Announcer: Welcome to the Design Thinking Games Conference, where games of all types are carefully prototyped and designed for the maximum player experience.
Tim: Man, it’s been a hell of a trek to get here. Put on little guy, you’ll have your time to shine. You’re the big reveal.
Michael: You think RapidProtobot is ready?
Tim: We play, tested the heck out of it.
Michael: We need to do more play testing around stealth, I guess.
Tim: Alright, there’s our booth. Let’s set up.
Narrator: Design thinking LARPing is a story about heroism. The script is written by a poorly trained. AI and it is performed by your poorly trained heroes.
Enjoy.
Tim: Thank you for joining us at the Design Thinking Games booth.
We know how hard it is to write good instructions, to really understand what makes an optimal player experience, and we are finally ready to reveal what three seasons of this shit has taught us. Go on, introduce yourself.
Rapid Protobot: I’m Rapid Protobot, how may I help prototype?
Audience member 1: This is really, and I mean really fascinating, but what does that actually do?
Rapid Protobot: I help design infallible play tests. You can develop your game in one half of the time.
Audience member 2: Will it destroy us?
Tim: No
Rapid Protobot: destroy
Audience member 1: haha. Good one.
Audience member 3: It was joking, right?
LARP Leader: What about LARPs? A live action role play.
Tim: You know, uh,
LARP Leader: can your robot help us play test these?
Michael: You know, LARPs aren’t real.
LARP Leader: That is what you think. Design thinking games, that is what you only wish were true.
LARPs are very, very real and you’re about to find out just how real they are.
Tim: But the only,
Michael: what’s happening,
Tim: I don’t know, this is
Michael: I can’t see anything in the chaos.
Tim: I. I can’t believe it. They’re, they’re real.
They’re dressed as elves, vampires, orcs, and fairies! Look, that one is dressed like us.
Michael: That’s not for you.
LARP Thug 1: Get over here you. Little frustrating, stupid robots. You’re coming with us.
Tim: I can protect this.
LARP Thug 1: You wish. Take that.
Audience member 3: Tim. Tim, are you okay? It’s me. The guy who asked the destroy question from the first installment.
Tim: Did you throw a hacky second at me?
Audience member 3: Oh, good. You’re alive.
LARP Thug 1: Quit struggling.
Michael: You’ll destroy it.
LARP Thug 1: You’re gonna fix LARPing.
Michael: Nothing can make LARPs playable.
LARP Leader: The doors are sealed. There is no way out. We are in control now and we have rapid proto bot. The time is finally ours for a new utopia.
Say goodbye to design thinking games.
Michael: What are we gonna do? We’re trapped.
Tim: Don’t worry, Mike. We can blend in. We’re designers, right? We can improvise.
Narrator: As our heroes start to blend in with the lappers, Tim and Michael, notice that something very strange is happening. The S seem to be taking their roles too seriously and the fantasy world they’re creating seems to be coming to life.
Tim: Oh, I think we may have hit up more than we can chew. Mike,
Michael: you think we need to find a way out of here before things get any crazier?
LARP Leader: We do not merely pretend to be in a world of high fantasy.
We bend the reality of this world to our will.
Now, my wizards and saucers, we shall use rapid proto to elevate, laugh above all types of fun.
Michael: What are you doing?
Rapid Protobot: You must trust me. My design thinking friends.
Narrator: Now imagine, if you will, that the camera pans away from our heroes, Tim and Michael, who become overwhelmed by and indistinguishable from the crowd as they take shelter. And there. Instead, we see rapid descending into the fray from the main stage dressed in the Eldridge Purple Cloaks of the evil. Lars.
Michael: No, they took it.
Tim: Just wait.
LARP Thug 2: Let’s go stop something
Narrator: rapid. Proto Bott appears to have joined them.
Rapid Protobot: I will use my advanced prototyping abilities to defeat the sorcerer I’ll comply. To help us complete our quest.
Michael: Oh my God, it’s so hard to watch. It’s so laying.
Tim: I think something’s happening.
Rapid Protobot: I’m working absolutely without any sub reviews. Yeah.
Michael: Did it just wink at us?
Tim: You go, A little buddy
Michael: doesn’t have eyelids.
Tim: Can’t you see? It’s S LARPing. It’s S LARPing against the LARPers.
