Welcome to
The Loop
A mediterranean online LARP
about our social media identities
by NotOnlyLarp
In The Loop our characters will be contestants in a popularity reality show. They will live in apartments in the same building but will only speak by a social media platform called The Loop, where they will be able to chat, make silly tests and vote for the most popular kid on the block. The Larp is inspired by the contest “The Circle” by Netflix.
But not everyone is who they pretend to be. In The Loop, some profiles could be fictional online personas, known as catfishes.
The Loop is a three days Larp, played mostly by text chat. The gala will be a video chat and there might be very few other video chats.
Setting
Our world, in the urban US 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic. There will be contestants from everywhere in the world.
It is not an oppression setting and there is no secret plot about this contest being a government’s experiment or an alien attack. It is nothing but a contest, a horrible reality show where no one is risking anything else but their popularity.
This means that the main themes are friendship and love but also appearances and social media.
The Loop
DATE
18-20 FEBRUARY 2022.
Price
14 euro + voluntary contribution.
We have some free spots available for the people who need them, no explanation needed.
Sign up
You will need to fill in this questionnaire.
What do I need to participate?
You will need a computer, a webcam, microphone, a WiFi connection.
We will use Discord.
We will give you a set account; you don’t need to plan on anything regarding this but downloading the app into your phone. You can play while you’re cooking or eating.
We will create a Discord account for you, that we will delete some days after the game.
Mandatory time slots:
Friday - 19 CET to 23 CET - First day in-game.
Saturday - 10 CET to 14 CET - Second day in-game.
Saturday - 18 CET to 22 CET - Third day in-game.
Sunday - 10 CET to 14 CET - Fourth day in-game.
Sunday - 18 CET to 22 CET - Gala, debriefing and afterlarp party.
Some characters start the larp on different in-game days. In the hours outside of the official slots it is forbidden to chat.
During the contest, there will be eliminations, based on the votes of the contestants. If your character is eliminated that would be the end of the game at that point, but you will be asked to join the Final Gala on Sunday (18 CET to 20 CET). Some eliminated players will have the choice to join another contestant group to have the chance to play more days.
Character Creation
After you get a spot, we will send you the character creation questionnaire. You will entirely make the character sheet. Your character’s main goal will be winning the popularity contest at The Loop. They can consider playing a different person to win the contest or to make a point about society.
It is a design choice that no one knows who plays the different characters, that’s why we ask you to look for a fake picture for your contestant profile. You will need a profile picture for your character and your catfish (If you decide to play with a catfish).
You could use one of these pages to create a fake picture: Artbreeder or This Person Does Not Exist. If none of the pictures you find there are suitable for your character, you may also use publicly available stock photos or not too well known public figures/models from Instagram.
STYLE OF PLAY
The Loop is a Larp about relationships, feelings and characters, there are no puzzles or problem solving plots. You will make your own character and you will decide which of your contestant group members you want to chat more.
Rules
‘Off game’
You’re asking something as a player, or something is really real, or you can use it for calibration. For example: “Off-game: please don’t speak about this theme”.
‘Off-game: how are you?’
This is an off-game question that can be said by an organiser or another player. It needs a reply.
- ‘Ok’. You can continue the scene.
- ‘So-So’ or ‘I don’t know’. You need to ask the player if they need to stop the scene.
- ‘Not ok’. Please stop the scene, ask the player what they need and ask if they want to speak with the organization.
‘Off-game: True’
This means that what is said next it is true. An example: if we send a photo of our character, we can use any foto saying “Off-game:true” the person in this photo is my character.
‘The producers have asked me...’
This is an in-game alibi to do whatever you need to do for off-game reasons.
Anything that is related to the producers won’t be questioned in-game, as would happen in any real tv show.
Example: “The producers are asking me to leave the chat.” You can leave the chat anytime without giving any explanation.
‘Boundaries’
As the Larp has a very open set of themes, we are going to ask you in the beginning to set some red lines for everyone in the Larp. We can easily avoid any theme, except social media, catfishes or reality shows.
Sexual violence and child abuse are not part of the themes of the LARP.
Also, remember that if there is a theme triggering you, you can say “Off-game: Please don’t speak about this subject”.
‘Calibration’
Every timeslot has 10 minutes (or more) of calibration. We will start the game off-game, to speak, as players, about what is working and what is not with our playing group.
How does the contest work?
The contestants can chat during the in-game day at the general chats or make any private text chats they need (you can speak off-game with the other players about when is best for you). At some point there will be tests and eliminations.
Your wall
Also, every day you will be asked to post at your wall channel as if it was your Facebook wall. You can post a pic of anyone doing what you want to show the pic and add "off-game:true- the person in the pic is my profile".
Tests and voting
Some days, we will give you a task to do: silly test or voting. We will do it with time enough.
Eliminations
The most popular kids on the block will be the 'influencers", who will decide who gets blocked from The Loop.
The evicted character will have the chance to video chat with the contestant of their choice. Only the two contestants will know who was in the call.
The next day, the eliminated contestant will send a video to the group. At the video you can say there are catfishes at the contest but you can't say directly the name of the catfish.
The first contestant to be eliminated on each run will be given the choice to join one of the other groups, taking everybody's boundaries and themes into consideration.
Safety
Code of Conduct & Safety Team
People are more important than the Larp. Safety is our priority. Respect all the game security rules.
Every person alone may set their boundaries and say what makes them comfortable. Please be clear when establishing your limits, both physical and emotional. Don’t be afraid to modify your limits if you feel you need to during the game.
Consent must be freely given and vocalized, and is considered inviolable. Respect everyone’s boundaries and don’t tease, gossip about, ostracize or retaliate against someone who has set a consent boundary. In fact, we would like you to thank your fellow co-players for setting boundaries, as practicing active consent negotiations allows everyone to feel more comfortable.
Off-game harassment, abuse, or assault of any participant – or using the alibi of character to harass, abuse, or assault a player – is not tolerated. This includes any reference to the race, gender identity or presentation, sexuality, body size, conventional beauty, age, and experience of the player.
Each participant is responsible for their own actions; for reading, understanding and abiding by the Code of Conduct; and for the consequences of their actions to others.
Should anyone harm another participant, whether intended to do so or not, they must accept the responsibility of their own behavior. If you are informed about this kind of situation, you are expected to reflect on your own behavior and seek to change it. Don’t deflect, blame, or become defensive if you are informed that you have harmed someone.
Safety Team
Amalia Valero and Espe Montero. You can contact us using Discord or the email: notonlylarp@gmail.com
All information given to the team is confidential.
TEAM
Amalia Valero
Piercer, AI trainer, queer, crazy cat lady and lover of all things cute and frilly. Started LARPing almost 20 years ago, discovered the international scene in 2017 and hasn’t looked back since then. This is her first project as a game designer and definitely not her last.
Espe Montero
Feminist and LGBTQ activist. She believes in “larptivism”. She is one of the founders of NotOnlyLarp and has coordinated Conscience, Mission Together and Blue Flame among others.
Dan
Bad graphic designer and worst LARP player/organizer from north of Spain, south of Europe, Dan has an unusual skill to easily get involved in a multitude of really cool projects, done by awesome people like the two above.
Thanks to Elina Gouliou, who helped us proofread the website.
