Portfolio

Selected works by Mike Pohjola.

Trial of the Shadowcasters (2019)

A larp inspired by Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, set in the cave town of Sassi di Matera in Southern Italy. The art larp was a part of the EU Capital of Culture 2019. Designed together with Bjarke Pedersen, produced by Il Vagabondo.

Sinä vuonna 1918 (2018)

An immersive ”choose your own adventure” novel for adults, set in the Finnish civil war of 1918. The reader chooses the main character’s sex and where they are from, on which side of the war they fight (or if they try to remain a civilian), and is faced with many more situations based on the progress of history and their own choices.

Konttori (2017-2019)

I was the showrunner and lead writer for the Finnish version of the BBC hit tv series Office. So far we have had three seasons broadcast on the streaming service Elisa Viihde and then on the tv channel Nelonen. We have both original episodes dealing with current and Finnish themes, as well as localized versions of English or American episodes. The star of the show is stand up comedian Sami Hedberg. The directors were Janne Reinikainen, Markus Lehmusruusu and Paula Korva.

Baltic Warriors (2015)

I was the creative lead for the participatory transmedia documentary Baltic Warriors. It consisted of social media, larps, real life discussion panels and videos, and dealt with the eutrophication of the Baltic Sea. The project was funded by Goethe-Institut Finnland and produced by the German production company Kinomaton. We had events in seven Baltic Sea cities during the summer of 2015.

Age of the Tempest (2013, 2016)

A tabletop roleplaying game for kids and beginners published first in Finnish as Myrskyn sankarit – Suurkuninkaan miekka (2013), and then in English as Age of the Tempest – Sword of the High King (2016). Both were successfully crowdfunded and the first has become the most successful roleplaying game in Finnish in twenty years. They also boast plenty of supplements and a thriving community.

Conspiracy For Good (2010)

I was the lead writer for Conspiracy For Good, a transmedia experience with the focus on creating social benefit through storytelling. The project was created by Hollywood writer/producer Tim Kring, and produced by him, Nokia and The company P. Conspiracy For Good was nominated for an Interactive Emmy Award, and won two Rockies at BANFF.

Participants receive Augmented Reality video on their smartphones.

The Forest of Babel (2010)

The short film The Forest of Babel (Baabelin metsä) won the Prix Europa in the category Languages Through Lenses in 2010. It was written and co-directed by me, and produced and co-directed by my wife Elina Pohjola.

1827 Infernal Musical (2011)

I wrote 1827 Infernal Musical which was the world’s first heavy metal stage musical. It was the first major project in the Turku European Capital of Culture 2011 year, and ran to packed houses every night. The musical told the historical story of the Great Fire of Turku in 1827 by combining drama with the world’s best heavy metal classics from bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, Halloween, HIM, Nightwish, Black Sabbath and many more. We even had one brand new song from Lordi just for this.

Cast of 1827 Infernal Musical. Photo: Mikko Vihervaara

Lordi and some of our actresses.

The cast. Photo: MIkko Vihervaara.

The main character Elias Hellman considering the murder of the Russian military commander. Photo: Mikko Vihervaara.

Talvisirkus Valo (2008)

Winter Circus Light (Talvisirkus Valo) was a cirque noveau show that I wrote in 2008. The story was inspired by old Finnish myths of the ”Lussis” coming to steal all the light in November, and some brave soul had to bring it back around February. In the stories they just stole sunlight, but in the circus they steal every source of light — even the lamp in your refrigerator! Lussis steal lamps from Lucia’s family, Lucia follows them, and through her ingenuity, manages to bring them back in the end. Produced by Tanssiteatteri Hurjaruuth.

Sakari Kaikkonen. Photo: Riku Virtanen.

Sakari Kaikkonen and Jenni Kallo. Photo: Miska Reimaluoto

Lucia (Elina Lajunen) and the Lussis. Photo: Miska Reimaluoto

The Lussis hanging from lamps. Photo: Miska Reimaluoto.

Sanningen om Marika (2006)

Truth About Marika (Sanningen om Marika) was an early participatory drama created by my company The company P and Swedish Public Service Television SVT. The story combined a tv series, a debate show, an alternate reality game and larp elements. The series won the Interactive Emmy for Best Interactive Tv Service in 2007.

En kadu mitään (2006)

I Regret Nothing (En kadu mitään) was a reality game set in a bizarre world of angels and madmen, looking for a way to descend into the underworld. Created for the Olohuone 306,4 km2 urban art festival in Varissuo, a suburb of Turku, Finland, for 20 participants. Played on the 8th of June, 2006. The game was created together with Juhana Pettersson and Eirik Fatland. Read Juhana Pettersson’s statement here.

Polaroid photos taken by the participants during the event and used to communicate with each other.

Luminescence (2004)

An experimental larp for twenty players created with Juhana Pettersson and produced by Mikko Pervilä. Luminescence is a game about cancer patients in music therapy. They all all going to die and attempt to come to terms with this fact. The players are semi-naked in a roomful of flour, which has been defined as”normal” within the game. The ”flour larp” has become synonymous with Nordic art larps and has been covered extensively in artistic and academic writing. For links to articles and a more indepth look into the larp, see here.