Stories of Survival: Narrative Design of Odysseus
We want each and every player of Odysseus – First Light to feel like they are playing the main character in their own story, while also contributing to the shared story of the ship. We reckon we’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years. In this post we want to share some of our thoughts about the narrative design of Odysseus, and let you know what to expect, when you step into the shoes of a character onboard the ship.
After the destruction of a human civilization in a distant star system, the veteran spacecraft ESS Odysseus begins a desperate escape from an overwhelming enemy. Over the course of the larp, the survivors are repeatedly put into situations where they need to make terrible decisions for lack of better options. On an individual level, Odysseus can be a story about success and optimism, but on a broader level, it is a story about war, survival and the things humankind is willing to do in order to survive.
Finnish Style Larp
To explore what kind of a narrative experience Odysseus - First Light is, let’s start with a couple of words about Finnish larp. While the game also falls within the broader tradition of Nordic larp, it reflects several distinctive elements that are especially characteristic of Finnish larp culture. Finnish-style larps are known for complex characters, intricate pre-written plots, and rich interpersonal drama that provide players with a strong narrative foundation. Within this framework, players are encouraged to make the character their own and actively shape their personal experience and the evolving story of the game.
All players will receive a fully-written character with ready-made connections. The game experience itself will be built on a combination of pre-written plots and events that occur during the larp, but there will also be varying amounts of downtime during which players can soak in the atmosphere or seek out new connections. As is common in Finnish style larps, both personal and overarching plots rely rather heavily on first keeping and then revealing secrets. The pre-written content in the characters and their connections should be played on, as they are carefully designed to set storylines in motion and bring more play to everyone.
Picture: Christina Elgert
Genre and Influences
The genre of Odysseus is social drama meets space adventure, with the main themes being war, survival, hard choices and the mystery of what it means to be human. Our starting setup draws inspiration from Battle Star Galactica and other scifi classics, but our story and the universe are our own.
The game is a combination of ‘Hollywood drama’ and everyday life. We are not aiming for full realism as there are things happening at breathtaking speed and many near soap opera level plots going on with the characters. Despite this heightened drama, the overall feel should be characters living their ordinary lives in very extraordinary times. We hope that you can experience epic scenes and get an abundance of drama out of them, while holding on to a touch of realism to have the scenes feeling relatable and real.
Style of Play
With a pre-written larp it is important that you play your character as it is written with their history and ambitions, hopes and flaws. This is not a game to be hacked, won or overachieved. There are times when your character cannot win or choose the outcome you would like to - this is part of the design and exploring the themes. You will get the most out of this larp when you are willing to also embrace the failures and tragedies.
However, when the larp starts it is up to you to steer the character’s story and focus on the themes that most speak to you. Your character’s fate is yours to shape!
The game runs for approximately 48 hours without scheduled breaks. When you are in the in-game area, you live and breathe as your character. Short out-of-character check-ins on comfort and safety can be had as well as subtly agreeing on details on setting a scene. You can always take a breather in the offgame areas and visit the player safety space at any time.
Themes of War and Violence
Odysseus is a larp about war and the terrible actions taken in the name of survival. During the larp there will be opportunities for thrilling adventure and heroism with celebrations of victories, but the characters also need to make horrible choices and carry out orders that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Even those who are considered “good” are capable of doing terrible things when desperate enough. Our aim is to give players a chance to experience the stories behind legends and see how easy it is to glorify terrible actions in order to silence a guilty conscience.
The main theme of Odysseus can be summarized as the “Cycle of Violence”. Odysseus is a story of how terrible actions keep causing terrible actions over and over again. And how people become a part of this cycle, repeating and repaying for the mistakes of their ancestors.
In addition to war and war crimes, there are many other heavy themes present in the larp. Such themes include suicide, murder, substance abuse, medical issues, and discrimination based on socio-economic background or non-human status.
Despite war being the central subject of Odysseus, our message is anti-war. Democracy, human rights, and equality are core values of our team. We do not support any actions against these values anywhere in the world, and hope that our players approach the story with this in mind.
Picture: Luka Pajukanta
A Clockwork Larp on Rails
Odysseus is not a sandbox larp. While there is an abundance of agency and decisions to be made, some aspects of the larp are firmly on rails. Odysseus has a predetermined course which it will follow from the beginning to the end. We are putting quite a bit of effort into hiding the rails under plausible in-game decisions, but it is important to understand that this is not a larp where you can choose your own adventure or drastically change the course of the larger story.
The core clockwork element of the larp is making a hyperspace jump every 2 hours and 47 minutes for the entire duration of the larp, day and night. In order to do this, the marines must complete land missions to retrieve “beacons”, the scientists must solve puzzles within these beacons leading to the next destination, the bridge crew must calculate the flight path and steer the ship, the engineers must fix the ship and prepare it for the jump, the pilots and sometimes marines too must fight off the enemy until it is safe to jump, and the medics must keep the sickbay running and patch up any wounded.
For civilians, the larp will be more focused on the emotional side of experiencing a world-ending catastrophe and trying to shape the society amidst the chaos. Characters involved in politics will be rebuilding the government and in charge of making the final decisions after martial law ends. Characters without a shift have an apprenticeship position which gives them the opportunity to participate in some aspects of the clockwork.
Stories Through Connections
Each character is the star of their own story. Each unique character arc intertwines with others, and together they form the overarching story of the ship. This is why our characters are meant to be ‘ready to play’ packages. Everything in the character is designed to serve a purpose in the larp and provide you and your connections a rich and nuanced experience. We have carefully written and cross-checked the characters to carry secrets, past events, knowledge, and aspirations that have meaning not only to your character, but also to other characters and their stories. It is especially important to leave your character’s history or timeline as it is, without alteration, as seemingly small changes can impact things on a surprisingly large scale. While some minor changes are possible, we encourage you to enjoy the characters as they are, to not break the intended plotlines.
Core Connections
Most characters in the game have 4 to 7 “core connections”, relationships that are most relevant to the character. They are always mirrored - if someone is your character’s core connection you are also theirs. It might not always be apparent why a certain connection is important to your character’s story, but trust that we have carefully designed these contacts to offer interesting stories and juicy drama for your character. Having an open mind and curiosity towards these connections will ensure secrets related to these connections are played out during the game.
Additional Connections
All characters have several additional connections that may or may not be mirrored. When you engage with your additional connections, they can provide new and interesting directions for your game.
Picture: Ami Koiranen
I’ve Played Odysseus Before, Is This a New Story?
Odysseus – First Light builds on the same core larp experience that was previously played in 2019 and 2024. The overall story and structure remain largely unchanged, preserving the narrative and emotional journey that defined the earlier runs. Some characters and individual plotlines may be refined or adjusted, and the experience continues to evolve based on player feedback, ensuring that each iteration is both familiar and thoughtfully improved. However, each character has a unique story. If you’ve played the game before, and find yourself longing for the world, we recommend this time you aim for other character groups in your sign-up. The ship, the story, and the themes look different from each perspective.
Can I get support?
Despite our best efforts to pack all the character texts full of plots to play, sometimes a lead runs dry or a connection with another character just doesn’t work. If this happens, our team is there for you. While the game is running there is plenty to be done to remedy any experience that is not working. If you feel like your play is stuck, ask for help!
Header picture: Ami Koiranen
Picture: Ami Koiranen