J.

Tuomas Harviainen

A Brief Introduction
to Larp as an Art Form
Live Action Role Playing is a creative medium of expression. Its not
just a game, a sport, a hobby, a fad or a pastime. Its an art form. And a
wonderful one at that. (Vanek 2009)
Live action role-playing can easily be overlooked as just an adult version of
childs play, and dismissed as such. Its inherent potential as a new form of art is
often denied by larpers and outsiders alike. This is of course partially due to the
behaviour of some of its active participants (see Lehrskov 2007 for an excellent
example), but also because of ignorance and arrogance from outside parties.
This introductory article shows that such views are outdated prejudice.

Larp, a Medium

The first misconception is that larp is what it at first glance appears to be:
a playful hobby where people pretend to be other people. This is not true. It
is a set of tools used for that purpose. Larp is a medium, a system for creating
personal experiences through fantasy pretence (Pettersson 2006). Just as
television can transmit various types of programs, ranging from the cheapest
sitcom to the most sophisticated art and documentaries, larp can be used for
various purposes of varying qualities. Mostly, it is played just for fun (see Falk
& Davenport 2003 for an example), but some larp designers have far more
artistic, political and/or educational aspirations.

Larp and Drama

Larp is often compared to theatre, by both larpers and laymen alike. This
is an apt comparison, as both contain physical role performances. The key
differences are in the depth of role and the lack of both an audience and exact
scripting in larps. The line, however, is very blurry. Subject matter makes no
131

real difference: A Midsummer Nights Dream and The Tempest are, as basic
concepts and settings, just as silly as any fantasy larp.
Players of a larp usually immerse into their characters in a manner
somewhat different from actors, but this is not necessarily always the case.
For example the Stanislavsky system (and the method acting later developed
from it by Strasberg), while being directed towards script interpretation and
not free action, contains the same sort of character-immersive approach
(Morton 2007).
Several forms of acted drama exist that do not use scripts. Improvisational
theatre, for instance, rises from some very rough pre-created concepts, not
full characters, yet is still considered a valid type of drama-art. The Theatre
Games invented by Viola Spolin are even closer to larp in form (Flood 2006,
Morton 2007).
Likewise, the difference of audiences suddenly vanishes, if we look at experi
mental theatre. Harviainen (2008) has shown that larp is a close sibling to the
Happenings of the 1960s or, perhaps, an evolved form of the same concept.
As Kirby (1987) notes, a performance does not need to have any spectators or
audience for it to qualify as performance art. Lancaster (1999), Mackay (2001)
and Phillips (2006) see larp as an art performed at the other participants, and
thus not in need of anyone outside the play to see it. Szatkowski (2006) speaks
of larp as a ritual theatre with a first-person audience formed by the players.
Given that a Happening easily qualifies for a work of modern art (see Foster et
al. 2004 for an example of this view), even if it only has a performer-audience,
there is no real basis to exclude an artistic larp which shares the same traits
from that category.
Phillips (2006) considers larp to be a part of a wider group of playful forms
of pretence, one he calls Interactive Drama, it being in turn a new form of
theatre. This form is comparable to other types of drama which do away with
traditional theatre structure one way or the other, from experimentation to
therapeutic psychodrama. Furthermore, Choy (2004) has observed that the
dramatic merits of larp tend to be ignored due to it being associated with
play, which is de-valued by some people. This is both a problem and an
advantage while larp deserves its recognition, it deserves that on its own
merits, not as something which it is not, be it theatre or something else.

The Question of Script

Larps can be, and have been, created with various levels of scripting. This
is no different, again, from the limits of traditional theatre, but scripting
has been taken further by experimentalists in both fields (Harviainen 2008).
Some larps are organised on just random chaos or game-creator controlled
plots, but other have used systems such as fate waypoints (Fatland 2005),
132

dramatic build-up levels (Koljonen 2004) or even internal plot manipulation

(Harviainen 2005) to produce an emergent script.
Yet this is not the end-all. Kaprow (1966), for instance, simultaneously
speaks of scripts as necessary and as something to be transcended. Even more
importantly to larp, he spoke of Chance and Change artworks. These are
types of art created for the very purpose of becoming something new and/or
getting manipulated by other people during their existence. Larps incorporate
both aspects, and they especially embody Kaprows idea of Chance: that one
can make art which develops unpredictably, but when it ends, what became
of it is to be considered that which it was always meant to become (Kaprow
1966, Harviainen 2008). Furthermore, just like larps, Happenings too were
Chance works which were based on a script (which was sometimes preserved,
sometimes not), but in which the main art content was something ephemeral
that vanished as it was performed.1

