The Experience
During this larp, you will be taking part in a re-do of the True Love Initiative as done by the characters 12 years before. You will be back in the same vacation home as back then, expecting to take part in both having fun and participating in the exercises during your stay.
Acts
The playing experience at this larp will be divided into three acts that all consist of different themes and ideas for play. These acts will be facilitated both through your individual play and how you push your characters, but also by our in-game facilitators and the program instructing the characters to engage in different exercises and so on.
First night
Act 1
The characters arrive and will mainly be playing in their couples and initial friend groups. Here the characters will be consolidated in who they are now, the couple dynamics will be established, and the concept that this whole endeavour ‘will just be about confirming that your chosen partner is the right one’ is the pervading idea.
Second day
Act 2
The exercises will start dividing the couples up more, and the characters will suddenly be exposed more to the idea that maybe someone else could in fact be their true partner. The characters will be exploring new relations and old nostalgia of who they used to be. They will get to know new people, maybe fall in love, get drunk, make mistakes, have long talks about their dreams and feelings, connecting, and much more. They will do what the program tells them to do, which will only create a greater rift in their initial couples.
Third day
Act 3
During the third day, the characters will perhaps start to realize and contemplate that perhaps they are supposed to end up with other people. The initial couples will be pushed even more, and this may change the couples in some way or form for good. The characters will perhaps feel even more pressure to engage in the programs exercises, and likewise become more desperate to figure out what love will make them most happy.
Third night
Ending
The larp will end on the third night, where the final couples will be chosen by the program. The program will here decide that the initial pairings, had been right all along, and all of our characters end up where they started. But now, something between them or within themselves have changed for good.
Relaxing in the vacation home
What you will be doing during the larp will therefore consist of half of what your character would do to relax in a vacation home for a weekend. As this sort of also works as a throwback to when the characters were young last they were here, these activities can play into their nostalgia and more teenage-like behaviour of drinking and playing.
This could include:
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swimming in the pool
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chilling in the jacuzzi/wilderness bath
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playing a board or card game
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reading a book
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playing pool or darts
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playing drinking or social games, like beer pong or Truth or Dare
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playing playstation/switch
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having long talks
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making food together
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eating together
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and anything in-between…
The Program and its exercises
The other half of the larp will be the exercises that will be facilitated by our in-game facilitators. The exercises can be many different things, and below you will find some examples of possible tests we believe that the characters could be put through.
The exercises will probably ramp up during play-time, and the characters will probably in-game start having issues with parts of it, but there will be good in-character excuses for why they would participate.
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Simply beware that the characters can feel forced to do things they do not want to do, but you as a player will always have the option to opt-out of things you do not feel comfortable doing. But it will be part of the experience that the characters will feel exposed and compelled to do things that challenge both themselves and their relationship.
Examples of exercises
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mindfulness exercises
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cooking together
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talking about your issues with your partner in front of everyone
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not being able to leave someone’s side for hours
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criticise someone else to their face
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dancing together
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being blindfolded
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doing interviews or therapy sessions
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telling someone your greatest secrets or dreams
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spending time in the pool/in a room/being private
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kissing someone
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building up sexual/sensual tension
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playing with power dynamics (like being submissive or dominant towards each other)
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going on a pseudo-date
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social games like ‘Truth or Dare’ or similar game
Remember, you will always be able to opt-out of something you do not want to do, but if several of these things seem like something you wouldn’t like, perhaps this larp is not for you.
Tension
This game will feature tension and building up tension between our characters, sort of like a pressure-cooker larp. The idea is that the characters have a lot of feelings inside, and the program will be a way for some of them to let out some steam, which will lead to consequences and hence more tension.
One way tension is very present in this larp is around sexual themes. This larp will play with sexual tension. However, the play will be about the tension and the characters’ wish for connection through sex, but not the actual sexual play. This will partly be done through the fact that the program has banned sex during their stay. This means that there both in game and off game will not be sexual or simulated sexual play. You can read more about this under Safety.
Workshops
Before the game we will be doing briefings and workshops that will try and help you prepare for your experience. This will include setting and character presentations, safety workshops where we will try out the mechanics, establishing some shared memories from 12 years ago, and time to talk with your relations.
Here we will try to establish dynamics, memories, behaviour and a feeling of connection and perhaps disconnection with your relations, in particular in your couples.