Are your games dying?

[garyh]

However :squints at Gary and Jemal: it doesn't help when someone is in a kabillion games either

LOL should I dare ask you Gary if you will be in the Wuxia or the InCharacter game now that you have added responsiblities?

EDIT: The InCharacter game sort of has taken a mind of its own and I barely have to do anything in there.

I actually have come to t hat conclusion myslf, Kit. I realized my playing was suffering as I've been in so many games, and I'm actually cutting back. I'm afraid I won't be joining the IC or Wuxia games, not that you or the players aren't cool, but that I don't think I could pull my weight. In fact, I'm not being as active as I could on some of my almost-dead games because I in some ways want to narrow my focus.

Until some of my games "officially" die, I'm going to be holding back on joining any more (save for Windy City Mutants). I'll play that hot sohei on day, though!

 

[KitanaVorr]

I actually have come to t hat conclusion myslf, Kit. I realized my playing was suffering as I've been in so many games, and I'm actually cutting back. I'm afraid I won't be joining the IC or Wuxia games, not that you or the players aren't cool, but that I don't think I could pull my weight. In fact, I'm not being as active as I could on some of my almost-dead games because I in some ways want to narrow my focus.

Until some of my games "officially" die, I'm going to be holding back on joining any more (save for Windy City Mutants). I'll play that hot sohei on day, though!

I completely understand and I figured that you were starting to get pressed. You know you are always welcome in either of the games.



I need to get control of my wayward self as well before I hit the same limits you and Jemal are reaching.

Not to mention! School started and HOMEWORK!

 

[garyh]

I completely understand and I figured that you were starting to get pressed. You know you are always welcome in either of the games.



I need to get control of my wayward self as well before I hit the same limits you and Jemal are reaching.

Not to mention! School started and HOMEWORK!

Thanks, Kit. And school starts for me tomorrow, so that's a factor in my decision too.

 

[reapersaurus]

Great f-ing post, cs.

I was actually close to posting something similar to this, but from a player's perspective.

I have seen the In Character forum go thru a lot of evolution, and it seems that we are now in the Quantity phase over Quality.
The amount of agmes that have sprung up over the last 3 months is amazing.
However, how many games have what it takes to 'make it'?
And what characteristics are shared of games that "make it" the long haul?

I'll attempt to share my thoughts:
(firstly, I'm not saying all games need to last to make them worthwhile. Some games, even though they die, are worthwhile expenditures of time and effort)

Now, in my experience it is the DM that is most in control of whether the game lasts.
I would imagine that DM-ing a PbP adventure is unlike what most DM's would expect at the beginning.
It requires a different level of written communication than many people possess, and a dedication to see things thru on an anonymous, un-connected medium such as the internet.

Add in RL difficulties which arise (loss of intenret access, schedule contraints, etc), and the chances of a DM being able to complete a PbP to conclusion are slim.

Here's an open question to all posters:
What PbP games HAVE been completed?
I actually only know of one - The Original - the Non-Iconics Game that has completed their adventure to fruition.
I'd like to think that my dogged deterination and player-involvement style of posting might have contributed to it not dying, but the other players are a great group of veteran gamers that made it a priority to stay with it, and the real reason is Heavy G : A DM that never faltered, never let the game get lower a "warm simmer" of interest.

IMO, once a game loses steam completely, and is left for ANY significant amount of time, the game is doomed. It's just too hard getting the ball rolling up that big hill of player participation and interest again.

Similarly, the most successful games that I've seen have been ones that had a fairly fast recruitment time, and went right into adventuring, getting the majority of introductions going rapidly, so that by a month in, many of the players and main story are inplace (striking while the iron's hot, so to speak) before the inevitable slow-downs a game WILL have start to occur.

What other games have you guys been in that haeve not been abandoned?
What games do you think WILL eventually finish?
What do you think are the elements that contribute to a successful, long-term PbP game?

For my part, it is my personal approach that the bane of PbP games is apathy.
Non-interest will kill a game much quicker than in-fighting or even player or DM squabbles.
Non-participation is the ultimate sin in PbP gaming, to me.

