"Immersion Secrets" Explored in WoD Berlin Program

To celebrate the publication of the new book Mind's Eye Theatre: Immersion Secrets in spring 2017, By Night Studios is bringing two programme items to the WoD Berlin convention!

The book, announced today, is an anthology of essays designed to help players and storytellers adapt immersive and consent techniques from other role-playing traditions to Mind’s Eye Theatre games. It should however be very useful for anyone running a game – especially larp or freeform – in any World of Darkness setting.

The book explores critical issues such as inclusivity, play style calibration, and player safety. Additional topics include designing dynamic and welcoming games, working against toxic player cultures, and communicating dark themes to help players make active choices. The full list of writers is Jason Andrew, Sarah Lynne Bowman, Maury Brown, Maria Cambone, Jason Carl, Jennifer Childs, Genevieve Eldredge, Danielle Harper, Kim Hosmer, Jessica Karels, Johanna Koljonen, Michael Pucci, Renee Ritchie, and Erica Schoonmaker.

In Berlin, the book will be explored through a panel discussion and a workshop. In the panel Playing Nice When You’re Playing Evil at least two of the writers – Sarah Lynne Bowman and WoD Berlin team member Johanna Koljonen – will sit down with Jason Andrew, who is one of the book’s developers, and Jason Carl, CEO of By Night Studios. They will discuss what the book is for, how it could be used, and why even just discussing safety can still be controversial in the Vampire and wider World of Darkness community. The audience will be encouraged to participate in the conversation. In addition, BNS will host the workshop Negotiate the Dark to allow participants to try some of the techniques discussed in the book in a fun and informal setting.

As previously confirmed, Sarah Lynne Bowman will also give a separate talk on Ritualising the Larp Experience, the topic she is covering in Immersion Secrets.

3 short questions for Jason Carl, CEO of By Night Studios.

Hi Jason! Why did you commission this book?

– I looked around and saw the Mind's Eye Theatre community asking itself a lot of smart but difficult questions, such as "How do we tell dark stories but still play respectfully?" "How can we make the community more inclusive and welcoming?" "Do we have to sacrifice immersion for safety, or can we have both?"

When I looked deeper I realized that there are LARP communities and traditions that have been working to develop best practices around many of these topics, and I felt that we should help bring this thinking into the MET discussion. At the very least I wanted to help raise awareness of these issues, but I think we can accomplish more than that, by showing how these tools and techniques can be applied to new or existing MET chronicles. What do you find most interesting right now when it comes to discussions of player safety or designing the player cultures of our gaming communities?

– To me the most interesting thing is the emergent discussion about defining goals and setting expectations. What is this game about? What do we want from our games? What do we most value in our games, in our community? There is room for an infinite number of game experiences in the community, but only those that learn to communicate their goals and expectations successfully will achieve their full potential.

When you look at the next few years of storytelling – regardless of platform – in the World of Darkness, what are you most excited about?

– Two things! First, the opportunity to examine some very contemporary issues through the World of Darkness lens. The World of Darkness hasn't ever shied away from current events or controversial topics, and that's something that drew me to it initially. These stories are multifaceted tales that not only entertain, but also help us explore and reflect on the most difficult questions in life. It's thrilling, mature storytelling.

Second, all the ways that we can use new and emerging techniques, tools, and technologies to make World of Darkness stories more richly immersive than they've ever been before. We live in a world where we can enjoy new stories in the setting we love across so many different kinds of media, and experience them in ways we could barely imagine just a few short years ago!