2. Introduction
Hello! I’m Caroline Murphy.
I’m a game designer and shapeshifter.
I design games across all genres and
mediums, but my specialty is live
interactive games, and I have a special
penchant for transformative &
emotionally impactful experiences.
3. Agenda
Carnevale di Oscurità
• Context
• Concept
• Design Process
• Story
• Game Flow
• Mechanics
• Artifacts
• Results
Calculations
• Concept
• Design Process
• Story
• Game Flow
• Artifacts
• Results
The Always Waltz
• Concept
• Design Process
• Story
• Design
• Game Flow
• Mechanics
• Artifacts
• Results
I have many more games, but have chosen these three as case studies to highlight specific skills that I bring to the table:
multi-layered design thinking, collaboration, leadership, narrative impact, and emotional resonance.
5. Context
Pub Crawls Masquerade Balls Variety Shows
Fairly linear narrative with A/B/* choices.
Layered narrative with all interactions
leading to a democratically decided choice.
Complex branching narrative with
dynamic interactions and a show leading to
multiple potential outcomes.
The Incantrix Universe
6. Concept
My emotional goal for this piece was to evoke a sense for the audience of magic and dreams being
real and achievable, but quickly turn that feeling sinister.
Inspired by the aesthetics of The Night Circus, I wanted to make a neo-Victorian carnival, but much
more insidious, using figures from the Tarot as inspiration.
This was a follow-on event from Incantrix’s Faerie Masquerade Ball events (which were inspired by
Labyrinth).The Fae needed an enemy, and dark carnival of demon-like entities was ideal. I
introduced/teased the Carnival at a Faerie Masquerade event by killing off an important character.
Team:
Design - Myself
Narrative - Myself, Megan Eckles, Jessicalee Skary
Character Development - collaborative process with all (22!) actors
Set Design - Myself,Athena Peters, Jamie Bal
Lighting & Tech - Oberon Theater crew
7. Design Process
• Carnevale di Oscurità was highly iterative:
• October 2017 we ran “Carnevale 1905” which was an early prototype. It had
about half the characters and non-diegetic puzzles and a much less intricate story.
• March 2019 we ran “Carnevale 1906” was much more robust.This staging had 20
cast members, diegetic puzzles, and well-developed main story.
• June 2019 was a 3-day run of “Carnevale 1906”. Feedback allowed us to perfect
the design for these runs, which had 22 cast members, diegetic puzzles, multiple
hooks for the main story, and a solid onboarding process.
• Character Creation: Each actor was given a character and a starting set of basic
personality traits, based on their association with the Major Arcana of the Tarot.
From there, I led actors in workshops to develop their voice and interpersonal
connections.This collaborative process led to many design changes that greatly
improved the overall quality and depth of the story and the experience.
8. The Story
The Magician was once in love with the Tower.The Tower was destroyed (long ago
by the Fae), and the Magician has become obsessed with collecting all of his essence
and bringing him back to life, now in the mortal world.The Magician is very close to
being able to do this— they have collected his essence and obtained the ritual— but
all magic has a price.The Magician needs the help of the audience to determine what
that price is and whether they should pay it.
Many of the other characters have thoughts and opinions about whether this is a
good idea or not.The audience must decide how they want to steer events.
9.
10. Secret Final Act-
Sword Box Ritual
Game Flow
Audience
Enters
Lobby
Magician
(Tower Story
& Puzzle
Hook)
World
(Onboarding
& RP Hook)
Enter
Theater
Hierophant
(Missing Girl
Story)
Justice &
Jugement
(Circus Fire
Story)
Hermit
Sun & Moon
Wheel of
Fortune
Chariot
Strength
Hanged Man
Fool
Devil
DeathLovers
High Priestess
Emperor &
Empress
Emperor &
Empress
Moon
Star
Moon
Justice &
Jugement
Ringmaster
Magician
Audience
Decides
Star
Magician
kills Star
Magician
kills Ringmaster
Audience
convinces
Magician to stop
Moon gets the
Crown
Tower is
Resurrected
Tower is not
Resurrected
11. Mechanics
Masks & Invitations
The audience must earn the right to stay for the
finale.
