Frequently Asked Questions and Answers



Q: Do you still agree with everything you wrote in the Manifesto?
A: Not everything, but the underlying point of "immersion = good" stays with me. For my own commentary on the Manifesto, read Autonomous Identities. To make it short, one of the biggest problems of the Turku Manifesto was its very modernistic view of identity, which made the Player/Character very problematic.

Q: In what order should I read the articles?
A: If you want to follow the evolution of my thinking, read all the Forewords in order, then progress to the Manifesto, to the Vow of Chastity, the Glossary, and then read the rest of the articles in the order they are presented. Autonomous Identities summarizes and develops much of the thinking of the previous articles, and explains some of the Manifesto in a different way.
If you want to skip the early parts, read Foreword 2003, Larpers do it ekstatikoi, and Autonomous Identities. Household Name is a series of columns relating to Myrskyn aika with some roleplaying theory here and there, and is not directly relevant to the Manifesto.

Q: Is this just about larp?
A: No. The Turku Manifesto deals with all forms of roleplaying. Some of the articles are written for a larper audience, but most of the underlying thoughts are universal even in those.

Q: Are you guys serious?
A: Yes.

Q: Then why is the Manifesto such an overkill?
A: To get attention and create discussion. Some have said that a more down-to-earth type of a manifesto would've succeeded better in this, but we chose to do it like this. I discuss how this worked in Foreword to the 3rd Edition and LARP manifesting.

Q: Aren't you kind of pretentious?
A: Yes. Want to make something of it?

Q: What is immersion?
A: In Autonomous Identities I define it like this: Immersion is the player assuming the identity of the character by pretending to believe her identity only consists of the diegetic roles. This definition lies heavily on the postmodern concept of identity as introduced by Stuart Hall.

Q: Are there going to be more works by the Turku School?
A: Yes! There have already been a couple of articles in Larppaaja, panclou, and The Larper, and most of them are published on the website. Some Finnish articles will have to be translated first, but they will also be here. Also, the essay Autonomous Identities takes the ideas of the Manifesto and takes them further.
The other texts are not as fanatic as the Manifesto, but support the same basic ideas.

Q: Where can I get a copy of the original paper publication of the Manifest?
A: The Finnish gaming store Fantasiapelit might still have a few copies left.

Q: You shouldn't call role-playing an artform, because that makes it less fun for me.
A: Tough.

Q: Is everyone in Turku/Finland/Europe like you?
A: Sadly, no.

Q: Are there people like you outside of Turku/Finland/Europe?
A: Happily, yes.

Q: What's the picture on the front page?
A: It's the logo of the Turku School, designed by Hannu Salonen for the first edition of the Manifesto. On the red cover were the words "THE MANIFEST OF THE TURKU SCHOOL" and this logo. It's based on the coat of arms of the city of Turku.

Q: Is Myrskyn aika a Turkuist roleplaying game?
A: Yes, in the sense that it seeks to promote character immersion with a detailed world description, character creation and mechanics that maintain emotional realism.