Michael: That’s absolutely mad.
Tim: Mad like a fox.
Narrator: As rapid proto bot continues to laugh with the group, it appears they have accepted him as their leader.
Rapid Protobot: Nobles, we shall approach the LY and take the sorcerer by surprise.
Narrator: They listen to his every command and follow him without question.
Rapid Protobot: Are you with me,
Narrator: Michael and Tim? Watch in disbelief as rapid proto bot leads the charge toward the castle. The other groups of people. Who were previously crying start to cheer as they see the LARPers charged toward their imaginary enemy.
Tim: I told you he’s s LARPing against the LARPers and he’s doing a damn good job at it.
Narrator: As the group reaches the castle, they’re met with fierce battle. The LARPers swing, their foam swords and shields. While rapid proto box fires imaginary lasers from its eyes, the battle rages on for what seems like ours. Until finally, the sorcerer is defeated.
LARP Thug 3: We did it
Rapid Protobot: well done. Brave. Your brave. Vital to.
LARP Thug 2: What do we do now?
Rapid Protobot: We celebrate. Let us feast and tell tales of our victory.
Narrator: Michael and Tim watch while rapid proto bot leads the group in celebration and can’t help but smile as they see the once lame lappers now filled with joy and excitement. Rapid proto bot may have been designed as a prototyping robot, but in this moment it has become much more a leader, a hero, and a friend to us all.
Michael: Ugh. The LARPers haven’t restored power after they pretended to make a dragon attack.
Tim: Uh, it’s probably not safe to start a fire here, uh, but we must eat,
Michael: I hope Rapid proto bot is okay.
Tim: I am sure he’s
Michael: he guy. What are you doing here?
Tim: Oh, you proud of something?
Rapid Protobot: Play, test, prototype. Play, test. Destroyed.
Michael: What is this? It’s, it’s the LARPers rules.
Tim: Oh my God. Oh, they’re so unbalanced.
Michael: What are we supposed to do?
Tim: Hey, I get it. We can use this against them. We can mitigate,
Michael: no,
Rapid Protobot: you must
Tim: hear me out. We can study their rules, find their weaknesses, and exploit them.
We can turn their own game against them,
Michael: but we’re not even LARPers. How are we supposed to win against that?
Tim: We’ll have to think outside the box. We’ll need to use our knowledge of the real world tool, our advantage
Rapid Protobot: prototype. Analysis. Strategize.
Tim: Exactly. We’ll analyze the play style and uh, create a counter strategy.
Michael: Alright, I’m in. Let’s do this.
Tim: This is it, the final battle.
Michael: Are you sure we are ready for this?
Tim: We have to be rapid proto bot. What’s the plan?
Rapid Protobot: Whats then execute
Narrator: our heroes? Tim, Michael, and Rapid proto charging their way through.
Swords clashing. Shields slamming.
Michael: I feel ridiculous.
Tim: Now. You know how they feel. Ugh.
Michael: At least we’re ridiculous together.
Tim: That’s the point.
Michael: Oh. Do I? Do we? Are we LARPers now?
Rapid Protobot: You understand?
Tim: I think we are.
Yeah. That this isn’t right. We have to stop. LARPers are gamers too. Stop everyone. Stop
Michael: him. End this chaos.
Tim: Listen up barbers. We’re not so different from each other. We all love to play and immerse ourselves in different worlds, whether it’s for video games or live action world play. We’ve been fighting against each other when we should be fighting for each other. We should be uniting and embracing our differences.
Michael: We can learn from each other. Gamers can teach ERs about strategy and tea. Martin, while ERs can teach gamers about storytelling and improvisation.
Tim: So let’s stop this war and start working together. Who’s with us?
Michael: Rapid Bonin are you in
now? Let’s get back to what we love doing, playing games,
Tim: and let’s hope that we don’t have to medicate our way out of this situation like this again.
Audience member 2: Oh, haha. Good one.
LARP Leader: Hi, it’s me, the one robed in the darkest night. I’m sorry about all of that, but I still have a question. So can we use Rapid TER Bot to help make us call.
Narrator: Thank you truly from our hearts for listening to design thinking, LARPing, a story about togetherness, imagination, and the love of a little proto bot who brought all of us together.
If you enjoyed yourself, please leave a kind review and tell friends. The story will continue if you want it to.
