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.
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.
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.
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”.
This is an off-game question that can be said by an organiser or another player. It needs a reply.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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".
Some days, we will give you a task to do: silly test or voting. We will do it with time enough.
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.
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.
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.
Thanks to Elina Gouliou, who helped us proofread the website.