LARP: The Clown without a Heart by PhD Omi-peah
The Clown without a Heart – A LARP about AI. This is a LARP designed to shift the focus on AI from the technology to the entangled relationship between humans and their creation. It is a game in four acts in which players get to go between embodying the AI in different developmental phases and playing the makers and users of this technology. It starts with the end, when nothing remains of what we today take for granted. It then moves on to explore this pivotal moment in time, on an institutional level, when progress is being redefined. Next comes a dive into the personal realm and the challenge of being with the unknown. Finally, the game ends with the birth (and rebirth) of a new form of consciousness.
The game itself will take approximately 1,5 hours and it will be wrapped up by a group reflection.
Bio: PhD Omi-peah (former Karin) Ryding is an Experience Designer, researcher and artist based in Copenhagen. In her thesis from 2021, she reworked Flanagan’s concept of Critical Play by drawing on affect theory and New Materialism. She went on to expand on Soma Design by encompassing the complexities of working with the more-than-human. As an artist and a LARP designer, she has dived deeper into these subjects by exploring the transformative power of embodiment. Together with artist Roman Schramm, she developed “The Language of Plants” in 2025, a LARP commissioned by Museum Sinclair Haus for the exhibition “Pflanzengespür” (or “Plant sense”), in which players are guided through the ancient shamanic practice of communicating with plants. Her most recent work includes exploring the intricacies of AI as algorithmic practice and co-creator of realities.
LARP: New Voices in Art by Martin Ericsson
New Voices in Art is a short game about the value of art and artists. As a participant you will be given a piece of art and a few words about your role. You will develop this character during the one hour workshop. The game itself will take 3 hours and is set at a joint exhibition where you will present and critique art, interact with potential buyers and gallerists, dance to the DJ, drink and dream. The game was originally designed by the design collective Interacting Arts (Gabriel Widing, Tova Gerge, Andrea Nordwall, Elge Larsson et- al.) and has been run by Martin at the Umeå School for design.
Bio: Martin Ericsson aka “Elricsson” is a digital, tabletop and live roleplay artist. He has been a major voice in the development of what is known as Nordic Larp since the 1990’s and is the designer and lead writer of the hit tabletop game Vampire: The Masquerade 5th edition, the larp adaptation of Hamlet, genre- defining spaceship larp games Carolus Rex and Battlestar Galactica inspired Monitor Celestra and has received Emmy and Bafta awards for his work in participatory drama series Truth About Marika and The Spiral in the 2010’s. He was the lead designer working with SICS during the Integrated Project on Pervasive Games and is credited in a handful of research papers.
Analog Assassination: Translating the Systemic Sandbox of Hitman into a Board Game
In this exclusive world sneak premiere, acclaimed game designer Ole Steiness will unveil Hitman: The Board Game. Ole will dive into the complex process of digital-to-analog game translation, exploring how the highly systemic, improvisational sandbox of the Hitman video game franchise was distilled into a competitive 1–4 player tabletop experience.
Steiness has carved out a highly specialized niche in the tabletop industry as an expert in adapting complex video games into physical formats. Building on his previous success with titles like the critically acclaimed Deep Rock Galactic: The Board Game, or Valheim he understands that true cross-media translation isn’t about attempting to replicate digital code with cardboard. Instead, it requires capturing the emotional core, tension, and pacing of the original player experience. During the session, he will share his methodology for identifying a video game’s essential “verbs” and rebuilding them from the ground up using tactile mechanics.
By unpacking the specific challenges of replicating Hitman‘s signature blend of stealth, disguises, and surgical precision using physical components, this session will offer researchers and developers a unique masterclass in cross-media design and systemic adaptation.
Bio: Ole Steiness is an acclaimed Danish game designer who specializes in cross-media design, specifically the translation of complex video games into systemic, physical board games.
With years of professional experience spanning both the video game and tabletop industries, Steiness has carved out a unique niche in adapting interactive digital sandboxes into compelling physical experiences without losing their emotional core or pacing. He is widely celebrated for designing the hit worker-placement game Champions of Midgard, as well as successfully adapting major video game IPs, most notably the critically acclaimed Deep Rock Galactic: The Board Game.
He is currently working independently in collaboration with MOOD Publishing and IO Interactive to develop Hitman: The Board Game. In this upcoming title, he takes on the challenge of distilling the franchise’s signature blend of stealth, disguises, and chaotic improvisation into a tactile, competitive tabletop rule set.