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In our neverending pursuit of the new we often forget about the basic rules of design. We’re like a karate expert who’s about to take his/her black belt test, so he/she stopped practising basic kata and lost against a novice. Unfortunate, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s time we changed it. We thought you might find it useful to listen to some speeches about design, script writing, acting, theatre and film. In our neverending pursuit of the new we often forget about the basic rules of design. We’re like a karate expert who’s about to take his/her black belt test, so he/she stopped practising basic kata and lost against a novice. Unfortunate, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s time we changed it. We thought you might find it useful to listen to some speeches about design, script writing, acting, theatre and film.



Coordinator: Malwina Otto

Adrianna Alicja Markowicz (Wioska Fantasy)
Larp, theatre and performance

Where is larp on the map of the theatre? How do the strategy of role shifting and the acclaimed Fischer-Lichtowska feedback loop function in it? What would Grotowski say about larps? Larp, Theatre and Performance - Marjukka Lampo is wrong.

Magdalena Zylik (Stowarzyszenie Praktyków Dramy STOP-KLATKA)
Drama (in) larps

Fictional situation, getting into a role, engaging the mind, the heart and feelings, improvisation... does it ring a bell?
Larps don’t have to be just role-playing games. They can become a space for education, self-reflection and a deeper understanding of the outside world.
Because of how it functions (getting into the character), drama, (1) shapes participants’ social and intellectual skills such as: team work, cooperation, effective communication, empathy etc. (2) allows the participants to express themselves: their feelings, thoughts, experiences. This process lets us take a close look at emotions, problems and solutions, expanding our understanding of other people’s attitudes and behaviors. One of the basic functions of drama is showing motives and consequences of specific behaviors, analyzing attitudes and strengthening the awareness of existing relationships.

Anna & Michał Rogala
Characters in the net of social relations - working it out with the player

The character is placed in the net of social relationships. For the purpose of the larp the GM has to communicate to the player or co-create with them at least some of these relationships. This presentation aims to show a few practical ways of conveying the knowledge about who is who in the game to the players, and also co-creating these relationships with the player. We will talk about creating character sheets, individual and group briefing, creating circulars for teams, identifying characters by the identifiers worn by the players, and pre-game workshops. We will also mention concealing characters’ identity and disclosing it during the game, and the mechanics behind recognizing other characters in game without meeting them beforehand.

Zofia Urszula Kaleta (Wielosfer)
Workshops - a game before the game

When next time you put the blame on your players, saying that they ruined your scenario, think twice. Have done absolutely everything you could to prevent it?
There are obvious truths out there. Which is the right order of asking questions about mechanics? A quick lesson of remembering names and relationships between characters. Distributing character sheets. Choosing exercises appropriate to the theme of the larp. Teambuilding in practice.

Artur Woźniak
1001 mistakes I made while briefing

A talk about the most notoriously made mistakes while briefing players before a larp. Which of them are the gravest. How to avoid making them, how to preempt them and minimize their consequences. All of that on the basis of a considerable experience, the speaker claims to possess, of poor briefing.

Mikołaj Wicher (Liveform)
Scenography, stupid!

Every object in the play area which is not your player is scenography. And scenography makes a difference whether you like it or not. Your players will be placed in it. Are you ready to leave its impact to chance? Or will you take matters in your hands?
This presentation and discussion address the question of how, with limited finances, to create scenography which will be suitable for specific types of players (GNS triangle).

Bartek Zioło (Wielosfer)
Table for Mixing LARP*

As everyone knows, all the good things in larps were invented by the Scandinavians. Let us have a look then at the concept which is not to be taken literally, but which should change the attitude to creating games in general. Will it stand the test of the Polish larp reality? I hereby present Table for Mixing LARP. (*originally "the Mixing Desk of Larp", which translated into Polish by Google transforms into sth as awkward as this).

Adrianna Alicja Markowicz (Wioska Fantasy)
Polish Larps BC

The early days of Polish larping on the basis of interviews with Sylwia "Kiro" Żabińska and her two friends from the Collaps club Robert ,,Inkognito” Witosławski and „Trzeci”.

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From the most savage fantasy worlds and postnuclear wastelands, through film adaptations, to oneiric landscapes and alternative worlds... We want to listen to the stories of the best and the most interesting larps of the 2013 (try to be objective: praise the virtues but discuss failures as well).



