An Online Symposium Exploring Immersion, Liveness, and Narrative in Live Action Role Play
We’re delighted to announce the launch of Evolution of Story III: Having a Larp, a curated collection of academic video-papers now freely available via YouTube. Originally planned as a one-day online symposium hosted by Southampton Solent University, the event ultimately evolved into something else: a fully online, asynchronous conference experience—a format that may well signal the future of academic exchange.
Rather than attempting to recreate the tempo of a traditional conference online, we invited presenters to create short, accessible video-papers that could stand on their own, be widely shared, and enjoyed on demand. The result is a rich and diverse series of contributions exploring the intersection of larp, immersion, and narrative from a range of disciplinary and practice-based perspectives.
The symposium opens with a keynote from Dr Simon Brind (Avalon Larp), provocatively titled Spontaneity is a Lie (But a Beautiful One). Brind challenges the romantic notion of emergent narrative in larp, suggesting that what often appears spontaneous may actually be the result of hidden structures—power-knowledge regimes that subtly shape what stories get told, and by whom. His talk sets the stage for a critical, reflective, and richly textured exploration of the larp form.
Other highlights include:
- Dr Ian Sturrock‘s historical analysis of the UK’s uniquely “player-led” festival larps
- Ada Marlen on the emotional and performative labour of NPCs in the festival larp system
- Dr Adam Jerrett sharing insights from his semi-autobiographical, values-based pervasive game
- Dr Charlotte Barratt on using larp in education to teach history through lived experience
- Josiah Lulham & Dr David Harris on player empowerment and co-creation in Dance of Ribbons
- Kyria Van Gasse exploring power abuse and bleed in Vampire: The Masquerade larp communities
- And many more, covering onboarding, dramaturgy, kayfabe, mechanics-light play, and immersive design
In total, fifteen video-papers make up the collection, featuring voices from the UK, Australia, Belgium, Norway, and beyond. This digital format has allowed us to include contributions that might otherwise be limited by geography or funding, making Evolution of Story III a truly international and inclusive gathering of larp thinkers and makers.
A selection of papers from this collection will be developed into articles for a special issue of Storyworlds: A Journal of Narrative Studies, due to be published in late 2026 or early 2027.
🎥 Watch the full collection HERE!
We hope this collection will inspire further research, design, and creative exploration in the field of larp and immersive storytelling. Whether you’re a scholar, practitioner, educator, or just larp-curious, there’s something here to ignite your imagination.
Disclaimer: The title “Having a Larp” is also the name of a commercial business. The Evolution of Story III Symposium is not affiliated with or endorsed by this business. We would like to thank the owner of Having a Larp for their kind understanding and support in allowing us to use this phrase.
Photo by Peter Steffen at DPA.