Full disclosure: LARPed for about 7-8 years, until it became too much of a commitment. I still miss it.
While I agree that there probably are stable people who play Darkon, I'll bet that the lion's share of participants are probably more like the main characters. The average age for a LARPer (at least in NJ) is late high school to early college. There are obviously edge cases with older participants and younger, but the amount of time and dedication to the hobby, as well as having a free weekend every month, is mostly restricted to that age group.
That age group is also mostly populated by people with part time jobs, unstable relationships, and simple living arrangements. While it wouldn't have been difficult for them to find a more stable, "normal" participant in Darkon, that would have made for a less representative story.
Didn't the main character of the larger kingdom have a stable job? He was a sales manager or something? That's not "slightly elevated from white trash." While I don't disagree that the other subjects were in a less stable place in their lives, he seemed to break the gamer-in-mom's-basement mold, if I recall correctly.
I may also be confusing this with Monster Camp, a similar movie about a more PvE-oriented NERO chapter.
AND to the original post: No, I don't think LARPs are more PvP- rather than PvE-oriented. It's a question of administration. LARPs like Darkon don't seem to have much more of an administration than game marshalls and overall rules facilitators-no orcs, trolls, skeletons to be found. This keeps the payroll light. They meet for battles in public spaces, rather than renting out a camp for a weekend, which keeps the price down (if there is one). the PvE-oriented LARP, which is alive and well, has much more overhead, but can therefore charge more money. My LARP had one monthly session that cost $45 and had a cast of NPCs in a weekend at a rented camp. There were other Saturday afternoon sessions that cost $10 at someone's house that had more player-driven conflict.
no subject
While I agree that there probably are stable people who play Darkon, I'll bet that the lion's share of participants are probably more like the main characters. The average age for a LARPer (at least in NJ) is late high school to early college. There are obviously edge cases with older participants and younger, but the amount of time and dedication to the hobby, as well as having a free weekend every month, is mostly restricted to that age group.
That age group is also mostly populated by people with part time jobs, unstable relationships, and simple living arrangements. While it wouldn't have been difficult for them to find a more stable, "normal" participant in Darkon, that would have made for a less representative story.
Didn't the main character of the larger kingdom have a stable job? He was a sales manager or something? That's not "slightly elevated from white trash." While I don't disagree that the other subjects were in a less stable place in their lives, he seemed to break the gamer-in-mom's-basement mold, if I recall correctly.
I may also be confusing this with Monster Camp, a similar movie about a more PvE-oriented NERO chapter.
AND to the original post: No, I don't think LARPs are more PvP- rather than PvE-oriented. It's a question of administration. LARPs like Darkon don't seem to have much more of an administration than game marshalls and overall rules facilitators-no orcs, trolls, skeletons to be found. This keeps the payroll light. They meet for battles in public spaces, rather than renting out a camp for a weekend, which keeps the price down (if there is one). the PvE-oriented LARP, which is alive and well, has much more overhead, but can therefore charge more money. My LARP had one monthly session that cost $45 and had a cast of NPCs in a weekend at a rented camp. There were other Saturday afternoon sessions that cost $10 at someone's house that had more player-driven conflict.