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This is the second blog post in our series detailing our journey towards Odysseus 2024. In this blog post we discuss how the player selection and casting process will be done for the three runs. Timeline and short overviewThe signup for all runs of Odysseus 2024 will open in autumn 2023. Before summer we will have our website updated with all the necessary information, including practicalities such as exact run dates, ticket prices, and character group information to guide your choices. The signup form will be open for two weeks, followed by a week reserved for players to tell us their co-player preferences. After this data has been gathered, we will select 104 players for each run via lottery. The selected players will be contacted directly, and they can confirm their attendance by filling the casting questionnaire. This will give us the data to assign characters and players for the three runs. Attendance must be confirmed within two weeks of receiving the email. During the casting process, we will aim to assign each player a character that will provide them with the experience best suited to their wishes as detailed in the casting questionnaire. The division of players into the three runs will also be finalised during casting. We plan to have all players matched to their characters within a week of closing the casting questionnaire. So, in essence, the process is:
 Picture: Santtu Pajukanta Player selection form and lotteryPlayer selection will be done via a lottery with no set quotas, except for some spots reserved for organising team members. The lottery will be done first in a large batch to select roughly 70% of the players for all runs. After this initial lottery, we will fill the rest of the spots with further lotteries with an eye on balancing out any over- or underrepresentation. The player selection form will be brief. It will not have any free text questions. We will ask for minimal demographics information, e.g. gender, nationality, and larp experience, that allows us to ensure we end up with a balanced set of players. In addition to demographics, we will ask the players to state their top three character groups. This will help us ensure we have a matching set of players and characters to offer, and won’t end up with a run full of people wanting to play mechanics with nobody wanting a scientist character. Players are divided among the three runs during the casting process. If a player can only attend one specific run, their spot will be reserved for that run, but for players with multiple suitable run dates, the run will be set during casting.
Collecting co-player preferencesWe will ask for co-player preferences in a separate form after the initial signup closes. For the most part, this data will factor in during the casting process to ensure people end up in runs with their preferred co-players. All potential players will have the chance to indicate their co-player preferences, including co-players they need or want to attend together with, as well as those they wish to avoid. A complete list of the names and nationalities of those whose signed up will be shared for these purposes. To make the lottery fair, adding co-players to your preferences will not increase anyone’s chances of getting in. We will, of course, try our very best to juggle things so that chosen players get to play with their preferred co-players in the same run. If there are players who absolutely must attend the game together or not at all, then both or all players will still need to get a spot in the lottery. Thus, having a long list of must-have players will unfortunately decrease the chances of getting in. In addition to preferred co-players, players can also indicate players they do not want to attend the same run with. If we need to decide between two players who cannot participate in the same run, the decision will be made by lottery. We will also ask if there are any red flags among those signed up – anyone who might be a concern for the safety of other players and/or organizers. If such red flags do arise, we will deal with them on a case by case basis.
After player selection - castingAfter the lottery for the player slots has been completed, we will share the results with everyone, regardless of if they got a spot in any of the runs, or if they are on the waiting list. For players who got a spot, the next step is to fill the casting form, a lengthier questionnaire aimed to gather all the pertinent information we need to match players to characters, e.g. more specific questions about the desired game experience and content as well as confirming character group preferences. While this questionnaire is lengthier and more thorough than the player selection form, we still try to keep it as brief as possible. Most likely, we are not able to fill all your wishes. In those cases, we will try to focus on the most important aspects of your game experience. After the casting is finished, players will have two weeks time to confirm their attendance and accept the assigned character. This happens by paying the first installment of the game fee. If, for any reason, the player feels the assigned character isn’t a good fit, you can return to the waiting list, and the character will be assigned to a new player, picked from the waiting list. We hope that this blog post answered your questions regarding the player selection and casting process of Odysseus 2024. If there are any further questions, the best place to reach us is in our interest group on Facebook! In the next blog post, we will be confirming the dates and final ticket prices for all three runs, and the dates for the signup and casting process. The next post will be published by the end of April - Stay tuned!  Picture: Ami Koiranen
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