jpariury
Duke
(Not quoting Toddo to pick on him in particular, mostly using it as a launching point for discussion.)
So, in broad strokes, I disagree here. Yes, LARPing is, on some level, a hobby. And yes, as a form of employment, the pay sucks, but that's okay because the hours are long. But I generally think treating one's role on plot as enjoying the hobby (full-stop), and not as in some way a function of customer service (in the same way any employee or volunteer for a professional organization has some degree of responsibility in representing said group) is what tends to hinder the growth of individual chapters.
I can say without a doubt that there are a great number of players with whom we are friendly, though it would probably be stretching the definition to call them "friends". When I've run games, I impose on myself as much a duty to keep them entertained as I do the people I go to the movies/eat dinner/play board games with. Successfully running plot for people we're not buddy-buddy with is how we increase attendance, get new players, and have bigger, badder, cooler, more-heart-wrenching plots. Treating the game as something we're just running for our friends to have a good time, imo, is the much more disrespectful position to take. It suggests to me that the people who aren't our friends are in some way just window dressing to our friends' experience.
While there's definitely an element of "I hope my friends are having a good time", I think we do the game itself a disservice when the game runners (from GM to plot to Logistics to marshals) treat it as just a hobby. My experience is that treating it as a professional endeavor is what makes the game better in terms of quality and attendance. Holding our staff to professional standards, expecting more from our staff, and holding each other accountable is absolutely the most respectful position to take, afaict.
The perception that those who run this game are employees or are doing a job is one I find profoundly disrespectful.
So, in broad strokes, I disagree here. Yes, LARPing is, on some level, a hobby. And yes, as a form of employment, the pay sucks, but that's okay because the hours are long. But I generally think treating one's role on plot as enjoying the hobby (full-stop), and not as in some way a function of customer service (in the same way any employee or volunteer for a professional organization has some degree of responsibility in representing said group) is what tends to hinder the growth of individual chapters.
I can say without a doubt that there are a great number of players with whom we are friendly, though it would probably be stretching the definition to call them "friends". When I've run games, I impose on myself as much a duty to keep them entertained as I do the people I go to the movies/eat dinner/play board games with. Successfully running plot for people we're not buddy-buddy with is how we increase attendance, get new players, and have bigger, badder, cooler, more-heart-wrenching plots. Treating the game as something we're just running for our friends to have a good time, imo, is the much more disrespectful position to take. It suggests to me that the people who aren't our friends are in some way just window dressing to our friends' experience.
While there's definitely an element of "I hope my friends are having a good time", I think we do the game itself a disservice when the game runners (from GM to plot to Logistics to marshals) treat it as just a hobby. My experience is that treating it as a professional endeavor is what makes the game better in terms of quality and attendance. Holding our staff to professional standards, expecting more from our staff, and holding each other accountable is absolutely the most respectful position to take, afaict.