年轻人为何爱上剧本杀？
就算你还没玩过，可能也都听说过剧本杀了。
这种近年来在年轻人中颇受欢迎的娱乐方式本质上是一种沉浸式的真人角色扮演游戏。随着它的流行，一条覆盖了年轻创业者、剧作家、大学生的完整产业链已经形成。
在疫情期间，由于出行受限，剧本杀甚至已经发展到网络游戏以及直播等领域。
真人剧本杀可以被视为有互动的文学作品，又或是有观众参与的戏剧。一般来说，这种广受好评的游戏有两种形式——一种是玩家们围坐桌旁根据自己的角色剧本以口述形式梳理剧情，另一种则是玩家亲自扮演角色加入游戏——当然，目前第二种形式在国内更受欢迎。通常根据剧情设置，一名玩家需要在其他人不知道的情况下秘密扮演凶手的角色，而其他玩家则要依据自己掌握的线索找出真凶。玩家可以在游戏过程中享受解密烧脑案情的快乐，同时商家精心准备的布景和服装也能让参与者逃离日常生活，体验另一种人生。
Live Action Role Playing (LARP) games, a form of role-playing where participants act out their characters, have become a hit among Chinese youths. As the immersive game gains popularity, a complete industry chain has been formed, with young entrepreneurs, playwrights, and fresh graduates flooding the industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the LARPing craze has even extended to other sectors such as online gaming and livestreaming.
LARPs can be considered interactive literature, theater with audience participation, or just an engrossing game. There are mainly two kinds of LARPs: table-top role-playing and live action. The latter is more popular in China, especially Murder Mystery, which requires participants to solve a murder.
Participants not only get the thrill of being Sherlock Holmes, but also the chance to experience a different character's story in just a few hours, which is a good way to escape from the monotony of day-to-day life. The setting, props, as well as costumes and makeup, also add to the immersive experience.
Many LARPers are in their 20s, and they enjoy the detective games not just for fun, but also social networking. Usually there are five to eight characters in one game, and participants may need to "recruit" new members to make up the numbers. After the game, which usually takes four to seven hours, people usually go out for lunch or dinner – a perfect way to get to know their new acquaintances.
LARP studio staff styles a customer. /CGTN
流行的剧本杀吸引了大量年轻人，甚至有人为它每月“豪掷”超过3000元。早在2019年，全国经营剧本杀的店面就已经超过了1.2万家。
看起来，这是一个欣欣向荣的行业，玩家在不断加入，各地的工作室和店家也在增加。然而，这个行业远不像“看起来”那么容易。
剧本杀内涵推理剧情的游戏特质意味着玩家不会一再选择同样的剧本，每个月商家都必须预留资金用于购买新的剧本。且每个剧本的盈利期也有限，不受欢迎的剧本很快就会被淘汰。
游戏持续时间长是剧本杀的另一特点。一局游戏耗时4到7个小时，每个场景每天至多能安排3个场次。商家若想增加收入，就必须扩大场地或开设更多店面，而这将增加租金、设施维护和库存等日常开支。
LARP has drawn widespread interest from youths, with some doling out more than 3,000 yuan ($464) a month. And the number of LARP studios across China is also rising, with some 12,000 shopfronts as of 2019.
Chen Zizheng, general manager of Dieying LARP Studio in southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, is optimistic about the future development of this industry.
"When we started the business in 2017, there were probably fewer than five LARP studios in Guangzhou. Now in 2021, there are about 230 to 240. The amount of customers and studios is growing rapidly and continuously, the industry is growing quite fast," he said.
But Chen added, "the industry is not as lucrative as it seems." Customers won't play the same script for a second time. In order to maintain customer loyalty, the script must be renewed constantly, especially the table-top role-playing scripts.
According to Chen, the commercial life of table-top role-playing scripts only lasts for two to three months. Every month, they need to set aside 10,000 to 15,000 yuan to buy table-top script alone. As for the live action script, the payback cycle is one and a half to two years, which means they only have one year for each script to make a profit. If the storyline isn't popular, it would last fewer than three years.
What's more, as each LARP games lasts for four to seven hours, they can only arrange a maximum of three rounds at one studio. If a LARP studio wants to increase revenue, it will have to expand the studio or open more stores, which increases overheads like rental, maintenance, and inventory.
A gamer puts on a costume. /CGTN
尽管运营成本不低，但行业前景仍然值得期待。
美团研究院的数据显示，剧本杀行业在2019年的市场价值超过100亿元，是2018年的两倍。
随着许多年轻的创业者涌入市场，更多的新玩法被催生，北京、上海、成都、长沙等地的企业都推出了面向消费者的剧本杀之旅。玩家可以和他们的朋友一起选择一个远离市中心的大型剧本杀站点出游，安排一次为期两到三天的行程。
对于政府来说，这也是拉动当地经济增长的有效途径。
Despite the steep expenses, Chen still has reason to be optimistic. Data from Meituan Research Institute shows LARP game's market value exceeded 10 billion yuan in 2019, twice as much as 2018.
As young entrepreneurs are rushing into the market and trying to make more profit, some are eyeing a new form – LARP trip. In China, businesses in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Changsha have launched LARP trip for consumers. Players, together with their friends, can join the two to three days trip to a large LARPing site away from the city center. For the government, it is also an efficient way to enhance the local economy.
In the age of entertainment, whether LARPing be a lucrative industry that has a promising future, or just a flash in the pan, only time will tells.
所以，你玩过剧本杀吗？
对你来说，剧本杀的吸引力是什么？
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