This lecture by Sarah Lynne Bowman gives a brief introduction to live action role-playing (larp), discussing its similarities to improv, childhood pretends play, therapeutic role-playing, and simulation. The lecture discusses several common forms of larp, such as boffer, chamber, collaborative, Nordic, blockbuster, chamber/parlor/theatre style, and blackbox. While a larp can fit into many of these categories, our goal is to provide some language for players to be able to describe what they are designing or embodying. Bio: Sarah Lynne Bowman, Ph.D. is a scholar, game designer, and event organizer.
She is an Associate Professor for the Department of Game Design at Uppsala University Campus Gotland and the Coordinator for Peace & Conflict Studies at Austin Community College. McFarland Press published her dissertation as The Functions of Role-playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems, and Explore Identity (2010). Bowman has edited for The Wyrd Con Companion Book (2012-2015), the International Journal of Role-playing (2016-), and Nordiclarp.org (2015-). She helped organize the Living Games Conference (2014, 2016, 2018) and Role-playing and Simulation in Education Conference (2016, 2018).