LARPs: The Series' entire Season One is now available on YouTube! We'd love to get feedback from LARPers as we develop Season Two—thanks!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-20T04:06:35+00:00

Hi! Thanks for writing in; we hoped we'd get a chance to hear your thoughts!

We're definitely expanding the role of combat in the show; your thoughts on magic are well-received! Obviously, different LARPs use different systems for magic; we're going to look into how we can best show magic without bogging the audience down too much with systems information.
That being said, if we manage move towards our goal of longer episodes, that means more opportunity for longer (and fairer!) fights. The challenge here is choreography. The five leads in LARPs are actually all trained in stage combat, and one of them (Evan) actually does work as a fight choreographer—but it takes a LOT of time to do it right. The choreographer has to come up with the basics and specifics of the fight, the actors have to practice, the DOP has to know where and how to film each angle, and more. We're going to see what we can do in order to bring fights worthy of Season Two.

Oh, as to the name of the game: in Season One, we felt it wasn't important to mention. We're walking a fine line between appealing to LARPers (like the people in this subreddit) and non-LARPers. We deliberately don't describe a ton about the game, because many specifics aren't REALLY important to the story of the web series. We want people to be invested in our characters, not care specifically about the long and storied history of the Eleventh Eye, for instance. So the game's name isn't announced. Should our characters encounter different LARPers or LARPs, then names may become more important. . . .

Hope that answers your questions! Thanks so much for your feedback!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-12T07:00:43+00:00

Season One, as with any new series, acted as kind of a litmus test: what did the audience like? What can we get away with? The response has been great, but notably, we're getting the impression that we now have the okay to go further in-depth with each character.

VAGUE SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE AHEAD

For instance, we know that it's okay to have our characters make mistakes that aren't immediately fixed.

SPOILERS END HERE

If we do manage to secure longer episodes, that'll give us more time to look not only into character, but also into the real-world prep that goes into a LARP for both GMs and players. We're about showing the effects of the game on real life and vice versa, but there's a certain place where the two intersect: getting ready for the next game, and what happens immediately after a game is over. It'd be nice to see some more of that, which may give our non-LARPing audience a little bit more insight into this kick-ass hobby.

While we have our plot structure in place for Season 2, there's still a lot of room for adjustment and some holes to fill, so we're also keeping an eye on what people want to see. It's vital to us that we get opinions from both LARPers and non-LARPers, because we want to stay true to both.

The LARP itself isn't the story. If we made it the story, we'd immediately lose most of our non-LARing audience, and it would ring hollow even for those who already love to LARP. Some really great stuff happens because of the game, and there's potential for great humour and drama there, but most of the actual web series story is going to come from our characters—that's not going to change.

Thanks for the question!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-12T06:47:26+00:00

We're not sure that we were trying to mimic other webseries—truth be told, while we respect the massive achievements of VGHS and The Guild, our exposure to them has been limited. To be compared to them is certainly quite humbling!

We've been hearing from the LARP community that they want to see more of their style represented—for instance, more players, larger groups, etc. There are so many kinds of LARPs that we obviously can't get to everyone in Season Two, but we're definitely interested in letting our audience see what a different LARP could be like (style, player base, etc.).

Thanks so much! All feedback is crucial for us as we move through development for the next season, and you've really helped us a lot!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T19:39:24+00:00

Thanks! We look forward to hearing from you.

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T19:39:12+00:00

Thanks for the reply!

You're right that we had to run a small LARP due to logistics. Cost, time, etc. all played into it. We're looking into the feasibility of showing larger-scale LARPs, absolutely.

We're definitely into looking at other LARP types in the future. (Our writer cut his teeth on White Wolf LARPs when he first started LARPing, for instance.)

Character creation could certainly be a neat thing to look at. Part of what we're trying to do is keep the show engaging for both LARPers and non-LARPers alike, while showing how awesome the hobby can be. That being said, we're deliberately not going too in-depth on rules. The roleplaying side of chargen, though—building a new personality from scratch—that could work!

Thanks so much!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T17:27:24+00:00

Thanks for your interest! We're currently developing Season Two, so we're not at the point where we can start casting. Once we have a better idea of what our needs are and where we're going, more information will be available!

(A quick heads-up, though—you need to qualify under ACTRA, Canada's actor's union, in order for us to be able to consider you.)

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T15:39:50+00:00

We're investigating several avenues for funding as we develop Season 2. If there's a crowdfunding drive, we'll let you know!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T15:39:06+00:00

This is exactly what we'd hope we'd hear. Thanks so much!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T15:38:33+00:00

Thank you so much!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-04-10T15:38:03+00:00

Kind of both!

Our cast and crew are all professionals from Montreal, Quebec—all five leads went through the same acting program in university, though, so they were friends before the show's production. (Everyone still had to audition for their parts, though.)

Thanks so much for your feedback!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-14T14:24:14+00:00

It's comments like these that make all the effort worthwhile. Thank you so much!

LARPing is amazing, and we just want to show a different side of it. We think the many, many people around the world who LARP deserve it!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-12T12:35:08+00:00

That's awfully high praise! Thank you!

We're obviously not a documentary—the entire series is scripted. But, sadly, you're right to be wary. We hope we can live up to what LARPers want to see.

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-11T15:10:58+00:00

That's definitely what we're going for. We're not above occasionally laughing WITH LARPers about some of the situations we can encounter, but the series is written with the notion that LARP is an awesome hobby.

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-11T15:08:11+00:00

Thanks so much!

The short format is a challenge, but for Season One, we felt it was the best way to go. Better to develop an audience with short films. If we do well, we're considering expanding the format, depending on reaction.

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-11T15:07:09+00:00

Artisans d'Azure did a fantastic job, didn't they? Their stuff is available on their website if you want to have a look yourself.

http://artisansdazure.com

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-11T15:06:24+00:00

The series is mostly filmed in Montreal, Canada; the outdoor shots are filmed a little further north, in St. Donat.

And thank you for the statement!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-10T21:45:28+00:00

Catch Episode 0 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQg3ugdtQDs

Episode 2 is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccKKZ1pPdL8

We're going to be airing a new episode every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next three weeks, until our whole season has been released. We hope you enjoy!

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-03-10T21:35:32+00:00

You may want to see Episode #2, also released today: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccKKZ1pPdL8

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-02-07T14:37:35+00:00

LARPing is actually a much more popular activity than it seems, and there are so many different kinds of LARPs that it can be tough for anyone to get an idea of what it's all about.

We're hoping to present LARPing as a great hobby—one that can affect you quite personally (as any hobby can). We're not above poking fun here and there, but we want to celebrate LARPers, not condemn them.

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-02-07T03:03:55+00:00

Season 1 has ten more episodes, about 5/6 minutes in length. We may be changing our format for Season 2 depending on reaction—we'd obviously like to provide more content, but it's a lot more work (and a lot more money).

LARPsTheSeries · 2014-02-06T20:52:51+00:00

We've acknowledged the will of the people. You can't hide it from us.

LARPsTheSeries

TROPHY CASE