Richard Rogers, you talk a lot about play by post. And I am curious your formula to having play by post not fading out?
I am def. desiring to get into the play by post scene as it allows me to still RP, but in my super busy schedule.
I have the same problem with Storium, which I love a ton is that they just die off.
Curious, is there a way to preselect the desired outcome so you have something to aim for?
1. Storium is a beautiful thing. I’ve never had a Storium game come to a worthwhile resolution. I played or ran fifteen of them and folks just flake out. I can’t figure it out.
2. Set a time limit at the outset. When you build a group, get a three month commitment, and set an expected post rate. Then play hard towards ending things in that three month period. If your group wants to extend it after that, golden!
3. Use some form of Chat for out of character contact. Slack or Google Chat (Hangout chat) have worked for me. It’s the connective tissue to remind everyone there is a game even if there isn’t a post right now, and to give a sense of camaraderie between the group.
4. Post. Post often. Not every post should be a work of art. Perfection is slow. Delays in a PBP mean boredom for everyone. Keep posting. Even tiny nuggets and little questions can give everyone something to do.
5. Separate the players. Contrary to face-to-face, consistently break players into pairs or solo to avoid logjams. Bring them together for short stints, mix and match who gets paired, and watch your post times. If Bobby posts heavy on weekends and Jill takes weekends off for family, don’t throw them into a scene together on Friday. If the fiction dictates that they are in a scene, then love letter it or narrate it or interrupt Bobby with something / anything before he goes to meet Jill.
There are lots more hint and tricks, but that’s a bunch off the top of my head.
1. Storium is a beautiful thing. I’ve never had a Storium game come to a worthwhile resolution. I played or ran fifteen of them and folks just flake out. I can’t figure it out.
2. Set a time limit at the outset. When you build a group, get a three month commitment, and set an expected post rate. Then play hard towards ending things in that three month period. If your group wants to extend it after that, golden!
3. Use some form of Chat for out of character contact. Slack or Google Chat (Hangout chat) have worked for me. It’s the connective tissue to remind everyone there is a game even if there isn’t a post right now, and to give a sense of camaraderie between the group.
4. Post. Post often. Not every post should be a work of art. Perfection is slow. Delays in a PBP mean boredom for everyone. Keep posting. Even tiny nuggets and little questions can give everyone something to do.
5. Separate the players. Contrary to face-to-face, consistently break players into pairs or solo to avoid logjams. Bring them together for short stints, mix and match who gets paired, and watch your post times. If Bobby posts heavy on weekends and Jill takes weekends off for family, don’t throw them into a scene together on Friday. If the fiction dictates that they are in a scene, then love letter it or narrate it or interrupt Bobby with something / anything before he goes to meet Jill.
There are lots more hint and tricks, but that’s a bunch off the top of my head.
Richard Rogers, If you ever get a spot open for a game, let me know. I would love to try these principles in pay.
I am curious if in Storium and even in some play by post, if it would work to have a quick understanding of where the scene is going even if it is a little vague and open ended, so the players knew what they were driving towards and when the end of that scene happened.
Richard Rogers, If you ever get a spot open for a game, let me know. I would love to try these principles in pay.
I am curious if in Storium and even in some play by post, if it would work to have a quick understanding of where the scene is going even if it is a little vague and open ended, so the players knew what they were driving towards and when the end of that scene happened.
Tommy Rayburn, play to find out what happens, no?
Tommy Rayburn, play to find out what happens, no?
I am just wondering if play by post die off because it’s hard to see an end in and endless time oriented medium
I am just wondering if play by post die off because it’s hard to see an end in and endless time oriented medium
One of the issues I ran into with something similar to a PbP was getting out-posted by people who had more time. I wouldn’t have time to respond and six posts would appear, leaving my character well behind everyone else’s.
Or, the person who posts book in response to your paragraph that essentially says, “Hi, I’m
(Part of my problem may come from having played MU*s back in the day where the culture encouraged giving people opportunity to respond and being aware of actions that might get interrupted.)
I did try Storium too and it was very cool, but died out.
One of the issues I ran into with something similar to a PbP was getting out-posted by people who had more time. I wouldn’t have time to respond and six posts would appear, leaving my character well behind everyone else’s.
Or, the person who posts book in response to your paragraph that essentially says, “Hi, I’m
(Part of my problem may come from having played MU*s back in the day where the culture encouraged giving people opportunity to respond and being aware of actions that might get interrupted.)
I did try Storium too and it was very cool, but died out.
There are so many different reasons people struggle to keep up with the posting. I’ve been in several games this year and I continue to discover new obstacles I didn’t expect. Lack of time, obviously, high expectations of self, writers block, social pressure, overwhelming tension, boredom, perfectionism, etc. There are many nuances of these obstacles and it’s easy to mistake one for another.
I had a busy week and struggled to keep up once. I blamed work. But then I got to the weekend and I had a whole day off and I still couldn’t write anything. Time might have been a factor, but seriously, most people have time, but we procrastinate for so many different reasons.
I’d love to make a flowchart tool for people who can’t keep up: “So you haven’t posted as often as you wanted?”
Some people need a break, some people need to be encouraged to write short and not perfect posts, some people need the GM and players to lay off on hard choices, spotlighting and tension for a week. And some people need to stop playing before they get burnt out or bored. Sometimes stopping is the answer.
There are so many different reasons people struggle to keep up with the posting. I’ve been in several games this year and I continue to discover new obstacles I didn’t expect. Lack of time, obviously, high expectations of self, writers block, social pressure, overwhelming tension, boredom, perfectionism, etc. There are many nuances of these obstacles and it’s easy to mistake one for another.
I had a busy week and struggled to keep up once. I blamed work. But then I got to the weekend and I had a whole day off and I still couldn’t write anything. Time might have been a factor, but seriously, most people have time, but we procrastinate for so many different reasons.
I’d love to make a flowchart tool for people who can’t keep up: “So you haven’t posted as often as you wanted?”
Some people need a break, some people need to be encouraged to write short and not perfect posts, some people need the GM and players to lay off on hard choices, spotlighting and tension for a week. And some people need to stop playing before they get burnt out or bored. Sometimes stopping is the answer.
I hear you about the out-posting, Angela Murray. As a GM (almost typed MC, but using common parlance), I try to ratchet down the timespans for turbo posters. So, they want to post six times? I’ll make that one conversation. They get to fill their desire (and I like it, too, let’s be honest), but PLOT isn’t blazing past.
I hear you about the out-posting, Angela Murray. As a GM (almost typed MC, but using common parlance), I try to ratchet down the timespans for turbo posters. So, they want to post six times? I’ll make that one conversation. They get to fill their desire (and I like it, too, let’s be honest), but PLOT isn’t blazing past.
Oh, and Squeeee! I love seeing people talk about play by post.
Oh, and Squeeee! I love seeing people talk about play by post.
Tommy Rayburn, I’ll keep you in mind when I kick off a new one.
As for talking about where each scene is going, I don’t think that’s the answer. I feel like PBP needs ongoing contact between the players. It helps keep the game in mind and it builds a sense of a “team”.
Tommy Rayburn, I’ll keep you in mind when I kick off a new one.
As for talking about where each scene is going, I don’t think that’s the answer. I feel like PBP needs ongoing contact between the players. It helps keep the game in mind and it builds a sense of a “team”.
This thread is instructive for me in a few areas as a pbp player I can definitely grow in.
This thread is instructive for me in a few areas as a pbp player I can definitely grow in.