Player Entertainment vs Game Reality

[jpariury]

So, I'm reading through a great many threads, here as well as on a myriad of boards for a variety of LARPs I do or have played.

There seem to be a myriad of discussions going on, here's just a sampling:

Kill Looting
IG Justice Systems
Rules Rewrites
Powergamers
National Game vs Local Game
Ultralights vs PVC
Latex vs Duct Tape
Padded Archery vs Packet Archery
City Campaign vs Wilderness Campaign
Characters as Investments

By and large, the justifications for many, if not near-all of the arguements for and against is always about the Game Reality. Arguements are always about whether or not it is fitting in the environment, valid character choices, etc. For instance:

"Some people want to play thieves, and so looting should be allowed."
"Playing a National Game lets me be part of a larger world."
"Ultralights don't represent the weight of a real blade."

Occasionally, some of these arguements can be settled for other OOG reasons, safety being prime among them. But what seems to be missing from the equation, in my observation, is that people (and in this I mean more often the players who are not in positions to do something about it, and thus will rant and rail the loudest) don't appear to be concerned with the entertainment of the players as a group. Ultimately, of course, these discussions come down to a more basic question: which crowd of players do you want to cater to? But that is generally a staff arguement.

What I would recommend to everyone, regardless of their position on any particular matter, is to start thinking beyond themselves, and start considering how your proposals and actions, both IG and OOG, will affect the overall enjoyment of the game for the masses as a whole.

Hmmm... that wasn't overly pithy, now, was it?

Anyways, food for thought, worth the price of admission...

 

[Kauss]

What I would recommend to everyone, regardless of their position on any particular matter, is to start thinking beyond themselves, and start considering how your proposals and actions, both IG and OOG, will affect the overall enjoyment of the game for the masses as a whole.

Hmmm... that wasn't overly pithy, now, was it?

Anyways, food for thought, worth the price of admission...

You know, normaly I might agree with you in this case, but this time.. nope..
Keep in mind that tho its good to keep everyone in mind, it is very important to keep your own needs right up there. This is a game, and many people do it to have fun and relax, and often talk about things that get in the way of having fun and relaxing.

Now I am not saying to be a hard nose and never compromise, but a certion level of selfishness is not only ok, but needed. If you (the player or whatever) do not express yourself, and present you views, then you will defintly not get to play the game you want. Instead you will play a game that was shapped and molded by others views and wants, and will have to hope that in some way it crosses over with what you enjoy.
Now, I do want my friends to have fun, and I do want people I dont know to have fun, and its ok if people I dont like have fun, but if I am not having fun, then the rest dont really matter anymore, as I will no longer be part of the system.

 

[Anonymous]

Now, I do want my friends to have fun, and I do want people I dont know to have fun, and its ok if people I dont like have fun, but if I am not having fun, then the rest dont really matter anymore, as I will no longer be part of the system.

Words from your local plot team.

 

[Anonymous]

Now, I do want my friends to have fun, and I do want people I dont know to have fun, and its ok if people I dont like have fun, but if I am not having fun, then the rest dont really matter anymore, as I will no longer be part of the system.

Yes, but if your needs are game unbalancing, twinkish, or clearly to take advantage of a loophole in the rules, then no, your needs do not matter (and I'm just going to say it, incase it isn't clear, that I DON'T think those are your needs). The game is the way it is for a reason (or we'd all like to think it) and, hypothetically, it is that way for a GOOD reason. Changes to the system should be looked at clearly so that a change does not make the game unbalanced.

-Matt, not the one in Oregon

 

[Kauss]

Words from your local plot team.

I am not speaking as plot, and neither was JP (being we are not plot, now are we)I was speaking as a player (as JP may have been, I cant speak for him). A player is only going to play a game they have fun with ,flat out.

