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June 8th, 2009
01:26 pm - Chucky's Cheeze Lessons Learned
It’s been a while since I’ve written a post mortem about a LARP I‘ve run, but I’ve felt the need, so here’s a post mortem about Chucky’s Cheeze, a scene I ran at the most recent Threads of Damocles event.
Chucky’s Cheeze was set in a restaurant that had become isolated. One concept Threads has is that of “consensual reality,” which basically states that when a thread becomes isolated, what people in the thread believe is true tends to become actual laws of physics. So, I started with the question: what would a thread entirely populated by children be like?
The laws of physics in Chucky’s Cheeze were weird. Children were “safe” there. They were completely invulnerable and could not be hurt in any way. This was, of course, not true of the player characters, although they would have become invulnerable had they stayed there long enough to fully integrate into the restaurant. Also, it was physically impossible to go to places (or touch things) marked “employees only.” Only employees could do that, and you are not an employee.
The entire place was watched over by the benevolent god, Chucky the Rat, who provided pizza – any kind of pizza (except apparently high gigawat energy pizza; magic sparkly pizza worked though. It was delicious). Chucky was also omnipotent as one player found to her disadvantage. There was a lot more inspired weirdness, but I digress. I’m thinking of making the scene available for download from my site.
The society of kids that lived there had devolved into tribalism. Evan’s tribe controlled the bathrooms and required a token to use them (tokens could be used to operate the video games; the scene had a token economy, you see). Betsy’s tribe held the area near the kitchen and thus got the best pizza. Tad had lost his tribe. The play area was a free space anyone could go to. Yes, there was a complex political negotiation going on in the background of the scene, involving finding allies, betrayal, and revolution. Well, as complex as kids 7-10 can be, anyway.
In general, the scene was very well received both by cast and players. But it was easily the most ambitious scene I had written for Threads yet. I don’t know how the scene sheet compared to other writers, but it ended up being 14 pages with 6 more pages of contingency envelopes. Every player character in the scene had 9-11 contingency envelopes as the consensual reality of the thread changed them into children. Some cast had contingencies as well.
So, what went wrong? My lessons learned:
The Gatehouse. I will *never* run a scene in the gatehouse again if I can help it. It was way too small for the number of players (technically not the gatehouse’s fault), was two levels connected by a steep ladder like staircase, and the bottom floor was covered in rat droppings. Luckily I found a cobweb covered broom there and was able to sweep up beforehand, but just cleaning the place made me nauseated.
Faulty assumptions. In the previous Threads game, the props I had asked to borrow from Threads had magically appeared in my space when I got there to set up (thanks Jenny!). I had somehow assumed this would happen again this time, but it was untrue, and I had to drive down to the cast tent to get the props. I had to return them again next morning, when it was pointed out to me that the props still weren’t being transported for me and they were needed for the next scene. I should have asked ahead of time if I was responsible for prop transportation for my scene.
Faulty assumptions 2: technology. I had negotiated a computer from the Threads staff which they provided (thanks again), and I had a CD Rom with the video games I wanted to play on it. The computer didn’t have a CD rom drive. We had pretend video games. Ah well.
Technology also failed me in that the files I made for a cool placemat became corrupted. I really need a new thumb drive. I don’t know if it is the drive or something else that corrupts the files, but I also nearly lost a character sheet for LoB 2 as well.
I made one mistake early in runtime. Remember I said that Cast had tokens to trade with. I gave a couple of tokens to players early on, but then realized that doing that would make them less likely to negotiate with cast, so I stopped. It was a very quick lesson learned and didn’t really hurt the game that much.
I also made one writing mistake. I let the players know that if they couldn’t escape on their own, they would be rescued. I believe this interfered with the “oh my god we need to get out of here before we all turn into children” attitude I was hoping to foster. Next time, I’ll put in the backup plan, but not inform the players.
Finally, I had verbally asked for trash bags to be added to my props and was assured they would be there. They weren’t and I didn’t discover that until after I had gotten back to the gate house. Now again, I should have put it as a written request way back when we asked for prop requests, but I believe a lesson learned is that Threads should supply a trash bag to every scene that happens in the gatehouse or the barn. No need to request one, you just get a bag for your trash.
What went right:
The cast. The cast were fantastic. Now, there’s few ways to plan for excellent cast, and I usually let the other GMs pick cast first because they usually have recurring characters to play. I had sent the materials out for the scene well in advance of the game, and those materials stressed that the cast (a) needed to show up without prompting because nobody would be there to prompt them and (b) the cast should show up early to help set up and expect to stay late to help tear down.
And they did! They read the briefing ahead of time. They got the place looking very Cheezy. They assembled last minute paper products. And they did an excellent job playing their characters as well. And they stayed to clean up, and some of them played those characters later in the game as well. I’m honored.
