ROLE PLAY GAMES NO LONGER DIGITAL-ONLY IN CHINA
Live Action Role Playing (LARP) games, also known as Jubensha (roughly translating to “murder mystery”), are a fast-growing form of offline entertainment among China’s youth.
Players are given a character with a backstory, and dress up in costumes as they interact with other characters to solve a crime, or simply experience a different life within the game. LARP games in China usually take place in dedicated venues (think KTV), called “escape rooms.”
LARP is challenging movies, fitness and KTV as a top offline activity for youth in China. Some estimates put the size of the budding industry at RMB 17 billion. Its growth is echoed by reality shows, featuring top celebrities, such as “Dinner Party Seduction” and “Who’s the Murderer.” And, with increasing government prohibitions for online games, LARP as a category could continue to evolve and grow - perhaps mirroring online games and “metaverse” scenarios.
HOW CAN BRANDS USE LARP GAMES FOR MARKETING?
LARP games give players a chance to dress up and act out stories
Game: Who’s the Murderer?
LARP games can be a good fit for a brand’s offline events, offering a novel and highly engaging shared activity. Importantly, brands can showcase their values and positioning by creating inspired LARP scenarios, content (props and sets), and sponsoring the live venues. What better opportunity to create deep engagement with an audience than in a game they are fully immersed in?
For building wider awareness/reach, brands can combine offline LARP games with online live-streaming. Connecting LARP and live-streamed interactions, there is the opportunity to have audiences participate in creating (voting) on scenarios, playing a part in the live action as it unfolds before their eyes.
KUKA HOME SETS THE SCENE FOR OFFLINE LARP EXPERIENCE
KUKA HOME integrated an offline new product launch event with a LARP game, with the brand inviting KOLs to play a game in a setting that included KUKA HOME furnishings. The offline event was also live-streamed for online audience engagement.
ALIPAY AND LUOYANG MUSEUM MAKE HISTORIC LARP GAME
AliPay and Luoyang Museum took part in a co-branded collaboration to create a new historical genre LARP Game, using artifacts in the museum as clues in the story. Players could learn the background of the story and characters in advance with the Alipay App, while exploring a suitable character for themselves to play the game with..
