NEOTROPOLIS

Sometime in the distant future... a planet known as Kepler 609-C is bustling with life.

Every year, a group of people go to the Mojave desert, build a futuristic desert outpost, and we party like it's the future. The event is called NEOTROPOLIS, and it's my favorite place in the world.

NEOTROPOLIS has been around since 2022. It got a bit of a rocky start due to the pandemic, and I believe it was supposed to start in 2020.

Not much started in 2020, as we all know.

But anyways, NEOTROPOLIS is made by the creators of WASTELAND WEEKEND, and like its sister event, is a five-day fully immersive 18+ event. Everyone has to wear a costume when entering the theme zone. There are no spectators---everyone is a participant, at least in their looks. The goal is ultimate immersion, and damn does it work.

My first year at NEOTROPOLIS

In 2022, the first event was only 3 days. Well, technically 4 days, but Sunday is a take-down day, so me and my good friend Eli skipped out on it. We weren't camping the first year, since we had no idea what to expect, and I only live about an hour away from the event site. Eli can't drive, so I drove us back and forth each night, as well as down to Little Tokyo a few times over his stay. It was a good time, but I didn't get to drink since I was driving and I like to think I'm somewhat responsible.

But one of my favorite parts of the event is that everyone brings booze and shares it. I hardly drink outside of NEOTROPOLIS, but drinks taste better when they're free. Living close to the LA area, I've had the displeasure of paying well over $10 for an 8 oz rum and coke. There's a time and a place for drinks like that, but for me, it's not often.

Anyways, Our first day of the event was Thursday. It was a few years ago and I don't recall a whole lot, but I remember finding a back-alley with some thematically shady characters. Eli's not much of a talker, and it was my first time doing anything close to role-playing. Oh, did I mention the event is part-LARP?

Quests and LARPing

Yeah, some people like to LARP at the event. You don't have to, but you do have to be in costume so as not to ruin anyone's immersion just on looks alone. A big part of the LARPing is the Quests! There's now official questlines you can follow as part of the event's storyline, but the best part is that anybody can make quests for people to do. They can be super small, like my pal Redd's mini-quests, or expansive questlines with big rewards at the end.

I have plans for my own questline involving some literary quests, maybe a librarian characters? I think eventually, it would be awesome to have my own space in the Megablock as the Library of NEOTROPOLIS.

You don't have to get into character if you don't want to, but I remember for my first year I was a lot more shy than I am now. If you're shy, LARPing actually works like a mask. You can be in character for your first interaction with people, and then as you talk more, you can be more and more of yourself.

Barter and Trading

Anyways, I had heard that bartering was a big part of the event. I've never been to Wasteland Weekend myself, but as far as I know, the lore for the town is that it's a massive bartering hub for the wastes.

So on one of the days before Eli and I went back, we stopped at the thrift store to find things to barter with. I found a digital camera for like, $7, so I bought it, not sure if it even worked. That night I brought it to Mr. Mirror (Who is now Mr. Mayor and was shot in the back but that's a story for another time) and I wanted to trade it with him. It had no batteries so they didn't take it from me---but they told me that if I could get it working, they would trade with me.

So I went on a

REAL-LIFE FETCH QUEST.

It went something like this:

1. Get the DIGITAL CAMERA working.
• Find 2 x AA POWER CELLS.
• Find someone who has POWER CELLS.
• I bet those people in the booth with all the weapons have POWER CELLS...
2. Trade 2 x FLOPPY DISKS for 2 x AA POWER CELLS.
3. Use your CRAFTING MENU to COMBINE the POWER CELLS with the DIGTIAL CAMERA.
4. Take a test photo with the DIGITAL CAMERA (press F3 for PHOTO MODE).
5. Trade DIGITAL CAMERA to Mr. MIRROR.
6. QUEST COMPLETE! +200xp!

So I traded the camera and got some cool lenses, a little felt box that snaps closed like a glasses container, and a sticker for OUTPOST 66, one of the factions & structures that was there.

Aside from hanging out with my friend, that was the highlight of the event for me. It felt like I was in a video game IN REAL LIFE. I cannot stress enough how much I love shit like this. Immersive experiences like NEOTROPOLIS are few and far between for me, and this was my first time going to anything like it. I couldn't have had a better experience.

NPC - NEO POWER AND CABLE

For 2023, I got to volunteer and go to the event for free. I was lucky enough to get picked for NPC, which stands for Neo Power and Cable. I'm still riding that high. NPC is run by Coach and his right-hand man, Sparky. They're both pretty cool.

Neotropolis wouldn't happen without power. And power wouldn't happen without NPC. We work as a team to help make sure that every space in the Megablock, every structure, the stage, etc, all get the power they need for the event. While NPC is a volunteer department, it's also a faction, and thus we have matching uniforms. We buy blank navy-blue shirts and pants, as well as helmets, and send them to Coach, then he and Sparky put decals on them and modify the helmets to put lights in them.

Between events, and various affilated parties throughout the year, my NPC helmet lives on my bookshelf next to my Sony Mavica (gifted to me recently by a good friend). The rest hangs in my closet to try and keep the dust off. Can't wash it too often either, since the iron-on decals could come off if I'm not careful.

It's now tradition during the event that we have a bar crawl where we "inspect permits" and "don't violate OSHA laws." We hit up every place at the event that serves alchohol and ask for bribes. It's a great time! Unless it gets interrupted by real work. That's only happened once so far but I'm sure it'll happen again. I don't mind though, as long as I'm with my crew, we'll be all good.

ETA & AAA

AAA

AAA stands for AlleyCat Asset Acqustions. They run something awesome: A bounty hunting game that anybody at the event can play.

I wish I had some pictures of their V2 device and their spot in the Megablock, but I didn't get the chance to play this year. That'll change next year. But the device looks like a futuristic scanner, entirely custom-made, and it has an AUX cord hanging out of it. If you're a hunter, you approach people you see who have the bounty-colored device and challenge them to a standoff. Plug your device into theirs and it'll sync up. After a second it counts down. Then they both light up! Whoever smashes the button on their device first wins the duel, and they get some points. You can then bring your device back to AAA and they'll update the scoreboard, displayed on the screen above their booth. It's such an awesome concept and helps people who are playing more lawful / chaotic characters get more immersed.

ETA

ETA is the Extremely Temp Agency. Run by Left Pocket and Ollo, my good friends, they act as a directory / questgiver for newbies to the event. You could get awesome 3D-printed TEMP BADGES that said things like "TEMP voice of reason" and "TEMP human suit." I have a temp "CUSTODIAL TECH" badge, so I'm offically a janitor (temp) now.

Despite the event's third year coming up, it's just getting started. Places like ETA and others help newbies find their own spot. And that's part of the fun of the event too, is making a name for yourself and becoming a part of an awesome community.

OTHER SPOTS

Some of my favorite bars and locations at the event include, in no particular order:

• The Atomic Cafe. Great Baja Blast mixers.
• The Thirteens. Awesome questline and hangout spot, and I'm good buddies with Xerough.
• The Gentleman Loser. Straight outta Neuromancer, and NPC friendly.
• The Kaiju nightclub has a little sake bar near the entrance.
  Tough barter, but you can actually get table service.
• The RLC (Robotic Love Chapel).
• Obscurity. I think that was them. Great hot chocolate and seating.
• ExCorp. Friendly folks over there. Cool domes, too.
• The Core. This is the main stage and music venue where the big acts perform.

You should go to NEOTROPOLIS.

That's it, that's the website. Created on August 9th, 2024.