How do I sign up?

 

There are approximately 63 characters in the game.

Registration will be first come first served.
To be confirmed as a player, you'll need to fill in the Registration Form and pay either a deposit or in full.  (You can do both of these things from the Registration & Payments Page.)

Casting Forms will be emailed out to confirmed players throughout the month of May.

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How long does the game last?

 

We'll be back to our old format, so:

Friday evening (approx 7pm - midnight),

all day Saturday (approx 10am - midnight, with breaks for lunch and dinner),

and Sunday until mid-afternoon (approx 11am - 4pm). 

 

What style of game is this?

 

CASABLANCA STATION is a fully-plotted game, similar in writing process to Tombstone, Casablanca, and King's Musketeers.  Last I heard there were over 200+ plots in the game, so character sheets should be full and meaty.  The characters will all come from existing source material, although some may be slightly more fleshed out (beyond what you learn about them in film or television shows). 

 

The characters will be familiar, but the plots will be largely created for purposes of this game (although some plots may be or seem familiar to those experienced in their various existing fictional universes.)  Because the game is fully-plotted already, players will be discouraged from creating additional relationships or plots themselves - as happens in some other LARP styles.  

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This will be a "low magic" game.  You won't find characters like Darth Vader or The Emperor whipping around lightning or strangling minions with the Force.  
 

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What do you mean by a sci-fi Noir LARP?

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That's a complex question with a hundred different answers. The sci-fi part is fairly obvious - the game is set on a Space Station in a science-fiction universe; but what is "film noir" as a genre?  Here's the version I like:
 

‘Film noir’ is a term you’ve probably heard hundreds of times. It may conjure up detectives and femme Fatales dressed in black and white. Film noir has long been regarded as one of cinema’s most intriguing cinematic styles. But what exactly is film noir?
 

Film noir is more of a style than a genre, so it is not limited to a single film genre. It’s why film noir is brutal to describe and why so many people differ about which movies are and aren’t. To this day, film experts disagree on the film noir status of renowned classics such as Notorious with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, Sunset Boulevard in 1950, and Casablanca, including well-known classic movies of all time. There’s also a lot of discussion about recent favorites like Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. 

 

It is frequently debated whether film noir is a cinematic type or genre. But what we know for sure is that there was an era in American cinema when there was a run of films with a dark, illusionistic lighting aspect, a crime-centered narrative, and a moral lesson.

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Film noir is an American movie style from the 1940s and 1950s that features detective protagonists, sleazy surroundings, dim lighting, and a tragic tone. The genre developed iconic cinematic motifs and tropes that inspire filmmakers today.

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One of the most prominent topics in noir films is its European influence, which deals with post-war challenges, intensely realistic worries, and criminality. They contained propaganda-like themes that were highly contentious, mainly because they were first released when there were only a few bold enough to speak out. 

(The article goes on... source: https://www.nfi.edu/film-noir/)

 

What is the general anticipated schedule leading up to the game?

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First Round Registration will run through May, and the behind-the-scenes casting process will take part in June.  In early-to-mid July all players should receive Character Blurbs, which give you enough information to know what source material your character is from so you can plan costuming.  Full characters will come out in mid-to-late August.  Other information such as Background and Rules will come out throughout August, and some of this may only be released just before or at the game.  

 

What if I'm not a big sci-fi fan?

 

No problem.  The GMs have provided a watch-list for those who want to dive in and get a feel for the world, and you can watch as little or as much of this as you want (although it is advised you watch at least one episode or some of the film, read a wiki, etc that inspired your character.)  The game has a NOIR in SPACE feel, so you can lean into that if you prefer.  If you aren't a sci-fi fan, but you are a fan of Noir/Casblanca/etc we expect you will fit right in.  

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How does the writing approach gender balance and racism?

 

This is always a tough topic when you're dealing with other people's source material.  Sometimes, we know when we revisit old film and tv faves, the attitudes of today aren't necessarily reflected in the portrayals of archetypes, including (but not limited to) use of makeup, accents, mannerisms, etc but also sometimes in the writing itself.  The writers and members of the Wilmark Council have held conversations throughout the writing process about this topic, in an effort to banish any of this bleeding over into the game. 

 

Many of these characters have been either avoided (generally they are either written as or portrayed merely in old efforts at "comic relief", so wouldn't be as interesting in a plot-centric game anyway) or in a few cases altered.  There will also be characters in the game originally portrayed by actors of various real-world races, but the characters themselves are often not written with any particular race in mind or for the game have been re-written to remove problematic real-world stereotypes so that characters are merely "alien" or "human" (or android, human-alien hybrids, etc.) and our real-life races should - for this sci-fi game - be a non-factor.  There are no in-game plots revolving around real-world racism.  Accents and any makeup meant to mimic a real-world race or the actor who portrayed the original character are to be avoided entirely.  

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On gender discrimination and balance:  The bonus to having so much source material available, is the game has excellent strong male and female characters with one specifically non-binary character included.  Again, the writers are working with existing source material, so the genders are pre-imagined already; but the writers are happy for players of any gender to play any of these characters.  

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What about food, snacks, and alcohol?

 

Your registration fee will include provision of a limited range of snacks and drinks.  There will also be water provided in the Ballroom and Double Room.  You may want to bring your own distinguishable re-useable plastic cup to use throughout the weekend.  We recommend you also bring any beverages you prefer and for easy access in your hotel room.  Stay hydrated!

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There is a strict NO GLASS CONTAINERS rule throughout the event space, so no glass bottles or cups (etc) are permitted. 

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There will be a 1-hour Lunch Break and 2-hour Dinner Break on Saturday.  You will need to source your own meals during these breaks and throughout the weekend.  You may bring in delivery food or your own sandwiches, snacks, etc.  No crockpots/catering are permitted.  If you have food delivered, you MUST be available to accept the delivery yourself - please use special instructions to tell your driver how to reach you, please do not involve the hotel staff.  

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Attendees aged 21 and over may bring their own alcohol into the event space.  But we have been asked to keep this subtle, so please do not wander the public hotel space with open containers.  Please review our Policy Regarding Alcohol for the full list of rules. 
 

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What about prop weapons?

 

Any and all prop weapons should be visibly fake, from at least 10 feet away, and inactive.  This means we are encouraging those shiny neon nerf gun colors.  This further means there should be absolutely no ammunition, even nerf-style foam bullets, and no gun sounds such as caps should be in use.  If it doesn't go whir-whir or bleep-bloop like a child's toy, please do not bring it.  Large items like a staff are great - small items like knives and grenades will be generally frowned upon (please send a photo for approval).  

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At no times should weapons be branded in public areas (this includes the breakfast room, the foyer, hallways, lobbies, elevators, etc) nor should any weapons at any time be crossed (sorry, no lightsaber battles) or touch another player (please do not grab another player and put even a nerf gun to their head).  We are not a boffer group, any weapons should be carried solely for the purpose of making your costume look cool.  ​

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If you aren't certain whether your weapon prop will be allowed, please email a photo to thewilmarkdynasty@gmail.com for approval.  

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