Deepblue706
2009-07-30, 03:37 PM
Those of us involved in Play-by-Post are well aware of how hard it can be to maintain a game for long. Over time, people lose interest, for varying reasons. Maybe the Recruitment Thread made the game seem much more appealing than it really came to be during play. Maybe there's poor resolution of in-game conflicts. Maybe the party just doesn't work well together. Whatever happens, it's another game in the crapper, and you never got a chance to play your awesome PC/run your awesome Campaign to the fullest. PbP games differ from live games because of a different pace, a different layout, and a different presentation. While it's no secret that tabletop games fail too, I think PbP games are more likely to fail due to the fact that it can be hard to fully appreciate what kind of situation we all find ourselves in when playing through a medium other than a gaming table.
I've lately been considering writing, in the spirit of our Guide to DMing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474) (provided by AKA Bait) a resource of advice for DMs and Players alike to help increase the longevity of their PbP games. I'm unaware of any already-existing guides, and I think this sort of thing might be in demand. So, I figured it may be appreciated, if at least just in our community here at Giant.
But, because I don't think I have all of the wisdom of the ages, I was curious if anyone else wanted to help with the enterprise. Although if interest is relatively small, we could do this via email and PM, I figured a thread on the topic itself might serve useful enough if all who were interested merely posted details of games they've participated in, that contributed to its continuation and enjoyment. Whether it be one of a long line of successes or one strong breath of life into what might be a dying game, I think all PbPers would benefit from knowing what kind of conduct encourages continued gameplay, and what conduct might prove more troublesome in a PbP environment.
So, if you'd like to participate, don't worry about any real quota of information. Any aspect of a game you particularly liked to see (or didn't like) in a PbP environment is fair, whether it be a DM keeping diligent on his posting schedule (allowing players to anticipate response), or players remembering that the ability to give themselves more descriptive text (due to time to think it through) doesn't permit them narrative authority (God-Moding, Really Long Speeches Without Giving You A Chance To Respond, etc), or perhaps just a DM remembering that each of his posts need to have some importance to them, to really deserve response (avoiding the The Blacksmith says, "Hi." posts).
Perhaps, with consolidated information on What's Good and What's Bad in the PbP realm of gaming, we can help all PbPers get a little bit more out of their games. I look forward to your response.
I've lately been considering writing, in the spirit of our Guide to DMing (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76474) (provided by AKA Bait) a resource of advice for DMs and Players alike to help increase the longevity of their PbP games. I'm unaware of any already-existing guides, and I think this sort of thing might be in demand. So, I figured it may be appreciated, if at least just in our community here at Giant.
But, because I don't think I have all of the wisdom of the ages, I was curious if anyone else wanted to help with the enterprise. Although if interest is relatively small, we could do this via email and PM, I figured a thread on the topic itself might serve useful enough if all who were interested merely posted details of games they've participated in, that contributed to its continuation and enjoyment. Whether it be one of a long line of successes or one strong breath of life into what might be a dying game, I think all PbPers would benefit from knowing what kind of conduct encourages continued gameplay, and what conduct might prove more troublesome in a PbP environment.
So, if you'd like to participate, don't worry about any real quota of information. Any aspect of a game you particularly liked to see (or didn't like) in a PbP environment is fair, whether it be a DM keeping diligent on his posting schedule (allowing players to anticipate response), or players remembering that the ability to give themselves more descriptive text (due to time to think it through) doesn't permit them narrative authority (God-Moding, Really Long Speeches Without Giving You A Chance To Respond, etc), or perhaps just a DM remembering that each of his posts need to have some importance to them, to really deserve response (avoiding the The Blacksmith says, "Hi." posts).
Perhaps, with consolidated information on What's Good and What's Bad in the PbP realm of gaming, we can help all PbPers get a little bit more out of their games. I look forward to your response.