In my last post, I talked about playing Grand Theft Auto, a game notorious for it's violence. It's the go-to game for all the censorship movements stating that it promoted violent acts by impressionable teenagers.
Allow me to state my belief that it doesn't, and those that do violence because some video game inspired them are already demented and have a low reality matrix to start off with.
What I've always felt that video games have been able to allow was a sense that this is a place where things were allowed to be explored. I play video games like GTA to vent my frustration in a place where it hurts no one, including myself or others. I play games like Halo for similar reasons. I play games like Alan Wake, Skyrim and others to allow myself to think in different ways about storytelling and possibilities.
Games allow people to think in ways that they normally wouldn't or shouldn't in the rules that they have designed and developed. This extends to Larps as well. Most of the games I've played have been adult themed in their nature. Vampire the Requiem are all about creatures of the night that use power, sex, influence and corruption as tools. The act of feeding itself has certain connotations if you're willing to think about it. Changeling the Lost is a game I've been reminded of Recently as being "Changeling the PTSD" where all of the characters are damaged mentally and emotionally and every action is in some way to deal with it. Mage is all about power and corruption potential, and how that can change an individual as time goes on. Dystopia Rising is about horror and survival, and horrible things are waiting for the survivors, and horrible things are sometimes all the survivors can do.
These are dark situations, and the breeding places for dark situations. And we, as people of various backgrounds, come together to share in those ideas and to explore with one another. I'd felt that early on, but didn't have a name for it. Reading the works of Bowman and Beltran, I do have a word for it now, and in many ways it's apt: The Magic Circle, the safe space for us to place ourselves in worlds we would normally never discuss, or even conceive of. A place of safety, security, and ultimately of unity.
I like this concept. I like it a lot. Larping is a weird hobby, by a lot of people's standard's, let alone our own. I have friends who are magnificent role players but, due to personal/professional/cultural concerns, cannot be open that they do this as a hobby. Some people use Larping as a Social network, some as a means of exploring aspects about themselves. Some use it as a platform to perform, some use it as a means of showing cleverness and dominance.
Of course, this leads to the question of "What is acceptable to enter the magic circle?" It depends on the game in question, and those playing it. A lot of people tend to forget this, but my friend Chris put it beautifully, Larping is a Social Contract. You go in knowing that certain things are and are not acceptable, depending on the game and the group, or at least that's how it should work. Some of the games I've played have been open to everyone, with different agendas and plans. This leads to interesting synergy, but may distract from the work or goals the game wants to put forth (if that is in fact the goal).
So how do we make the Magic Circle a safe space to do what we do? Here are my ideas
1) Make your intended goals clear and honest. This is for the gamerunners and the players. Tell what you expect out of the game, what you expect out of each other.
2) Meet, Discuss. A lot of games have debriefing sessions afterwards. Not just a few words at the end, but discussions with others in a controlled setting to discuss what happened, from both sides.
3) Be mindful. You aren't in this process alone. None of us are. If we were...this wouldn't be a Larp.
4) Accept. Sometimes, a space isn't right for you. Sometimes you grow out of it, some times your understanding has changed from the others, or vice versa. It's alright to acknowledge that it's safe to move on to find another game and a place.
5) Repeat These on a Constant Basis. Allow for members old and new to be able to pickup, voice and work together in their process, both the good and the bad.
As a (albeit unemployed) counselor, I've done a lot of group therapy sessions where this is all we've done. We've shared our emotions, our process with one another. We've exchanged our intentions and our goals with one another and, if with a bit of luck, we're able to help the clients come to an understanding, or at the very least a sense of progress.
It's healthy to have a space where one can do what one wishes to accomplish, a space where they won't be judged if they try something different or weird. We are a subculture (and I believe in my heart that we are very much a subculture and not just a hobby) that embraces the different and the weird, celebrating it and making it a part of who we are. You can see this in large scale games, with hundreds of people. At conventions where one game or multiple are played out, or even in small rooms where a handful of friends are doing scenes together. We're a subculture born of other subcultures, meeting in a place where we can join ideas and create something.
The reasons I like this phrase, The Magic Circle, is because we are in many ways doing just that. Magic. We're coming to a safe space to become other people in a setting that is not usually our own, to converse with those who have also come to this setting. It's a place where a lot of things are possible, depending on the intent of the group at large. When it works, you feel it, when it doesn't, you feel it too.
Later.
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