{"id":472,"date":"2013-08-11T10:04:13","date_gmt":"2013-08-11T08:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/larpwright.efatland.com\/?p=472"},"modified":"2017-09-14T09:33:15","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T07:33:15","slug":"dealing-with-the-aristotelian-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/larpwright.efatland.com\/?p=472","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with the Aristotelian Curse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Or: why can it be so difficult to achieve a satisfying conclusion to a larp, and what can we do to change that?<\/p>\n

\"Aristotle\"<\/a>
“A plague! A plague on all your larpses!”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aristotle (Greek philosopher) was the first to describe the structure underlying most dramatic storytelling. It goes like this: <\/p>\n

First introduce a hero we can identify with – the protagonist. Then introduce a problem or conflict for our protagonist. In the middle of our story the problem grows worse and worse. The protagonist\u2019s attempts to overcome it grow increasingly spectacular and interesting. We hold our breath as the tension reaches a peak, a resolution, which culminates in the problem disappearing. Maybe it disappeared because of the protagonist\u2019s victory. Maybe it disappeared because the protagonist failed in an interesting way. At any rate: the conflict is gone. Tie up loose ends with an epilogue or two, and end the story.<\/p>\n

When you draw this structure as a graph, it forms an arc:<\/p>\n

\"aristotelian.arc.1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or maybe, as later thinkers have done, like an arc composed of smaller arcs (little problems are being resolved but the big problem keeps getting bigger):<\/p>\n

\"aristotelian.arc.2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You know the Artistotelian arc. It\u2019s there, hiding, underneath pretty much every movie you have seen, every novel you have read. And * cough *<\/span> many of the better acts of sexual intercourse you\u2019ve enjoyed. The Aristotelian arc is not universal: there are narratives without the arc and with different kinds of arcs. But it\u2019s so pervasive in Western storytelling that we tend to have difficulties with stories that fail to follow it.<\/p>\n

\"lrrr\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In a larp the protagonist is you: the player. Or rather: the character that you play. Which means that if there are 50 characters, there are 50 protagonists.<\/p>\n

And when you have 50 protagonists and 50 arcs, there will be a crescendo of conflict-resolution towards the end. <\/p>\n

\"aristotelian.arc.3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the Aristotelian Curse. <\/p>\n

\u201cA curse, you say? Why is it a curse?\u201d <\/h3>\n

Let me give an example:<\/p>\n

The peasant. The priest. The prince. The estranged lovers. These characters could all co-exist at the same larp. <\/p>\n

The peasant\u2019s noble sacrifice. The priest\u2019s triumphant banishing of the demon. The new king\u2019s coronation. The re-kindling of estranged love. These are all good resolutions to their respective stories. <\/p>\n

But imagine them concluding simultaneously. The estranged lovers try to re-unite, but before they can admit their mutual love, they are called to the throne room to witness the coronation of a new king. But alas! The evil Royal Chamberlain had a different plan – the crown jewels, now in his hand, were the last missing component of his spell to summon the demon Shmoronzon and bring about the \u00c6on of Fishy Darkness. So the coronation is interrupted by fire and brimstone, the booming voice of Shmoronzon demanding human sacrifice with a side of anchovis. <\/p>\n

But wait! There is another voice in the room – the nervous Priest is chanting something, something that makes the demon afraid. For you see: A few hours back, he figured out the chamberlain\u2019s demon-summoning plot, and managed to piece together an exorcism. The priest succeeds, the demon is banished, and ta-da! the larp is over.<\/p>\n

Except the new king\u2019s story, the estranged lovers story, and most of the stories of the other people are left open-ended. Unsatisfactory. And did I forget about the peasant\u2019s noble self-sacrifice? So did you. <\/p>\n

Why does this happen? People hunting for a good narrative can cause the curse. But it can also be described in economic terms: A dead character is worthless. But a victorious character is also worth little, having no driving force left, or reason to interact with others. So resolution is postponed. As the larp approaches the end, though, the cost of resolving the conflict lessens and the potential reward for resolving it increases. For all players. Simultaneously. <\/p>\n

In other words: gamists and simulationists, you\u2019re not off the hook. <\/p>\n

Banishing Aritstotle<\/h3>\n

So how do larpwrights avoid the Artistotelian Curse?<\/p>\n

Because they do avoid it. Some larps end in cacophony, but most don\u2019t. While we didn\u2019t even have a word to describe this phenomenon before this blog post, I don\u2019t think that\u2019s because the Aristotelian curse isn\u2019t a problem<\/i>. On the contrary, I think it\u2019s because it\u2019s such an obvious and common problem that it goes without saying<\/i>.<\/p>\n

But all wisdom, to quote Confucius (Chinese philosopher), begins by calling things by their right name. Finding names for larp design challenges allows us to have clearer discussions about them (\u201cwhere\u2019s the zombie?”<\/a>), and pass this knowledge along to others.<\/p>\n

So here are some strategies for dealing with the Aristotelian Curse:<\/p>\n