There are a few ways to earn a mask and invitation:
1) Solving a puzzle and correctly answering a
character's challenge question.
2) Solving all puzzles and returning them to the
Magician.
3) Outstanding roleplay that earns the
appreciation of a cast member.
Masks are worn during the finale for maximum
spooky effect.
Invitations ask the audience to vote on who loves
the Magician more: Star or the Ringmaster.
Contracts
If the audience does not earn an invitation, they can
sign a contract to stay.
Yes, these are contracts for people’s souls.
I have over 100.
16. Design iteration Learnings
Confusion: People didn’t know who they were in this world and they wanted to
have a known role.
Solution:Added an onboarding process when entering, giving people lightweight
personality traits and a reason to be there.
Confusion: Many people didn’t get far enough in the puzzling to discover the
Tower storyline in the first run to understand what happened at the ending.
Solution: Reworked the design to have the main storyline focus on the Tower plot.
Iterated Tower story with addition of reporter character.Added role-play tracks that
gave the same story, but not the same benefits.
17. Carnevale di Oscurita was an absolute blast. It's no small feat to put together an event that's interactive on so many levels, for
so large a crowd, without sacrificing the individual touches that make each audience member's journey through the night feel crafted and unique.
The performances were stellar, each and every one.
A person who'd only seen this show, and none other of the interactive theater type, could be forgiven for not understanding just how impressive
it is to assemble a cast who are able to roll with whatever the audience throws at them while keeping true to their character and making it all
feel organic; this is hard enough to do at all, let alone to do well, let alone to do well enough to make it look nearly effortless.
I got stared down by an exceedingly regal lady with a crown on, and I got to see an excellent card trick, and the puzzles were fun as hell to do, so
overall just a fantastically pleasing night.There is, I should caution, a small danger of being trapped forever in a traveling supernatural carnival, but
these are the risks you take and let's be honest, you didn't have anything better to do with the rest of eternity.
Incantrix Productions is putting on some of the most exciting events in the city.They're experimenting with blending a variety of art
forms, and each event makes me more excited than the last.
Combining burlesque, puzzle hunts, mysteries, acrobatics, and both traditional and interactive theater - Carnevale di Oscurità was an amazing
event, one that continued to surprise me through the night.Anyone who just sat and enjoyed the show would be thrilled, but there was so much
more to discover by interacting with the performers - each character had clues for the greater mysteries, but also their own
personality and perspectives.
I cannot wait to see what Incantrix Productions does next!
post-launch: Reviews
18. Post-Launch: Reviews
I work hard on a daily basis to not be too gross as I fanboy about Caroline A. Murphy as a LARP creator. I have consumed
some small portion of her team's events in the past, and this gorgeous little show was certainly a signature 'Caroline' event.
In short the following things happen:
1,Watch Circus/arts and talented performers
2. Speak to (improv) cast & become involved in the "intrigue" of the cast though conversations and
3. Solving of clever puzzles to dive into the insight of the goings-on.
4. Be enchanted: by the performers and a little bit overwhelmed by the "Charisma" of the whole affair.
I separated 4 from 2 because even if you do not engage fully in #2, #4 will happen.
As ever - this is a challenging piece of art, since I find it somewhat rare that a single person possesses all three of these (1-3)
tastes.
My solution was to bring my family (aged 14/16 and Adria and I) and truth me told we posses a great overlap for these skills
and it made the attacking of this show not only a fun affair, but an outstanding social event that highlighted for my family how
well we work together.
The show ABLY and FLEXIBLY accommodated this and was a joy as a result.
As any piece inspired by great LARP - if you don't/can't adapt to it... IT WILL ADAPT TO YOU.
20. Concept
My emotional goal for this piece was to put someone in a situation in which the only
plausible option was to kill an innocent person, and deal with the grief that action
causes.
Inspired by the short story The Cold Equations, I wanted to make a hard science
fiction game with greater plausibility and more emotional impact for a single player.
Team:
Design - Myself
Narrative - Myself
Character Acting - Myself, Monica Gribowski
Set Design & Tech- Myself
21. Design Process
• The design for Calculations was very straightforward, and largely narrative/research-based:
• I made the setting in a near-future Earth so I could build on existing technology and
conventions.
