LARP in the Park: Casper Gaming Community Battles it Out
If you should find yourself in a Casper park on a Sunday morning surrounded by battle-clad men, women, and children sparring with swords and spears... fear not! It's probably just the local LARP community.
An acronym for Live Action Role Playing, LARP is a group activity where participants can dress up in character and engage in light-hearted combat.
Alexis Berardi-Hawley is the founder of Casper's LARPing group, also known as the Takari Tribe. They meet up every Sunday morning at Mike Sedar Park at 9:00 a.m. Waivers are available on-site (things can get crazy).
Berardi-Hawley told K2Radio News she got into LARPING as a means of physical exercise. Not too long ago she was a personal trainer, and she learned firsthand, and from clients, how unhealthy scales, calorie-counting, and meal-prepping can be for some people's mental health. That's when she broke out of the gym and opted for "gamefied-fitness."
With LARP, you just jump right in. Train as much or as little as you like. There's an element of free movement and self expression that sets it apart from other modes of exercise.
Berardi-Hawley likes to know what people are most interested in when they join the tribe. She herself focuses on fitness, but others like the cosplay aspect of it and character development, while some are more into the combat aspect of the game. She says she can design different games based on the group's preferences.
Berardi-Hawley moved to Wyoming to be closer to family after a house-fire destroyed her previous home. She was lucky to have gotten herself and daughter out before the kitchen exploded.
At first, she wasn't sure if the quiet Cowboy State would accept someone like her. She is an actor, a model, and a queer gamer. But the move has been a positive fresh start and she says she loves it here.
Just before starting the group, her own brother took his life. "Maybe if he had a place to go..." she says. Her hope is that the LARP meet-ups can be a good outlet for mental health. Wyoming is known for its high suicide statistics; she says it can be a helpful tool for "therapy" in an outside setting as opposed to being in an office. Plus, it creates a place for like-minded people to meet up and connect.
“A game is an opportunity to focus our energy, with relentless optimism, at something we’re good at (or getting better at) and enjoy. In other words, gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.” ~ Jane McGonigal, Reality is Broken
Another goal is to dissolve the image of gamers as lazy people behind a big screen eating chips all day. Furthermore, Berardi-Hawley aims to make the world of gaming more female-friendly and less objectifying.
Next month she will travel to Oklahoma to film for The Blox, a reality show where start-ups compete for an investment opportunity.
Win or lose, her dream is to open the doors to the Level-Up Lounge, providing access to state-of-the-art computers, consoles, and tabletop gaming. She aims to create an inclusive space for all, including kids, with an emphasis on health. She also hopes to collaborate with creators state-wide to curate healthy snacks, refreshing beverages, immersive workshops and physical activities.