WISH 44: Picking Games
Another old WISH that I’m getting caught up on.
How do you choose games to join or to run? What factors influence you: timing, people, system, genre, etc.? Do you weigh different factors for different kinds of games, e.g., online vs. tabletop vs. LARP? Is it a group decision or a decision you make on your own?
Concept: The game idea has to grab me. By this I mean the setting — if the core concept of the game doesn’t grab me, there’s really no chance.
Rules: The rules are a secondary concern as I’ll probably just make up my own or use Swift if I don’t like em, and as such I’ll ignore a certain level of concern I might have about the rules if the concept seems solid — I overruled my misgivings when I agreed to play in Randy’s CryHavoc game (my burn-out on AmberDRPG had reached an all-time high at that point) and once we got some stuff worked out (took about 15 sessions 🙂 it proved to be a solid enjoyable game that I genuinely look forward to.
I just try not to get in fights… the combat system still bugs the shit out of me.
People: This is a biggie, and I would say that, if I’m the PLAYER, I might agree to play something I might not normally if I have a good feeling from the people. The reverse is also true. (See also the notes from above on Cry Havoc.)
Time: Sadly for the rest of my life, this is the last thing I consider… games are like Jello, and there’s always room for more.
At least that’s how I act.
When I remember to think of it, I focus on the commitment level required — GMing commitments require more time than playing (the Sevenfold law), for example. I don’t LARP and I don’t PbEM — the former because I break character in favor of a joke, the latter because PbEM take way too much time for the payoff, IN MY OPINION.