 

[Kauss]

Yes, but if your needs are game unbalancing, twinkish, or clearly to take advantage of a loophole in the rules, then no, your needs do not matter (and I'm just going to say it, incase it isn't clear, that I DON'T think those are your needs). The game is the way it is for a reason (or we'd all like to think it) and, hypothetically, it is that way for a GOOD reason. Changes to the system should be looked at clearly so that a change does not make the game unbalanced.

-Matt, not the one in Oregon

Bingo, and not all change is bad, and not all change is good. However there will be an air of selfishness involved. I am not saying people should be cheat or break rules. I am adressing the issue of posting and talking about parts of the game that are good/bad/indifrent, whatever.
To be even more clear, I am addressing the issue that JP brought up listed here:

What I would recommend to everyone, regardless of their position on any particular matter, is to start thinking beyond themselves, and start considering how your proposals and actions, both IG and OOG, will affect the overall enjoyment of the game for the masses as a whole.

Or in short, I am saying that the concern of the one player, yourself, should be taken into consideration, when you are making proposals and actions.

 

[Shikar al'Basteua]

Words from your local plot team.

Plot hasn't actually ventured an opinion on this thread yet, from any chapter.

 

[Polare]

Unfortunately, while it's a great idea for everyone to think about how they can make the game better for everyone, the problem is that what's fun to one person is not fun for another.

As Polare, if another player is able to steal something from me, I'll be pissed off in-game -- but out of game I'll feel like "hey, that was cool, kudos to them". But I know a lot of people don't feel the same -- so should I not try to steal things from them?

Similarly, there was an event a year or two back where a ritual went very bad and 4 of us ressed. In-game, Polare (once we'd resurrected) grabbed someone and threw them up against the wall, very pissed because he thought that person had caused the problem. Out of game I thought it was fun to roleplay, and I would have had fun roleplaying it from either side. I did *not* think about how much the other person would enjoy it, though, and I feel a bit bad about not doing so beforehand as I don't think they enjoyed the roleplay.

So ... I think what it comes down to is... Don't do things to other people that you wouldn't like doing to you, and try to think about how your actions will affect the fun of everyone there, but you have to end up being somewhat selfish as you really don't know whether other people around you will enjoy what you do. Just because someone else will break out in tears because you steal something of theirs doesn't mean you shouldn't try for OOG reasons. It's unfortunate, but everyone has to be prepared for certain things that are just part of the game. For example, I really don't think Gypsies are a legitimate player race. I don't think I'll ever play one as I OOG think that they take away from the rule set by the rules that are set up for them. Roleplay-wise, they're fun -- but rules-wise I think they detract from the game. But that's *my* issue, and I recognize that, and it doesn't make me not want to come to the game.

-Bryan

 

[Daviomac]

Howdy from down south.

Whenever you get a lot of people together, you are going to run into issues. It's nigh impossible to make everyone happy all the time. The best you can do is have a positive enough environment that the good times out weigh the bads for all the players.

That being said, sometimes it's necessary to do a mission statement from plot, and the type of game they want to run. Yes, staff does have a say on this, after all, they are the fruit cakes who agreed to mortgage their lifes for your fun.

Is this going to be a game of heroic high fantasy? One of hack and slash? Murder, mayhem, and magic mysteries? One of the issues I had with a different boffer larp I went to recently is that many of the players and NPC's were still into "**** rp'ing, let's just kill things." Now, from what I can tell, that staff is trying to change that, but the players themselves haven't realized it.

That being said, NERO Seattle does have a big enough game to diversify a bit. Not all players need to be in on all plots. Having stuff aimed at particular groups based on RP (and perhaps player requests) would be a good idea. Hell, go through the people who turned in their backgrounds and pillage them for ideas. I'm willing to bet you can get at least a year out of games there alone.

Just, make sure the staff knows what the players want, and make sure the players know what the staff wants. We're all in this hobby together for a reason, and it's probably to have fun.

My two shekels worth,

Davio, aka Simone Novragrovya Pietrovich