — Ira Ham and documentation from far-reaching corners of the connects these concepts with theoretical work in role- aspects of stories are required to shape worlds and Chairman of Wyrd Con world, our hope is that this discourse will continue to playing studies by Beltrán, Blatner, Pohjola, Montola, and everyone is different. Orange County, CA mature and new avenues of collaboration will emerge. me. He interweaves this meta-analysis with personal December 16, 2014 accounts from himself, as well as from other role-players who participate in Nordic larps, freeforms, and other scenarios. Finally, he discusses the potentially thera- The Journalistic Section of peutic nature of role-playing, issues of psychological The Wyrd Con Companion Book safety, and appropriate strategies for debriefing. Burns’ This year’s journalistic section continues the pub- article contributes one of the most thorough explana- lication’s commitment to provide quality informative, tions of the links between psychology and role-playing theoretical, and practical discussion about a variety in the current literature, writing in a style that manages topics pertaining to interactive storytelling. The ma- both a professional and confessional tone. jority of the articles this year pertain to role-playing In “Culture Shock: Building a Freeform Scene in games, although Lars Konzack’s and Peter Woodworth’s Edmonton,” Eleonora and Mikael Hellström explain the contributions examine the “geek” subculture from difficult process of transitioning from a Swedish larp broader perspectives.