This might be a terrible idea or a wonderful idea. I'm not really sure which. I guess it depends on whom you game with. Basically you take all of the things you want to encourage in a LARP and then you create icons that you print out on sticker sheets. Someone meets the criteria, they get a sticker (and maybe a cookie). Why? Well you can't offer cash prizes and experience point incentives don't work for every player and when they do work they tend to create big power level gaps.
There could be stickers for reaching your tenth, twentieth and fiftieth boon owed to you or owed by you; stickers for your first feeding mishap; stickers for consistent costuming; stickers for submitting your thirtieth downtime; and stickers for helping out a certain amount of time.
So what do you think of that idea? Absolutely awful? Or just crazy enough that it might work?
You could give out stickers but call them achievement's. Everyone loves achievements. Different stickers/achievements are worth different points (i.e. showing up 5 times running is worth 5 points, but costuming 5 times running is worth 15). Maybe have them also display on some online registry. They don't necessarily do anything, but they show the effort various players have put in to the greater community engaging in the LARP, or those looking up info on LARP's in the local area.
ReplyDelete(obviously in this case it would be the players choice whether to show their real name, character name or a pseudonym or anything at all online. Privacy issues and whatnot.)
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ReplyDeleteAs long as it all ends up in good fun. What is being set up here is "trust" that the person is truly exhibiting these behaviors to gain these achievements. I would also suspect these people will be sought-after as mentors/teachers by new members for these behaviors so they will get these achievements too. Once a pattern is set that pattern can then be used as a tool to gain trust and then do an epic betrayal. I feel this is why people buy things that are achievements on Ebay. Did they really go to that convention? Did they really play those games? They certainly have the physical evidence that they did...
ReplyDeleteThe idea has merit. But needs to be fleshed out more. What context is this idea; Theatrical, Jeep, Battle Game, Hit Point System? Because depending on how you write the idea into a thing, it could have applications for each.
ReplyDeleteI haven't really fleshed out the theory. How do you think it could work for the various types?
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