Co-creation and Recognition

Larp has not just demanded recognition as a new form of theatre and/or
art. It has also been seen, and appreciated, as such. For instance, the highly
applauded art-larp Hamlet, and the interactive theatre piece it was based upon
(Hamlet Inifrn), were created in co-operation with the Swedish Riksteatern
(Koljonen 2004). And the gender-role breaking Mellan Himmel och Hav (see
Gerge 2004 for details) was implemented on a Riksteatern black box stage.
Furthermore, A Nice Evening with the Family, run several times in 2007, was
an interactive adaptation of highly respected Nordic literature (see Hultman,
Westerling & Wrigstad 2008).2 These sorts of games have also been organised
in art museums and performed at art festivals in several countries.3 If this
could be done in the Nordic countries, there is no reason why larps elsewhere
could not do the same.
One of my own larps, Prayers on a Porcelain Altar, has been run at several
gaming conventions and an art festival and used as a teaching tool in both
game design and theatre studies. The fact that one piece qualifies for all of this
speaks of the versatility of the medium of larp. And larp can even be political
art, as examples such as the container-city game System Danmarc show (see
Opus 2005 for both artistic and political goal details). And in some countries,
such as Belarus, playing larp is in itself an act of political significance justified
through the artistic medium (Andersen & Aarebrot 2009).
This same concept also applies to many other art forms, such as concerts and ballet performances.
It also bears noting that several people involved in the organisation of these games came to larp
from a theatre background, meaning that a real connection from experimental drama forms,
including Happenings, does exist.
3
Katvealue by Pohjola, Kontusalmi & Tikkaoja, created in collaboration with the Finnish
Museum of Contemporary Arts and the Finnish Museum of Fine Arts Ateneum and run at
each, is an excellent example of such larps.
1
2

133

Purpose Differences

It can of course be argued that the essential purpose of the activity

itself makes larp incapable of being an art. It is, after all, a game. Being a
game, however, does not remove the potential of something being art. On
the contrary, games of any type can be seen as both containing an innate
artistry and carrying with them a secondary set artistry, such as costuming
or the crafting of game pieces (see Vartiainen 2010). That games can be art is
no longer dismissed by any serious scholar. On the contrary, they are often
defined as such (Montola, Stenros & Waern 2009, Salen & Zimmerman 2004,
Tavinor 2009).
To deny the artistic potential of larp is like saying that tv cant sometime
produce things of significance, based on a quick look at a few Soaps and
Reality tv Shows. One needs to look at the potential of the medium, not
just the general product, in order to find the obviously artistic works. And if
one looks closely enough, it is possible to see a lot of artistry in the generic,
dismissed works, too. The level of emergent plot complexity handled by even
the most inexperienced larp creator is as staggering as the dialogue of many
an esteemed tv show.
As Aaron Vanek says in his excellent essay on why larp is art (2009),
it is possible to poke holes at all of these arguments by showing extreme
exceptions. And one can endlessly debate what, in general, may be called art.
A Pollock painting is simply a splash of paint for one critic, but a masterpiece
to another. Yet as far as the common definitions of potential art go, I claim
that larp has just as much to be included as any other performative form.

Conclusion

There is no denying that larps suffer from a prejudiced view from both the
outside and the inside. Some players want to preserve the simple fun aspect
of it all. Likewise, people with a limited view of what art constitutes want
to keep something that to them looks like childs play outside of the potential
of being art. The fact, however, is that larp does have the potential to be an
art form. It has been demonstrated fulfilling that potential. It has achieved
successful co-creation with other art forms, to praised effect, and has been
used to teach people in already recognised forms of art.
This means that if things are drawn to their logical conclusion, the burden
of proof for claiming larp cannot be art has shifted to the side denying its
artistic merits.4 The common simplicity of the form as it is currently practised
And since denying larps artistic side is intended to deny its cultural significance at all, after
refuting all artistic merits, opponents should then deny the educational merits presented by
Balzer (2009), Henriksen (2009) and the decades of studies on learning simulations published by
esteemed journals (see Crookall et al. 1987 for an example), if they wish to credibly mark larp
as insignificant play.