The players. The players ran with the scene. They picked up on clues. They negotiated with players. They deliberately made unwise decisions that furthered character growth. They had no problems as their mental, emotional, and physical states become more childlike. And they solved the puzzle. There were two main ways of escaping: destroying the thread or changing consensual reality so they could escape.
The players split into two groups, but while group 2 was about 2/3 of the way there, group 1 managed to do the final action to sever the thread’s energy source and it collapsed, spewing them into the Tween briefly and then into the Empire of New York. The current whereabouts of Chucky the Rat are unknown.
Other successes: Cake. The cake was not a lie. Lighting effects. They were cool. Ball pit and play area. They added fun to the game. Pizza boxes. I work for the best company ever and we had pizza for lunch on Friday. Music. The music was from the Organ Grinder Pizza restaurant chain. I strive for authenticity. The Chucky’s Cheeze Electronic Kazoo Orchestra. Whee!
Overall, I consider the scene to be a rousing success.
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Comments:
I am now very sad I was not able to attend Boston....I'd have loved to be in this scene, from the sounds of it, either as cast or as player.
;_;
I'm glad it went well overall though Mike, and look forward to seeing and playing with you at Funfair!
Alas, unless something changes, I cannot make either Funfair or Danzig.
Bah...we need to change that. -_-#
Yeah - when I run an event for people - I get really tied up in the littlest cosmetic details (like the cd, or placemats.) That's the stuff that makes me crazy. You?
The cake was GOOD. The players that came out of the scene said they really liked it.
Oh, I've gotten to the point where I prepare all the little details but am prepared to go "oh well" and move on when they don't work. We still had actual tokens, actual cake, a ball pit and a number of other cool little details, so it's fine if some didn't work right.
My biggest stressers when running a larp or scene are:
- we must get this set up NOW! (or during runtime: this scene/event must happen NOW)
and
- two or more people trying to get my attention at once during runtime.
I try to mitigate them by getting set up extra early, so I'm only antsy waiting for things to start, and by trying to prepare contingency envelopes beforehand so I have less to do during runtime.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/70315132/1275977) | | | Lessons Learned - [1 of 2] | (Link) |
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I think these are good lessons and I'd repeat them on the Writer's List. They sum up myriad things that I, the 1948 authors, Dirk, etc. know about running on the property that most new Writers don't. They provide a good summary of the concept that "the land ain't a hotel."
I also think you have a good summary of "why rain games suck," and "why we need a generator."
Two notes to take into the future, and help me push with players:
1) The Gatehouse would have been better if we'd had two setup weekends. We had to cancel one because of low turnout. Usually it has had a preliminary clean and scrub and only needs a quick sweeping out. That didn't happen this year. Help me get people to both setups next year.
2) I heard a lot of players saying "oh well the game was fine without a generator Friday night." It was fine to walk around in camp and roleplay, but on the logistics end of the game it was a bloody disaster. I know we get some pushback on buying expensive stuff like generators, so help me push that. The blackout is explicitly why you didn't have a PC with DVD.
Typically on Friday night, Jenny and I go over props. That's where I would have told her that the PC I brought up with DVD and S-Video for YOU was in the Threads Office. I critically failed to tell her and she never knew it existed. I'm sorry about that whole thing. We know there was an original prop being made by somebody else and that critically failed to show up and that's a long story. Sigh...I realized Monday the DVD/S-Video machine had never been pulled.
But if we hadn't had the blackout we'd have talked through props Friday night - with both our laptops running and the ability to print, rather than rushed through them Saturday morning in ten minutes and I would have caught the error. We've known since Romania that darkness is the adversary of good props. Jenny deserves a pat for sorting out as much as she did while effectively losing Friday night. I deserve a kick in the crotch for not realizing I could probably run several 60watt lights of the Odyssey's inverter and the Kyle has a more powerful inverter. We now do have an emergency plan for electric light.
That said...
Typically I strongly recommend that authors @ (anchor) themselves as tech the slot before their scene. I accidentally let myself get tapped as Cast for Aaron in Sat Afternoon A, and actually had to go beg my release so I could tech Holland House. *Chuckle* you think you had poop in your space. Wait till you try running in the barn or the Sheep Barn. Cleanup is a must even if the space was swept the day before, and that's something we should tell new authors. It's a farm and there are a lot of animals, and these are outdoor spaces.
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It is the case that on the land GMs have to pick up their own props and deliver them back. It's easy for our one or two volunteers to run props to site in the hotel. And if they miss one thing the GM can easily walk to the props room and ask for it, or send someone. But on the land, having staff deliver props is error prone for three reasons. First, we just don't have enough staff to do that many long-distance deliveries. Second, if something gets missed, the GM EXPECTS it to be there, and it's a major fiasco if it isn't. It's better if the writer is going through the props at source and checks them BEFORE they leave the cast tent. Third, costuming and other related props are often sized and for example we don't want to deliver EVERY ENY Army uniform to the barn.
