Fight Club

Markers of Subjective Perception in Larp

Mochocki's paper extends Jan-Noël Thon's framework of subjective representation, originally developed for film, comics, and video games, to live-action role-playing (larp).

• Mochocki argues that spatial point-of-view goes unmarked in larp because players physically inhabit their characters' perspectives, so subjectivity markers in larp signal only other forms of subjectivity, and the paper adds a fourth, "metasymbolic" marker category to cover what Thon's film/comics/video-game framework misses.
• The paper stresses player-character perceptual unity and warns that mishandled subjectivity markers cause metalepses, breaches of diegetic coherence.
• Narratorial markers (generated by gamemasters or players, including metatechniques like the monologue box) and content markers (live acting and tangible elements introduced by the gamemaster) each carry their own metaleptic risks for perceptual unity.