134

is not a sufficient ground for dismissal. As theatre theoretician Martin Esslin

stated in 1980 about Happenings, a now accepted experimental art form, a
young type of artistic expression should not be dismissed out of hand just
because the first attempts at it are childish or amateurish.
This very much applies to larp: the medium should not be judged by quick
glances at what looks like its just superficial action. Not even if that action
is what most people look for in their larping. Larps have taken both the
first-person audience ideas, dreamed of by makers of experimental theatre,
and Brechts Verfremdungseffekt, to heart, and refined a new form of artistic
experimentation. The only thing we can really debate about its potential as
art is whether its a novel creation or not. And even if we do deny the novelty,
we will then have to follow the road of Morton (2007) and Montola, Stenros &
Waern (2009), and accept larp as a descendant of earlier art forms and thus
again, and in even stronger terms as something which can produce true art.
Publication Note

This article is a revised version of Harviainen J.T. (2009), Live-Rollenspiel als Kunstform Eine
kurze Einfhrung, originally published in Larp: Einblicke. Aufsatzsammlung zum MittelPunkt
2010, edited by K. Dombrowski, Zauberfeder, Braunschweig.

Ludography

Ericsson M., Ericson A., Sandberg C., Brodn M. et al. (2002), Hamlet, Stockholm (Sweden).
Ericsson M., Jacobsson H., Krauklis D. et al. (2000), Hamlet Inifrn, Sweden, several runs [Eng.
Hamlet from Within].
Harviainen J.T. (2007), Prayers on a Porcelain Altar, Finland and other six countries, several runs.
Opus (2005), System Danmarc, Copenhagen (Denmark).
Pohjola M., Tikkaoja O. & Kontusalmi H. (2008), Katvealue, Helsinki (Finland) [Eng. Blind Spot].
Westerling A., Hultman A., Wrigstad T. et al. (2007), A Nice Evening With the Family, Flen
(Sweden).
Wieslander E., Bjrk K. et al. (2003), Mellan Himmel och Hav, Stockholm (Sweden) [Eng.
Between Heaven and Sea].

References

Andersen A.M. & Aarebrot E. (2009), Larp in Kamensky Forest, in Larp, the Universe and
Everything, edited by M. Holter, E. Fatland & E. Tmte, Knutepunkt, Oslo [online at http://
knutepunkt.laiv.org/2009/book/LarpInKamenskyForest/kp09_LarpInKamenskyForest.pdf].
Balzer M. (2009), Live Action Role Playing. Die Entwicklung realer Kompetenzen in virtuellen
Welten, Tectum Verlag, Marburg.
Choy E. (2004), Tilting at Windmills. The Theatricality of Larps, in Beyond Role and Play. Tools,
Toys and Theory for Harnessing the Imagination, edited by M. Montola & J. Stenros, Ropecon ry,
Helsinki [online at http://www.ropecon.fi/brap/ch5.pdf].
Crookall D., Oxford R. & Saunders D. (1987), Towards a Reconceptualization of Simulation:
From Representation to Reality, Simulation/Games for Learning, iv, 17.
Esslin M. (1980), The Theatre of the Absurd. Revised and enlarged third edition, Pelcan Books,
Harmondsworth.
Falk J. & Davenport G. (2004), Live Role-Playing Games: Implications for Pervasive Gaming,
Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 3166, Springer, Berlin.

