Losing and Finding Oneself: Duo- and Autoethnographic Study of "Character" in the Larp Superrealism

The larp Superrealism serves as a unique case study for understanding how abstract, non-verbal, and music-driven game design facilitates profound personal transformation. By utilizing duoethnographic and autoethnographic methodologies, researchers Sarah Lynne Bowman, Lauri Lukka, and Josephine Baird demonstrate that minimal character frameworks and vague narrative prompts act as essential catalysts for emotional processing. Rather than relying on traditional role-playing mechanics, the game functions as a symbolic space where players project their own internal histories, repressed grief, and identity explorations onto the play experience.

The core finding of this research is that the absence of explicit narrative structure encourages an emerging, highly individualized form of play. Through the phenomenon of bleed, where personal emotions and interpretive frameworks permeate the character, participants engage in a process of self-discovery that is reinforced by non-verbal interaction and collective social dynamics. This suggests that the value of such games lies not in the designer’s original intent, but in the capacity for players to utilize the game as a safe, symbolic environment for navigating intimate psychological content.

Ultimately, the study underscores the necessity of robust psychological safety measures and experienced facilitation when designing games intended for transformative play. By bridging the gap between designer-led frameworks and the subjective reality of the player, these findings highlight the potential for role-playing games to serve as effective tools for mental health and identity exploration. The research confirms that when character prompts are sufficiently open, they provide the necessary touchstones for players to lose and subsequently find themselves within the shared, immersive reality of the game.