Imagine the types of games children play, mostly with their imagination, such as pretending the floor is lava or that a stick off the ground transforms into a broadsword and they’re now a knight in shining armor. Now pretend adults are participating in playing “pretend.” It’s not an identity crisis – it’s Live Action Role Playing, or LARP, for short, and it’s a rapidly expanding phenomenon, especially in Nordic culture.

Guest lecturer Markus Montola, who according to a release from the Scandanavian Impulses lecture series, is the “leading scholar of role-playing and pervasive games in the emergent field of game studies” and a researcher at the University of Tampere, Finland, discussed the roots, uprising and impact of Nordic LARP on Monday, April 4, in his lectured titled, “Nordic LARP, Grassroot Expression, Playful Art.”

As part of the final installment of the Scandinavian Impulses series at the University of Massachusetts, Montola delved into the culture of LARPing and the reasons behind the activity.

LARPing is a type of immersive game, with different rules depending on the style of game played. While some games may focus on fighting in a fantasy story, others may focus on a more realistic setting in which players actively engage in acting out the role of being another person. Almost all LARP games feature a storyline of some sort, and the games nearly always rely on people interacting with others to fully develop the plotlines.

Opening up with a scene in Oklahoma during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Montola told the audience to picture themselves there, enjoying a normal day. That is, until the alarm go off, where they must evacuate to the nearest bomb shelter and remain inside for 12 hours. Only, the cardboard boxes that are supposed to be filled with tin cans are filled with speakers to enhance audio of the bombing. Of course, the bombing isn’t actually happening; it’s all a scenario that people willingly chose to be in.

Montola said this style of extreme immersion is typical of Nordic LARPs.

“Someone thought it would be cool, exciting or terrifying to experience this,” said Montola.

He explained the primary differences with LARP in America compared to Nordic ones, stating that Nordic LARPs are generally more immersive and tend to deviate from the style of over-the-top fighting campaigns that many LARPs in America are associated with.

He said Angalo LARPs are generally more focused on a fantasy campaign with boffer combat and having fun. A boffer is a fake weapon usually made from tape, a durable type of foam and other supplies.

This was compared to Nordic LARPs, where he said that the style of game that was played was founded further in psychological roots, reinventing one self and as a form of expression. Nordic LARPs, he said, can be a very community-driven experience, though not always an ideal one. He argued that people are willing to put themselves through mundane and straining games for various reasons, including that fictional experiences produce real emotions, and that having fun isn’t the only worthwhile experience.

He also said that there was not always a defined goal, whereas many Angalo games include objectives, Nordic games are lacking in objective and rely on the players to establish what their personal goals are.

He did admit at the end of the lecture in response to a question that he was not fully educated in Angalo LARPs, however.

“I’m sure I didn’t do justice to American LARPs in this presentation, but it’s just much harder to find documentation of it.”

He went into the 360 degree ideal, which he considers ultimate physical immersion, or playing a role extensively to the point of actually being that person, in a “what you see is what you get” element. In addition, he mentioned a type of persuasive LARP, where some players play in the world, regardless of where they actually are, and that this can have ethical and legal issues.

In addition, he noted how LARPing is definitely a cult culture.

“LARP is not a spectator sport. It looks really silly when you’re looking from outside,” he said.

The impact of LARPing, he continued, has led to several franchises and endorsements, some in an attempt to make the game more mainstream. According to Montola, companies like Nokia have sponsored LARPs, and several Nordic LARPs have a business-like style. Several Nordic LARPs also have a political background, and may tend to include themes such as “leftist, green, liberal, feminist and anti-war,” he said.

Montola, who has a masters degree in social science, is the author of “Beyond Role and Play,” “Playground Worlds,” “Nordic Larp,” and he co-authored the book “Pervasive Games: Theory and Design.”

The lecture was part of the University’s Scandinavian Impulses series, and was held in the Isenberg School of Management.

Tim Jones can be reached at [email protected].