Coordinator: Zofia Urszula Kaleta

Zofia Urszula Kaleta (Wielosfer) & Krzysztof Maj (Kawaleria Berg/ZKF Ad Astra)
Ostatni Rejs

Larp Ostatni Rejs is a simulation game in which the participants play a submarine crew. For the purpose of the game software which simulates the most important functions of a submarine was designed. Several computers were connected to give the players the impression of operating a real submarine. They could control the course and depth of the boat, they could use the sonar, the engine room, launch torpedoes and decoys. The players had to take care of the submarine and deal not only with enemy units but with personal challenges as well - everything to prevent a global crisis.
The GM team was awarded Złota Maska for the quality of the game, the props, their resourcefulness and creativity.
It's time we told you about our work, our inspirations and ideas, and the problems we dealt with. We'll also give you a glimpse of our plans for the future.

Piotr Milewski (STG Funreal) & Katrzyna Górska (Wielosfer)
Górska's method, Kula's method

This year's Złota Maska for the best scenario went to the larp Metoda Profesora Kamihary- a child that outgrew our expectations and frightened us a bit. How did this Polish version of "playing to lose" look like? Why breaking a player costs 3,70 PLN net, and how to ignore the rules of Good Larp Practice to come back not only with the shield but also with the mask. This and a few more interesting facts.

Kamil Bartczak (AR Argos)
Chicken stock

Long story short: we won the Larpy Najwyższych Lotów competition with our game about a funeral reception of a garage owner from Namysłów. The larp was called Stypa (funeral reception) but it was remembered as Chicken Stock because of the soup the was consumed during the larp.
The idea for this larp was at first taken as a joke by many of our friends. In the process of writing we had moments of doubt wondering what the hell we were thinking when we entered the competition with such an idea. In the end, the larp worked out well, and why it happened is the thing we want to share.

Remigiusz Maciupa (Wioska Fantasy)
Wioska Fantasy - two steps backwards, three steps forward

Wioska Fantasy Project is three years old now. During this time it evolved from a larp scenography to a way of life. We'll tell you why it happened and what inspires people to work on this project.

Ernest Warych
OldTown 2013: a report from a post-apo outdoor larp

OldTown 2013 post-apo convention took place on 22-27 July 2013. Its two part were: the first was a typical convention with talks, competitions etc., and the second was a 48hour larp. Let us invite you to our presentation where you'll learn about the convention and the world of the larp. We will tell you what happened in 2013 and how life looks like in the outback in our larp.

Mikołaj Wicher (Liveform)
New Age 2013: documentary

In September 2013 in Kokotek near Lubliniec, Dominik Dembiński run another one of his larps in the dieselpunk world, New Age. This movie is a summary of the project. You'll have a chance to see footage unpublished so far and listen to organizers' comments. Watch as they take a look back at this year-long project and discuss the birth and growth of the ideal they strove for, and the difficulties they encountered in the process.
Camera: Nadina Wiórkiewicz, Maciej Nitka.
Directed by: Nadina Wiórkiewicz.
Language: Polish Subtitles: English

Braids, Dorota, Słowik & Małgorzata (BDSM Grimuar)
Nightmare on Grim Lullabies of The Hedge Street

Come with us on a Journey into the dreams of the Past. Into the Grim Heart of the Hedge, where the Gargantuan-Luminous-Undisputable-Truth about this year's Main Game at Hardkon larp festival will appear... Unless it chooses not to… : P

Bartek Zioło (Wielosfer)
The Game

The Game was a special larp at Hardkon 2013. A group of people fought for their lives in the woods, where they were located by a Smartphone application designed specifically for the purpose of this game. Their fates, available weapons and food were in the hands of the other participants who played in a bit more luxurious part of the diegesis.

This presentation is in fact a premiere of a documentary about The Game. There will be time for questions of course.

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Just like the previous KOLA, the upcoming conference will see the publication of the results of the annual larping survey, researching larp development in Poland. Good luck to the researchers!

...Have you played a larp in Poland and would like to share your opinion and fill in the survey? Let us know via email: kola2014 [at] larpowa.eu

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We do not provide accommodation for the participants. However, there is a wide range of accomodation to choose from, depending on your budget.

Accomodation in Gdynia

School Youth Hostel (ul. Energetyków 13A)
20 - 60zł/person

Student's House of Marine Academy Morskiej (ul. Beniowskiego 20/22)
30 - 70zł/person

Róoms for rent Gdynia (ul. M. Kopernika 100)
35 - 60zł/person

Apartments in Gdynia (ul. Św. Piotra)
45 - 60zł/person

Lux Hostel (ul. Świętojańska 67)
od 50zł/person

Och Hostel (ul. Świętojańska 85)
od 50zł/person

Sea Towers Gdynia (ul. Hryniewickiego 6)
od 300zł/apartment