links for 2009-09-12

'I'm sure I'll take you with pleasure!' the Queen said. 'Twopence a week, and jam every other day.' Alice couldn't help laughing, as she said, 'I don't want you to hire ME - and I don't care for jam.' 'It's very good jam,' said the Queen. 'Well, I don't want any TO-DAY, at any rate.' 'You couldn't have it if you DID want it,' the Queen said. 'The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never jam to-day.' 'It MUST come sometimes to "jam to-day,"' Alice objected. 'No, it can't,' said the Queen. 'It's jam every OTHER day: to-day isn't any OTHER day, you know.' 'I don't understand you,' said Alice. 'It's dreadfully confusing!'

"In the summer of 2004, I was approached by my friend Greg Moccia with a unique task: to design a live-action role-playing event at which he could propose to his girlfriend. The resulting game was A Measure for Marriage, a one-session LARP in which players took the roles of nobles and attendants as they attempted to find romance, thwart villainy, and restore true love in an improvised Shakespearean comedy. Of course, designing a LARP about romance that must end with a real proposal is a daunting task, and the success of A Measure for Marriage was a result of careful use of character design, emergent pacing, and player expectation."