Calibration
Calibration refers to "...the many explicit and implicit ways that players have to negotiate the style of play, its physical or psychological intensity, and sometimes things like genre, tone, and pacing."[1] The first use of this term to describe this phenomenon is credited to Kristoffer Thurøe in 2016 [2]
It may refer more explicitly to a workshop or process that happens before the game and outside of it, in which players and gamemasters set expectations for play and achieve some coherence of experience. This can include checking that all characters created for the game will contribute to the desired play experience; some characters may be pre-written for this purpose, or otherwise go through several iterations in an approval process before participants can join the game. GMs may also at this point communicate desired philosophies and cultures of play that they wish for the game, such as encouraging Play to Win or Play to lose attitudes amongst participants, and discuss intentions around bleed and its management.
During play, players may use techniques such as steering and plot triage alongside consent negotiations and safety mechanics such as the OK check-in to ensure their play behaviour and choices stay within agreed-upon boundaries of play[3]. GMs may also actively step in and adjudicate where required. Afterwards, participants may use a Debrief to compare different experiences and perspectives to reflect on the calibration of the game and how they feel about it.
See also
References
- ↑ Johanna Koljonen (2020) 'Larp Safety Design Fundamentals', RPG学研究 2020, vol 1: pg 3e-19e. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14989/jarps_1_03e
- ↑ Johanna Koljonen (2016) Toolkit: The OK Check-In, blog post, Participation Safety in Larp website, retrieved 5th May 2026.
- ↑ Maury Brown (24th January, 2018) Safety Calibration Design Tools and Their Uses, blog post, Nordic Larp website, retrieved 5th May 2026.