Intercon N con report, part III

Saturday night we ran Resonance, the second of three games that I wrote with Alleged Entertainment, which had the distinction of filling up in the first round of Intercon signups despite its status as a sixth-run game. We're very proud of this game, as it is both cleverly and uniquely designed as well as an intense emotional experience.

We ran it in the suites, which we were a bit concerned about at first. A small, tight space is good for the main part of the game, as we need to create a feeling of claustrophobia, but for the breakout scenes that happen periodically we had to send two-third of the game into the other room in order to have enough space for them. Fortunately that didn't prove too disruptive. These players shared information quickly and freely, leading to productive discussions that made a lot of progress to their understanding the plot. They seemed to enjoy the unusual structure of switching between their main character as well as the individual breakout scenes in which they played temporary characters, and everyone seemed content with the in-game casting mechanic. We always get a vast majority of people who want to be scientists, partially because I think nerds like being scientists, and partially because they think they'll be more involved that way. To that last I say we are better writers than to include characters who are not sufficiently involved, but whatever. It always works out somehow, and these players seemed to enjoy the game very much.

There was one low moment for me, though. For some reasons, two players independently assumed that I was only a GM for this run, rather than one of the writers on the team. That hurt my feelings, and I'm not sure what exactly gave them that impression. I didn't look like the others, who were all wearing either AE T-shirts or else shirts that bore a superficial resemblance thereto while I was in a dark red dress, so maybe that made me seem less serious. I also don't tend to talk as much during briefings and wrap. And while the game is in fact AE's brainchild, I did contribute as much as anyone to the actual writing. It bugged me to have people assume I couldn't possibly have been involved in the making.

Sunday morning was Break a Leg, and it was a zany silly time as always. This run was particularly high-energy, to the point of even wearing me out. I ended up playing quite a lot of an NPC who screams a lot, which gave me a headache, but it was in a good cause. It's designed to just go with whatever creative silly funny thing the players come up with, and we were not disappointed. It's amusing to me how often this game ends with the theater going up in flames. ;-) The larp's meant to facilitate player creativity, so I love when they surprise me with something hilarious.

Bernie and I ran an errand for concom buying storage boxes, then helped Brad pack up consuite a bit. We had to leave soon after for other commitments. But even though I was tired in the extreme, I had a wonderful weekend with everyone, and thanks to all the awesome players, GMs, and friends who made that happen.