When I mention LARPing to someone, the response I usually get is “Excuse you”. Excuse me? No, excuse you good sir for I feel bad that you have not been able to experience the eye opening experience you could have LARPing. Most people when they hear about LARPing they instantly become condescending and judgmental. Funny thing is… I’m not getting the looks like I did five years ago.

LARP stands for Live Action Role Play. LARPing began in the 1970s and although no one can agree to where this term was coined or who exactly thought it up we do know that the first game recorded began in 1977 in Washington DC in the United States. Players who partake in a LARP call themselves LARPers. Eh, so what? I can easily find that on the LARPing wiki right? But read it again… LARPing has been around for 30+ years. This ‘idea’ has been around for a long period of time and this ‘idea’ has not been played around with since then. For one, and the most obvious, the name for it hasn’t changed, LARP. Live Action Role Play can stand for anything that you role play in person. The board game Clue, that murder mystery dinner you attended, and even the Rocky Horror Picture Show play you dressed up for last week. The dated name doesn’t even accurately describe what we’re accomplishing these days. Along with the name, the concept is the same; gather in a large group, role play, engage in some combat made of plumbing supplies if you’re lucky, save the damsel in distress if you’re luckier and role play some more. There are different factors weighing in for each LARP but it is essentially the same thing!

Imagine when Playstation came out. Now imagine if the creators became lazy and said “Hell, it’s a good enough system for now and even though we have the means to make it better we’re going leave it alone.” No, can’t imagine it? Even thinking about it hurts? Well this concept is the exact concept that has set root in so many LARP games. They become so set in their ways that they refuse to improve their LARP and take the easy route by being lazy. The current players are not helping. They are content as they trod through the original version of Playstation, whacking the zombie they saw last month and trying to find the same key the Inn Keeper just can’t seem to hold on to.