• I did extensive research on real-world space travel technology so that there would be no
obvious story holes.
• I created character backgrounds and motivations, including a voice-only AI to answer player
questions and connect calls.
• I laid out timing and runtime script responses for questions I knew would arise from the
player.
• I configured the tech to stream voice and video to the player so they felt alone at the start.
• In the original design, there was no sedative available, but it just so happened during the first
run that a player asked for sedatives and there were appropriate physreps in the room. It
ended up being a good change and I added it in purposefully to future runs.
22. The Story
The year is 2195. Humankind has colonized Mars (pop. 10,813), but travel to the colonies is still arduous and
one-way. Because of the length and difficulty of the journey, calculations for spacecraft are meticulously calibrated
to account for food rations, biomass, and other human considerations.
Recently, the Mars colony has experienced a crippling setback. Settlers started reporting cold and flu-like
symptoms.The infection, fungal in nature, has spread to over 80% of the Mars population. For most, it is a slow,
withering death.There is a cure, but the Mars colony simply does not have the scientific equipment necessary to
synthesize enough medicine for the entire population.
Earth is now sending an emergency dispatch ship to the colony with enough medicine for the entire population.
You are the pilot of that vessel.Your journey will save thousands of lives.
You have been aboard the ship for several hours.Already, Gabi (your personal AI) has alerted you three times
that your course has gone askew and needed to be corrected.Three times, you made the correction…
You search and discover a stowaway aboard— a young woman named Oni.You have 45 minutes to fix the weight
differential, or you’ll never reach your destination.
23. Game Flow
Gabi tells the player they
have 45 minutes to
correct the weight
inconsistency.
Player finds Oni.
Player tries to find a
solution that doesn’t
involve killing Oni.
Talks to Gabi.
Calls to AdmiralYukan,
who offers to make it an
order.
Calls Oni’s brother to
say goodbye.
Talks to Oni, fear and
dread sets in.
Talks to Oni, acceptance
starts to happen.
Gives Oni sedatives.
Puts Oni in Airlock, waits
til last possible second.
Vents Oni and cries for
some time in silence.
Talks to Gabi one last
time, seeking
reassurance. Game End.
With very little deviation, this is the pattern of events. On occasion the player will try to reach their character's partner, but finds they cannot.
Still, the player feels a total sense of agency because the situation is constrained, not the player.
25. I want to talk about briefly about a game I played at Intercon S.
It was run by Caroline and it's called "Calculations". It was a single PC game for
one hour, and including the time I spent crying during the game I have spent
more time crying thinking and talking about the game than I
spent actually playing it.
It's run 8 times, and I did talk to Caroline about the tidbits of the game
iterations and found all of those bits interesting. Usually I live for those types
of conversations, and I enjoyed them this time but felt a bit disconnected from
it. I figured out why when I was driving home with tears running down my
face.
I am very very happy with my encapsulated experience in the game. It seems
like I made the standard set of choices in the standard order within the
standard time frame, and I don’t find that in the least bit disappointing. The
game was deep, difficult, and emotional in a way I’m coming to
understand I want in my LARP. I loved every second of my experience and I
will treasure it. It was the high water mark of Intercon for me, and it wasn’t
even close.
"I'm here, Jordan."
"...Thank you, Gabi."
Post-Launch: Reviews
Player-written Epilogue
Fan Fiction!
27. Concept
My emotional goal for this piece was to have juxtaposed themes of romance and horror
that seamlessly fit into an interwoven narrative. I wanted different players to have
dramatically different experiences while playing the exact same game.
Inspired by Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, I wanted to
find the perfect balance of creeping esoteric terror and relatable interpersonal drama. I
wanted Fae players to be living in a Shakesperian comedy, while mortal players slowly
come to realize they are living in a dangerous nightmare with fickle immortals.
Team:
Design - Myself
Narrative - Myself,Alex Brune
Tech & Set Design - Myself
Properties - Alex Brune, Myself
28. Design Process
• The design for The Always Waltz is crafted to unravel over the course of a few hours:
• At the outset, mortal characters do not really understand why they are there, they just think it’s a
fun social event.The Fae characters believe they are there for an auction.The Fae King is the only
one who knows the true purpose.
