9 comments

  • adrianhon 7 hours ago
    Oh hey this is my project I’m making with Alex Macmillan! HNers will likely enjoy his more technical explanation: https://strandfall.com/2026/04/10/an-introduction-to-mfds/
    • wyrdcurt 6 hours ago
      "Strandfall is a sci-fi story set in a post-apocalypse, with an emphasis on climate change, co-operation, and adaptation."

      I'm in the early stages of designing a world/game focused the same topics, in part because I simply want more stories like this to exist. I live an ocean and a continent away, so of course I won't be participating, but I don't know if I've ever subscribed to a newsletter so quickly. Looks like an absolutely brilliant idea and I hope it's successful!

      I'd be extremely interested in participating if a version of this ever came to my corner of the world. Even if it doesn't, just knowing about it is inspiring and motivating :)

      • adrianhon 5 hours ago
        Thank you! We will be documenting the larp a lot more in the coming weeks, including videos and a tech rundown, so sit tight :)
  • Triphibian 6 hours ago
    The whole paragraph that starts with, "Smartphones are anti-enchantment devices" is gold. Love where you are coming from with this.
  • manincharge 7 hours ago
    McNair-Feldman Device sounds very futuristic. Props for coming up with that name. I want to participate just to find out what we could do with it.
  • amarant 6 hours ago
    Today I learned the Nordic larp style is not the global default. As a Swede who's only ever participated in 2 larps,I hadn't realised people do it differently elsewhere!

    I really don't see how leveling and experience points would work in a larp, but then I'm not exactly a experienced larper!

  • teucris 5 hours ago
    I love that there’s an organization nurturing this kind of experience in the UK - Immersive Arts[0]

    Are there any orgs like this in the US?

    0: https://immersivearts.uk/

    • fragmede 3 hours ago
      That does immersive art? In the US, it's packaged up as an experience that you can post to Instagram. Meow Wolf would be the first that comes to mind, especially for adults, but there's no shortage of escape rooms. Don't forget the Star Wars experience at Disneyland. Though closed now, the Star Wars hotel experience was probably the best one on the planet.

      If you want less corporate, there's Neotropolis, https://www.neotropolis.com/which is a large scale cyberpunk event held in California yearly. Don't forget about Renfaire either.

      • Arainach 2 hours ago
        > Though closed now, the Star Wars hotel experience was probably the best one on the planet.

        No. Nope. About the furthest thing from it. Not even the best Disney has done.

        This video is 4 hours and somehow was engaging to me (who never went to the Star Wars park) for its entire duration: https://youtu.be/T0CpOYZZZW4

        Doing proper immersive experiences where the participants are involved is a ton of work, often without a ton of replay value. This makes them tricky to attract customers to and limits the potential for massive returns, so they are overwhelmingly passion projects.

        • adrianhon 2 hours ago
          Here’s an alternate take on the Star Wars hotel from the person making Strandfall!

          https://mssv.net/2023/08/07/star-wars-galactic-starcruiser/

          tldr: I found it fascinating and quite impressive. Definitely flawed, but nowhere near as much as you would think from the four hour video, which is based on a visit from the start of its run.

    • CyberDildonics 5 hours ago
      The US doesn't even track diseases or fund vaccines, they aren't going fund a string of fanfiction buzzwords.
  • eichin 6 hours ago
    Only vaguely related: is that tiny receipt printer at the end of the article real or is it itself a mockup? (It appears to be smaller than any of the ones I've come across, and google image search was unhelpful.)
    • adrianhon 5 hours ago
      It’s real! It’s an Epson TM-P20II, designed for mobile use - it even comes with a belt clip.
      • paulhart 4 hours ago
        No wonder people don't believe it exists - it's crazy expensive (super cool, and crazy expensive).
      • eichin 5 hours ago
        Thanks!
  • Havoc 2 hours ago
    >“McNair-Feldman Devices” (named after its fictional inventors)

    Is it just me or are a disproportionate amount of fictional technologies named after *man

  • readthenotes1 7 hours ago
    Worth the read If just to find this sentence

    "Smartphones are anti-enchantment devices."

    Full disclosure: I am using a smartphone right now.

  • SamPentz 2 hours ago
    thats sick