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View Full Version : Satisfaction vs. Fun



Totally Guy
2011-03-23, 10:49 AM
How can I run and play games in a satisfying manner?

I think I produce the ideal results and a GM. Just last session Warlord Drodush (a Player Character) made a decision to lead his clan to a premature war knowing this might be his best chance for early vengeance against his hated foe. He got utterly crushed and trampled his own orc warriors to get out alive. The player was gnashing and thwarted but I think he left satisfied and retroactively he had fun during the session.

I'm playing in a campaign where I have lots of fun at the table (win or lose) but when I'm not gaming I just don't feel satisfied with the game. I'd talk to the GM but I don't really know what he can do help the situation. Maybe the onus is on me as a player?

So how you ensure you gaming time is both fun and fulfilling?

Britter
2011-03-23, 10:56 AM
So how you ensure you gaming time is both fun and fulfilling?

I ask a lot of questions, and try to really focus in on what the players want for their characters. Then I spend a lot of time punching the characters in the face until they manage to fight through to their goals.

As a player, I take a lot of risks. When the GM puts a risk in front of me, if it applies to my character goals I will jump at it and fight through it. Risk leads to fun and exciting events. I have a player who is so willing to take on risk I barely have to prep for games with him. His actions and their consequences give me all the fuel I need for the fire.

Tyndmyr
2011-03-23, 10:58 AM
One of the biggest components of satisfaction is occasional loss. This may not sound reasonable, but hear me out. Games that are too easy get boring. Sure, you may have had fun playing candyland as a kid, but you got to a point where you stopped playing it. Games where you never win tend to be discouraging, and games where you always win get boring. Games where winning and losing are not reliant on your actions tend to fail to hold interest quickly. "Flip a coin, heads I win, tails I lose" is not an interesting game.

No, an interesting game is defined by challenge and decisions. A game that offers you enough challenge that winning is in doubt, and offers you control over winning/losing via your decisions will be satisfying, even if, in the short term, losing might not be fun.

randomhero00
2011-03-23, 11:00 AM
It sounds like deep down you wish for a different story line. That's fulfillment. Any game can be fun, but if it feels too cliche or whatever, it won't be satisfying. I'm actually in the same predicament. Fun when playing but leaves a very dissatisfied feeling.

Britter
2011-03-23, 11:02 AM
One of the biggest components of satisfaction is occasional loss. This may not sound reasonable, but hear me out. Games that are too easy get boring. Sure, you may have had fun playing candyland as a kid, but you got to a point where you stopped playing it. Games where you never win tend to be discouraging, and games where you always win get boring. Games where winning and losing are not reliant on your actions tend to fail to hold interest quickly. "Flip a coin, heads I win, tails I lose" is not an interesting game.

No, an interesting game is defined by challenge and decisions. A game that offers you enough challenge that winning is in doubt, and offers you control over winning/losing via your decisions will be satisfying, even if, in the short term, losing might not be fun.

This is exactly right, in my opinion.

valadil
2011-03-23, 11:17 AM
Timing is everything. It's okay to beat on your players. It's okay for them to lose. But they should score a win shortly thereafter. Sometimes even a token win at the end of a tough night is enough to send the players home happy. Quick little wins are fun. Use them to dispel disappointment while you build towards the larger, more satisfying victory down the road.

obliged_salmon
2011-03-23, 11:18 AM
Tough question. What's fulfilling will be different for different folks. What I find fulfilling in games is being able to help create a good story. To make real and solid change in the game world as a player, to throw fascinating curveballs and obstacles in front of players as a GM. Also important is to collaborate with the other folks around the table, to compromise and share creative power.

When I'm done with a session, I like to be able to look back on it and say "Wow! Look at what we did!"

Choco
2011-03-23, 11:57 AM
Playing the game in general is fun for most people, or they would not do it. What makes it satisfying depends on the individual player, but given the previous posts satisfaction for a lot of people depends on actually accomplishing something in the game world.

To that end, everything that happens has to mean something in the grand scheme of things. If all you did during a session is 2 random encounters on the journey from Plot Point A to Plot Point B then it is not really all that satisfying of a session (unless the random encounters were SO DAMN AWESOME and/or the players themselves RP'd to the point that character development happened on its own without your help). I personally despise random encounters and don't use them, IMO they are nothing but filler. That does not mean that the players never get attacked while traveling/camping, just that when it does happen it isn't random (IE, the BBEG sent assassins, the PC's recognized the bandits from wanted posters in town, the animals that attacked them are not normally aggressive, etc.).

Basically, what I was saying before I got long-winded is that you should never use filler, everything that happens in the session has to in some way further the plot and/or result in character development for someone. Even if the characters lose, they should learn something from the loss else it was pointless. Losing to a random encounter (while funny, especially if you had breezed through much tougher story-driven opponents) does not make for a satisfying session. Losing to a known enemy of one of the characters or the entire party and learning something about him and/or their situation in the process, while also possibly developing a character even in a minor way (the Warlord in the OP had all of these covered I think), is satisfying in its own way (even if that satisfaction is delayed until your ultimate victory). Same goes for winning: There is a huge difference between "yay, we just won our 3rd random filler encounter for the night..." and "HELL YEAH! WE JUST TOOK DOWN MY CHARACTER'S ARCH NEMESIS!", and even "wow, I thought this was just a random encounter, but now we have 3 more plot hooks!".

So, make sure that progress (or even regress, if the loss was epic enough :smalltongue:) is made on the plot and/or character development fronts every session and you should have a satisfying session.

_Zoot_
2011-03-24, 08:00 AM
For me, I have fun just being with my friends, telling jokes and being silly. But as a DM, I find telling a story and creating a universe to be really satisfying.