• Over the course of the evening, the players interact with mechanics that allow them to obtain
their memories, giving chilling context to the mortals and clarity to .
• I developed the mechanics of Memory Fragments and Memory Stories to encourage player
discussion and interaction.
• Memory Fragments are obtained by interaction. Roleplay, dancing, singing, any other creative
thing players come up with is rewarded with Fragments.
• Players can read and discuss any Memory Fragment, but only by finding and piecing together
their own character’s Fragments do they get their own Story.They need to trade and discuss the
Fragments to find the right ones.
• True Name cards mechanically gave people a way to have a clear goal, and an option to share an
intimate part of themself with a romantic interest.
29. The Story
Mortals believe they are here for a social event and to see an inventor, Mr.Arthur Nightingale, demonstrate out
his new invention.They are actually trapped in Faerie and have had their memories stripped away.
Faeries believe they are here for an auction, and have brought their favorite mortal pets in order to use them to
bid on whatever King Finvarra has to show them.
King Finvarra has an entirely different plan— to show everyone what foolishness their machinations have
wrought, and get them all to achieve their personal goals. He’s using the show of power to propose.
30. Mortals:
Playing a Horror Game
Immortal Faeries:
Playing a Romance/Politics Game
In-between:
Mortals* with variant
gameplay
Arthur
King
WinterFall
Valerie Gwynn
Rowen/a
ImogenAnna AlastairMalcolm
MiaFelicity*
Relationship Map
Summer Spring
Rosalie
*Felicity is a fetch
DESIGn
31. Act III:Total calamityAct II:Things start to get weirdAct 1: Everything seems normal
Game Flow
Social time. Players chat
and nibble on food and
drinks.
Arthur turns on the
Invention.
Memory Fragments begin
to be released
Mortals:
Work hard to assemble
the Memory Stories
True Name Cards
obtained. Horror sets in,
plots to escape.
Escape achieved.
Fae:
Play along for mortals
sake, pursue political
goals
True Name Cards
obtained. Politics and
romantic goals get
heated.
Resolutions found.
All goals achieved.
~1 Hour ~1 Hour ~1/2 Hour
32. MECHANICS
True Name Cards
Given when all 3 Stories are gained. Serves to give the character an achievable goal.
Memory Fragments
Each is cut into 3 pieces and a
single sentence is put on the
back.
There is art for each character,
and some false memories to
add challenge.
Memory Stories
Are given to the player in 3
parts when they find the correct
fragment.
33. MECHANICS
Gameplay Variants - Improvised Rituals
Felicity, the fetch character, does not have memories of her own, but can hod other players' memories for 5 minutes and
cut words out of them using a pair of scissors. She must find 5 words she needs in order to complete the spell that will give
her aTrue Name and bring her to life.
(The missing words do not impede other players’ enjoyment.)This is achieved with an improvised ritual.
Rowen/a, the witch character, has magical abilities and is able to achieve their goal relatively quickly, and then can wheel
and deal to make bargains with the other mortal characters to help them escape.This is achieved with an improvised ritual.
Mia, a magician character, is not trying to escape, but rather to become Fae. She must convince another player to give up
their Faerie Glamour to meet this goal.This is achieved with an improvised ritual.
GM Role
Servants
Game runners act as completely silent servants for the duration of the game.They hand out Fragments, Stories, andTrue
Name Cards and are available to whisper to players any magical effects that other players are improvising.As the game
escalates, they change the lighting and sound cues, mess with set decor, and generally be creepy.
35. ARTIFACTS
True Name Cards
For flavor and to give each character an achievable goal.
Starting Character Histories
Gives the information that each character knows at the outset.
36. In the end, the Always Waltz is designed to come together perfectly. Fae characters end
with proposals and confessions of love, while mortals end back in the mundane world
having escaped, clutching at the shreds of their sanity.
All of the players goals are achieved, which at outset seems like it would be impossible,
but is revealed over the course of the game to in fact be the only solution.
The Always Waltz has gained great acclaim from players, and has since been published and
run at conventions worldwide. It is popular enough that we now only produce the game
for ticketed events.
Post-Launch: Results