 

[reapersaurus]

cs - interesting that you didn't include the Heroes of the Worlds thread in the "dying" category.
Isn't that pretty much dead in the water? that cause is DM non-involvement, right?

Then there's some other ones I'm in I can comment on:
your great (IMO) LightHearted Hack n Slash game is unique, in that you started it with the structure that can support a long haul.
As long as you have a few participants that are dedicated, I think that it can last a while, even though from the recent posting amounts, it might seem in danger.

Against the Storm is unique : it's the one PbP I've been in that has not stalled due to DM disinterest, but player disinterest.
While DM_Matt alienated some players (myself included), I think he's done just about everything he can to revive the game, and his effort is admirable, including recruiting others to fill some roleplaying holes. Hopefully that will revive the game.

Speaking of reviving, the Iconics Thread apparently cannot be resurrected from Piratecat's 2 stoppages.
This 3rd stoppage will probably put a nail in it's Legendary and Infuential coffin, despite GnomeWork's efforts.

New York by Night is in the midst of having the AFAIK unprecedented happen: having another DM fill in to continue the game. That is amazing, and hopefully will work.

What are the statuses of other PbP games?
I've always wished I had enough time to keep up with all the games - maybe those in them can summarize what's happened over the months in them (maybe a seperate thread idea?).
At least post here whether they are active or not, and if not, why did they end? Did any end for any reason other than DM?

 

[Krizzel]

What are the statuses of other PbP games?
I've always wished I had enough time to keep up with all the games - maybe those in them can summarize what's happened over the months in them (maybe a seperate thread idea?).
At least post here whether they are active or not, and if not, why did they end? Did any end for any reason other than DM?

Hmm...should we have an IC-forum newsletter?

 

[KitanaVorr]

Well

I'll give you the status of The InCharacter Character game and that it is totally boggling my mind. I only started it a week ago, it is now nearly up to 200 posts...it has had over 80 posts today alone since I last checked it yesterday (it was 110)...what the heck? Is this normal?

I hope this is a good trend for it, and that people still want to join the game (open membership--unlimited players) means that it is a good thing. So I'm hoping this is one of those games that will find fruition to a good ending.

 

[Janos Audron]

you should've seen the 3rd IR Kitana. 200+ posts when you wake up in the morning. The horror of having to read all of them just to know what's going on...

 

[Shalimar]

So far Dave Rothgery's WOT game is the only one I personally know of as having lasted. Its been going for roughly a year so far, with us moving onto a private MSN community board when Enworld went through its server problems.

I agree: In character games seem to be going through their expansion cycle and right on into the contraction as reality sets in and those who have over-booked feel the pressure. Some people seem to be acting very responsible about it, limiting themselves to what they can handle, others overestimate their time and see it as a race to be in the most games. I don't quite understand the mentality. The idea being quantity over quality. I would rather a person be in just one or two games and produce meaningful posts then spout off one liners in ten or twenty. Those one liners take away from the games.

From my poll on player size of games most people seem to want 6 people in their games. I want fewer, but better posters. If I can only have 3 who aren't over booked then it is preferable to 6 that are. To fix this I see the Dms needing to do more work, and that isn't fair to them at all. They need to be more selective of who they allow in. Both in post quality of potential players, and also of how many games they are already in as an indicator of how much time they can devote to the game. I think it is the height of rudeness to short change a game, any game at all, be it a serious game or a silly one. This is what we all have decided to do with our free time. Shortchanging a game is not just affecting the game for you, it can effectively ruin the game for other people as well, people who are trying their best. Again, I am not trying to say that everyone who is in a lot of games is doing this, some are very good at knowing their limits, like Garyh and Kitana, but others are not, and that is what the problem is.

I am not trying to sound angry here, this is just my opinion without any sugar-coating. I think that we as gamers have to understand this is not just our own time we are dealing with, that others are investing their's as well. We must be mindfull of that and be very conscientous.

 

[Sixchan]

The In Character game is unique in that since we're roleplaying ourselves, the posts have a more 'Conversation' feel to them, with short one liners, jokes, comments and questions rather than the traditional 'Roleplaying'. So we post a lot more.