All that said...wow doesn't the rain make that SUCK! I made six trips on foot for Holland House and finally in the last few hours made two by car. If you're at a rain game again, note that one reason I try to cut traffic and keep the road open is so that the few high value high props scenes can move materiel and cast, so...ask about making a few cargo trips, whether in your vehicle or borrowing the Odyssey. It's probably best for that to go directly to *me,* since other people don't necessarily know what's up with that, and I try to keep in consultation with Adrienne about the roads.
For a big scene like Chucky Cheeze, it may be worth talking on the Writer's List about pulling extra staff to tech the scene. Jenny is also pulling people for tech now, and if you talk with her in advance and negotiate it's possible if you need minor support, particularly with props and transport, to get some help that way. In the end though if you need dedicated tech, I think that's a fair request to make to the list, and I'd uphold it. It doesn't necessarily mean we can deliver, but we are getting a bigger and bigger pool of tech available as we begin using swing-cast players to tech.
For Holland House I tapped my cast out to cut in line, get fed first, and come up to help tech/rehearse the scene. That's something I should have pushed more on list as I think it would have helped you. We're just now "formalizing it," but in practice that goes back to 1936. You have to be considerate of people cast for run-ins etc. but it's now possible to look across the grid and see which of your cast are free to tech your scene in the meal slot beforehand. You need to give people time to actually eat, but that gets you 40 minutes of tech at lunch and about an hour ten at dinner.
As a side note. I have a personal policy that I don't think volunteers should be made to clean up rat and pigeon droppings, or anything the barn cat recently killed. I always do that myself for my own scenes, though Moira has taken it out of my hands a few times. I'm just noting that. If it really bothers you, try to buddy up with me, or Moira or somebody else who is used to cleaning the barns and gatehouse. I'm happy to help as best I can, if I'm available though I tend to be the busy guy.
Overall I think things went well given the fair level of disasterage at the game. I'd also predicated setup on having extra help and that also didn't work out so it was rougher than I would have liked. First game is always a bear.
I'm glad the scene went well, and was well received. I'm looking forward to working with you on the writer's list in encouraging people to talk about the production values and goals of their scenes, and what they want to get out of them, and make use of our labor pool to make that work well for all of us...
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/62840101/1291134) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ambug666 |
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| Date: | June 9th, 2009 04:05 pm (UTC) |
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Well, my scene wasn't right after dinner and there was another scene in the gatehouse first, so I *couldn't* set up over dinner. Instead, I put a request in the scene document for cast to show up early to help set up and stay late to clean up. Most did with no complaint and were eager to help. I cannot overemphasize my appreciation and gratitude.
Rain does suck. It might be worthwhile to have an axillary cast/props area at the barn for scenes in the barn and gatehouse with the realization that props for scenes out there cannot be used for scenes in camp. I kept most of Chucky's Cheeze in my car for the game and it worked well.
Edited at 2009-06-09 04:06 pm (UTC)
| | From: | ambug666 |
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| Date: | June 9th, 2009 03:59 pm (UTC) |
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| | Re: Lessons Learned - [1 of 2] | (Link) |
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Yeah, I didn't complain onsite about my problems because I knew you were being slammed by the rain which would affect the whole weekend and because, frankly, my issues were trivial compared to what you were going through. I only had to look at you on Friday night to see how bad it was getting. I probably should have pitched in more, but without knowing what to do I probably would have just added to the stress.
I hadn't even thought about how having fewer setup weekends would have impacted me. A good lesson learned there is to pay attention to such things and be prepared to clean as needed.
Edited at 2009-06-09 04:06 pm (UTC)
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Yeah...even without the rain, a LOT of the issues at camp with things spinning up slowly were having only one setup weekend. I can't count the number of times I cursed about that Friday as I ran into things we'd easily have caught if we'd been onsite twice. Pushing the setup weekends is very important...there was also the anticipation of more setup help. Jenny pushed hard to get other people to come up early and they really did. She got screwed by not being able to get Friday off, and while she stayed Monday instead, that really shafted a lot of her plans for props organization. Underscores how valuable having a props person onsite really is.
Smith and Merry were *really* heavily responsible for getting the main build of the camp up while I worked on technical problems. Other people who came up early pitched in a lot. And Clint of course saved our bahoogies by fronting for a new generator.
The math by the way was - cheapest generator repair ever $200 (and this didn't look cheap). Generator rental for a weekend $250. New generator - $600. So we have a nice new generator.
And dude, you helped push my car out. And you are a player and were running stuff so...you're okay. Thanks for NOT complaining onsite. In the end we all had to put up with a little but had a good game.
But I know we take it seriously to try and make things run smoother next time and the time after.
The difference in how well we performed in Rain between this and 1936 is...really awe-inspiring. We've gotten much much better...
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/57361788/1680981) | | | Re: Lessons Learned - [1 of 2] | (Link) |
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Johnson and I spent a lot of time filling and planting tiki torches. :) |
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