Monday, January 25, 2010

Fun with LARPing


Sorry for the lack of posts, but I was totally out-o-commission for most of this weekend (Saturday I did absolutely NOTHING, being in "recovery from illness" mode and Sunday was full of football and party hosting).

I did have a chance to watch the pretty amusing Role-Models movie. Can't believe I missed THAT one for so long, especially as I am a long-time Kiss fan (Destroyer was the first vinyl album I begged/cajoled my parents into buying for me 'round about age 6-7). Rudd does a good job of walking the thin line between silliness and curmudgeonly straight man as usual, and his (originally Minnesotan) side-kick wasn't nearly as annoying as usual. Oh...and the kids were great.

I found the treatment of LARPing in the movie to be, frankly, pretty damn tasteful, something I was not expecting at all. Personally, I've never been into LARP, and actually the LARP depicted in this film was different from what I've usually seen (i.e. Vampire scenarios). This seemed more like a spin of the SCA, something with which I have had some familiarity. However, it just seemed so much less dysfunctional than the SCA I've known in the past...which again surprised me.

I mean, I love the IDEA of the SCA and it's associated groups (who doesn't want to be a knight or whatnot), but the political in-fighting, spouse swapping, mead swilling, and occasional embezzlement has always put me off a bit. I'll stick to visiting the annual Renaissance Fair in Carnation...the rest is too much like your everyday office environment (without getting paid!) for my taste.

Oh, well...maybe life in the LARP has changed since the 90s. Cetainly, regular human interaction with fellow humans is a healthier way to spend one's time than on-line gaming (you are welcome to disagree, of course). I've never been huge into improvisational theater (participating I mean...watching is hella' fun!) and cool as it is to heft and swing a true (or foam) broadsword, I've always found the RPG tabletop to be more fertile for my imagination than real life folks dressed in armor.

Now if they'd let ME dress up like Gene Simmons, it's possible I MIGHT change my mind.
; )

No comments:

Post a Comment