A live action role-playing game allows the audience to immerse themselves in an imaginary world
i
magine someone committed a heinous murder, and tlie murderer is among you! Who can you trust? Especially since everybody is After seven hours, 21-year-old Li Xiang is still playing a private detective s role, trying to uncover this mystery. Despite his fatigue, nothing is more exciting than a murder mys­tery game session for this Agatha Christie fan. *'I  feel like I m embarking on an extraor­dinary adventure. It gives me an escape from my busy university life. The feeling is similar to watching a horror movie, but the experience is more vivid.”
Live action role-playing games (LARP), adapted from the Murder & Mystery Paily
popular in Western countries, is regarded as a form of interactive literature or theater because of the participation of the audience. Since its introduction in China in 2012, this immersive game has been gaining popu­larity in the country, especially among the younger generation.
The game s popularity further soared fol­lowing the launch of the reality TV show Who's the Murderer  in 2016 in China. With its first episode being watched by 300,000 viewers, the show raised the recognition of LARP among the general public.
In the sam e vein, puzzle-solving appli­cations such as Wo Shi Mi  were developed and have grown steadily in popularity. At
the height of the COVID-19 epidemic, it became one of the most popular App Store applications. With the easing of health restrictions in China, LARP studios expe­rienced dramatic gi'owth in their business. By Septem ber 2020, they had grow n to 20,000 across the country, with more than 50 million players in total.
An avenue for socialization
A ccording to surveys, the average age of participants in LARP is around 20. In addition to being able to play characters like Sherlock Holmes, players also have the opportunity to discover his story in just a few hours, helping them escape the
An Immersive Experience
Live action role-playing games take Chinese market by storm, attracting
young players, scriptwriters and entrepreneurs
LIFESTYLE
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54
March
2021
monotony of everyday life, as is the case with Li.
For a g ro w in g n u m b e r of g am ers, role-playing is as m uch a form of enter­tainment as a means of socialization. Thanks to the close interaction they have duiing the four to seven hours of a session, the play­ers (usually five to eight per team) eventu­ally bond with each other. Afterward, the post-gam e outing keeps this m om entum going. Therefore, live action role-playing is an entertaining and fast w ay to make new friends and even bond as a team, as Yuan Zheng，a human resources manager, testifies.
In his view, organizing a live action role-playing game is the best way of inte­grating new employees into a workplace. "During the accusation stage, everyone has to speak up and make their case while lis­tening to each other s analysis. In this way, peopled personalities and methods of com­munication gradually reveal themselves as the game unfolds. One session is all that is needed to find com m on ground for the whole team.”
Fan Zhou, Dean of the Research Institute of Cultural Development of the Communication University of China, sum m arizes how this success w as achieved. According to him, compared to traditional board
games such as Loup-Garou or Carcassonne, live action role-playing gam es stand out for their immersive experience, supported by the scenario, the decor, the props, and the cos­tum es and m ake-up. "This fulfills young people’s desire to have new experiences and socialize.”
Committed scriptwriters
T hese sc e n a rio s a re not m ean t to be repeated for the participants. To maintain the custom ers, loyalty and curiosity, con­stant updating is necessary, and the rapid growth of the sector is encouraging script­writers to be actively engaged in the games* creation.
Zhou Haohui, a crim e-fiction author, recently turned to w riting role-playing scenarios. Role-playing differs from tra­ditional literary production, w here the scenes of chaiacters are different accord­ing to the roles they play in the story. But when it comes to role-playing games, the screenwriter has to balance each character's weight so that players can all equally enjoy
the session. Zhou has no problem with this
requirement, which he views as a challenge
that he tackles with determination.
Moreover, the possibility for w riters to
access the players’ com m ents at any time
allows them to regularly adjust their work,
unlike film or literary narratives that cannot
be changed once they are finished.
Some screenwriters go even further, like
Li Wenhua. For this form er relic restorer,
the popularity of live action role-playing
games allows him to bring historical works
of art back to life. “Our w ork isn’t just about
restoring relics. I w anted to find a w ay to
m ake the stories and m ysteries behind
them more widely known," he said, con­
vinced that role-playing is the answ er to
his aspirations.
To this end, he created his ow n team,
involved in all stages of production, from
scriptwriting to the m anagem ent of LARP
studios. Through his story Restorers,in
which the Forbidden City serves as a back­
drop, players have the chance to experience
$1.55billion
value of China’s LARP
sector in 2019, double
that of 2018
20,000
number of LARP studios
in China as of September
2020
50million
number of LARP players
in China as of September
2020
Compared to traditional board
games such as L o u p-G a ro u or
C a r c a s s o n n e} live action role-
playing games stand out for
their immersive experience,
supported by the scenario,
the decor，the props，and the
costumes and make-up.
the profession of restorer and gain know l­
edge about relics. Thanks to this accom­
plishment, he achieved his goal of "making
w orks of art speak.”
A profitable sector
A cco rd in g to d a ta fro m th e M eitu an
Research Institute, the LARP sector s value
exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) in
2019, twice as much as in 2018. Some dev­
otees don t hesitate to spend as m uch as
3,000 yuan ($464.7) per month. Encouraged
by this trend, en trep ren eu rs are sc ra m­
bling to enter the m arket. Chen Zizheng,
General Manager of the LARP studio Dieying
in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province in south
China, is one of them. "When w e started
our operations in 2017, there w ere fewer
than five studios in Guangzhou； today, the
n u m ber has reached b etw een230and
240，” he said.
“But the sector is not as profitable as it
seems," he explained. According to him, the
commercial life of a role-playing scenario
lasts only two or three months. Each month,
they have to budget 10,000 to 15,000 yuan
relic
($1,549 to $2,323.5) to acquire new ones.
Besides, each session lasts between four and
seven hours, so they can only run a m ax­
im um of three sessions a day. To increase
their turnover, they would have to expand
the studio or increase the number of venues,
which would inevitably increase the com­
pany^ overhead expenses such as rental,
m aintenance and inventory.
Only time will tell w hether LARP is an
industry with a promising future or just a
fleeting craze in this age of endless enter­
tainment. CA
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