motivation influence psychology |
| Designer: Jeff Mann |
| Number of participants: 12 |
| Duration: 3 hours |
| The presenter feels that this larp IS NOT suitable for young people aged 16+ |
About the larp
At some point, most people have had the occasion to ask “What were they thinking?” when reviewing a decision someone made (maybe themselves?). Headspace provides the answer.
Inspired by the 1990s TV series Herman’s Head and the 2015 movie Inside Out, Headspace takes you into someone’s head as competing urges like Anger, Fear, Disgust, Intellect and Passion vie for control over what their human will do and say. The inner dialogue that goes on inside someone’s head becomes external as they react to a series of different situations. The urges debate how to react to a pushy boss, what to say to a secret crush or what to feel when receiving bad news.
The larp consists of a series of scenarios where The Person encounters a pre-written situation played with someone else. The urges determine among themselves which will dominate and what The Person should do and say. Players represent different urges and The Person in turn for each of the six scenarios to experience the full gamut of human emotions.
Content Warnings: Headspace explores psychology and how the brain determines what we do and say all day. Potential triggers include romance, rejection, workplace difficulties, comping with death.
Jeff Mann: I got a late start larping, but have been enthusiastic the last 8 years on the international scene. This will be my third Smoke, so I felt it was time to run something.
Parameters
| Physical contact | Not relevant for this larp; e.g. just standing in a room and talking |
| Romance and intimacy | Romantic themes but no player contact; e.g. discussion of romance, illicit glances |
| Conflict and violence | Themes of conflict, but not enacted by players; e.g. quiet threats and vengeful stares |
| Communication style | Lots of speech |
| Movement style | Sitting or lying |
| Characters | Characters are fully predesigned, but shift every 20 minutes or so in rotation. The urges represent facets of a personality. |
| Narrative control | Players have some influence over story, but there is basically a script or structure that they’re within |
| Transparency | The scenarios will not be available before the larp starts, but they are not really “secrets” |
| Representation | The fictional space is pretty similar to the play space |
| Play culture | the urges represent their individual nature, but they want what is best for their human overall |
| Tone | Light-hearted |
The Smoke 