135

Fatland E. (2005), Incentives as Tools of Larp Dramaturgy, in Dissecting Larp. Collected papers
for Knutepunkt 2005, edited by P. Bckman & R. Hutchison, Knutepunkt, Oslo [online at http://
knutepunkt.laiv.org/kp05/Incentives%20as%20tools%20of%20larp%20dramaturgy..pdf].
Flood K. (2006), The Theatre Connection, in Role, Play, Art. Collected Experiences of Role-Playing,
edited by T. Fritzon & T. Wrigstad, Freningen Knutpunkt, Stockholm [online at http://jeepen.
org/kpbook/kp-book-2006.pdf].
Foster H. et al. (2004), Art Since 1900. Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, Thames &
Hudson, New York.
Gerge T. (2004), Temporary Utopias, in Beyond Role and Play. Tools, Toys and Theory for
Harnessing the Imagination, edited by M. Montola & J. Stenros, Ropecon ry, Helsinki [online at
http://www.ropecon.fi/brap/ch20.pdf].
Harviainen J.T. (2005), Nothing is True, Everything is Permissible. Using Deception as a
Productive Tool, in Dissecting Larp. Collected papers for Knutepunkt 2005, edited by P. Bckman
& R. Hutchison, Knutepunkt, Oslo [online at http://knutepunkt.laiv.org/kp05/Nothing%20is%20
True,%20Everything%20is%20Permissible.pdf; published under the pseudonym Markku Jenti].
Harviainen J.T. (2008), Kaprows Scions, in Playground Worlds. Creating and Evaluating
Experiences of Role-Playing Games, edited by M. Montola & J. Stenros, Ropecon ry, Helsinki
[online at http://www.solmukohta.org/pub/Playground_Worlds_2008.pdf].
Henriksen T.D. (2009), A Little More Conversation, A Little Less Action. Rethinking Learning
Games for Organisation, doctoral dissertation, Aarhus Universitetet.
Hultman A., Westerling A. & Wrigstad T. (2008), Behind the Facade of A Nice Evening with
the Family, in Playground Worlds. Creating and Evaluating Experiences of Role-Playing Games,
edited by M. Montola & J. Stenros, Ropecon ry, Helsinki [online at http://www.solmukohta.org/
pub/Playground_Worlds_2008.pdf].
Kaprow A. (1966), Assemblage, Environments & Happenings. Text and Design by Allan Kaprow.
With a Selection of Scenarios by: 9 Japanese of the Gutai Group, Jean-Jacques Lebel, Wolf Vostell,
George Brecht, Kenneth Dewey, Milan Knzk and Allan Kaprow, Harry N. Abrams, New York.
Kirby M. (1987), A Formalist Theatre, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Koljonen J. (2004), I Could a Tale Unfold Whose Lightest Word Would Harrow up Thy Soul.
Lessons from Hamlet, in Beyond Role and Play. Tools, Toys and Theory for Harnessing the
Imagination, edited by M. Montola & J. Stenros, Ropecon ry, Helsinki [online at http://www.
ropecon.fi/brap/ch18.pdf].
Lancaster K. (1999), Warlocks and Warpdrive. Contemporary Fantasy Entertainments with
Interactive and Virtual Environments, McFarland, Jefferson.
Lehrskov U. (2007), My Name is Jimbo the Orc, in Lifelike, edited by J. Donnis, M. Gade &
L. Thorup, Knudepunkt 2007, Copenhagen [online at http://www.laivforum.dk/kp07book/
lifelike_lehrskov.pdf].
Mackay D. (2001), The Fantasy Role-Playing Game. A New Performing Art, McFarland, Jefferson.
Montola M., Stenros J. & Waern A. (2009), Pervasive Games: Theory and Design, Morgan
Kaufmann, San Francisco.
Morton B. (2007), Larps and Their Cousins Through the Ages, in Lifelike, edited by J. Donnis,
M. Gade & L. Thorup, Knudepunkt 2007, Copenhagen [online at http://www.laivforum.dk/
kp07book/lifelike_morton.pdf].
Opus (2005), Bagom System Danmarc, in System Danmarc dvd 2.0 en, Opus, Copenhagen.
Pettersson J. (2006), The Art of Experience, in Role, Play, Art. Collected Experiences of RolePlaying, edited by T. Fritzon & T. Wrigstad, Freningen Knutpunkt, Stockholm [online at http://
jeepen.org/kpbook/kp-book-2006.pdf].
Phillips B.D. (2006), Interactive Drama as a Theatre Form, Journal of Interactive Drama, i, 2
[online at http://www.interactivedramas.info/archive/IDJ_1_2_2006_10.pdf].

136

Salen K. & Zimmerman E. (2004), Rules of Play. Game Design Fundamentals, The mit Press,
Cambridge (usa).
Szatkowski J. (2006), Rollespillets udfordring udfordring til rollespillet. Elementer af en
interaktiv dramaturgi, in Rollespil i stetisk, pdagogisk og kulturel sammenhng, edited by
A.M. Sandvik & K. Waade, Aarhus Universitetsforlag, Aarhus.
Tavinor G. (2009), The Art of Videogames, Wiley-Blackwell, Chicester.
Vanek A. (2009), Cooler than You Think. Understanding Live Action Role Playing, online at http://
mysite.verizon.net/res6l997/understandinglarp.pdf.
Vartiainen L. (2010), Yhteisllinen ksity. Verkostoja, taitoja ja yhteisi elmyksi, doctoral
dissertation, University of Eastern Finland.

The Author

J. Tuomas Harviainen is a Finnish larp researcher and designer. His mini-larps and jeepform
games have been run in 11 countries and translated into five languages. He has a strong
belief that larps have the potential to be powerful learning tools, a form of art, and wonderful
entertainment sometimes at the same time.

Reference for this article:

Harviainen J.T. (2010), A Brief Introduction to Larp as an Art Form, in Larp Graffiti. Preistoria
e presente dei giochi di ruolo dal vivo, edited by A. Castellani, Larp Symposium, Trieste.

137