Night Watch Toronto’s design owes much to larps that use the Opt-In/Opt-Out Design principles discussed extensively and developed by Johanna Koljonen, which requires the consent of the player to have anything happen to their character. The player is more important than the larp, and these mechanics and procedures help in ensuring that all players feel comfortable out of character while exploring emotions in character.
We use the following mechanics, which are practiced in workshop before the larp:
- Cut – a mechanic to stop play
- Lookdown, or ‘See No Evil’ – a ‘bow-out’ or opt-out mechanic that can be used to opt-in
- OK Check In – a player check-in mechanic
- Pronoun Correction – a procedure to correct misgendering
- Consent Negotiations – a procedure to negotiate consent for romance, violence, and other interactions
- Volume Control – a mechanic to decrease or increase conversation volume (post to come)
The use of these mechanics is necessary to play Night Watch Toronto. If you have any questions or concerns, please email nicandgaryw@gmail.com.