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Post by Katherine on Jan 25, 2015 2:47:46 GMT
You are right, as staff we can't always respond to every request our players make, but I think a lot of staff want to be able to provide a great experience for our players. We want you to have a great time and we would love it if you let us know if there is an area we can improve upon. The problem lies in the fact that we can't do everything by ourselves. That is why there is the second part to my request: what are you the players willing to do to help make what you want a reality? This needs to be a partnership.
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Vallum
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Serving as Aasha's Bodyguard
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Post by Vallum on Jan 25, 2015 18:50:51 GMT
Partnership is a two-way street. It also takes communication. That is sorely lacking. Not everyone, but as an organization communication is lacking. Katherine, I appreciate how quickly you've responded with some info and cool scenes. Dale ran a cool scene recently for me, so there's some hope. I can't speak for others, but many of my emails go unanswered, emails that are trying to help. The first thing you can do as an organization is adopt a policy that you will at least acknowledge that you have received a message.
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Post by Aasha Cathmoore on Jan 25, 2015 19:46:58 GMT
Communication:In the company that I work for, "Communication" is one of our initiatives for 2015. It's company wide, we have strategies, missions and tasks associated with the different methods of communication to make sure that everyone in the company is on the same page. It's something that has to be ongoing and deliberate from all parties. I think setting up proper channels for communication (only e-mail this address, send all requests and information via the boards, etc.) is really helpful. Letting players know "I work on plot every other Sunday from 12pm-2pm" (or whatever) is helpful too, and helps to set expectations and to give timelines. I agree that not every request or e-mail can be responded to especially when real life gets busy. It's so helpful and encouraging to get a message that says "I've received this, I see it, and will be working on it in x timeframe" (even if that time frame is the next month.) Culture:A lot of the immersion that we are talking about has to do with game culture. It takes a handful of leaders to dedicate themselves, for their own personal enjoyment, to creating a better game culture and environment. It takes that handful of people to notice when someone has gone above and beyond and gives them recognition for that. When I worked in a kindergarten classroom, yes it was expected that all of the kids sit criss-cross-apple-sauce with their hands in their laps during story time. But you better believe when little Johnny got a high five for doing what he was supposed to do even when everyone else was slacking, it made others be more likely to jump on board. I think we (current and new players) come from a variety of gaming backgrounds with a variety of expectations. We need to be intentional about creating OUR culture and OUR expectations, so that it is clear who we are and what we do. I have been in games (not Heroic) where I've showed up dressed to the 9's, with a really fleshed out character, head to toe with props, sweet background information.....and everyone else is in jeans and a t-shirt with a name tag that says "Armani suit". I kept up my game for a few sessions...but it occurred to me that that's "not really what they do" The culture of their game was different. If they were happy with their culture -- great. I would need to, as a player, conform or find another game. If they were not happy with that kind of culture, they would have to deliberately work do change it. Education:You don't know what you don't know. Whhhhat, you can do plot submissions? You can decorate your cabin? You can find cool stuff in thrift stores for your costume? How can we educate current and new players on all of the awesome possibilities that you can partake in to step up your own game, which contributes to the overall game of others? I really like the video that Katherine posted (the costume in under 5 minutes) on the facebook page. Maybe we can do more how-to's? The elephant in the room:
Man (or woman!) power. I think our games in the midwest are really understaffed. I remember traveling to other games and was blown away by the number of staff and NPC's and being wow-ed at how much we were able to do in the midwest with who and what we had. (Shout out, that's because midwest staff works it! ) But there's still only so much time in the day, and so much energy that a handful of folks have. Maybe we can talk to some of the other region's games and see what they do to create that culture of staffing and NPCing? Just throwing out some ideas. It seems like there are a lot of folks that are interested in improving the game IG and OOG, which is always encouraging.
Cheers!
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Post by Katherine on Jan 25, 2015 21:07:05 GMT
You hit the nail on the head Larisa. Andy, what I think you are seeing is a lot of work placed on too few of people. What we really NEED (not even just want) for this upcoming season in Nebraska is the following:
A new full-time logistics manager At least 3 dedicated full time NPCs each game (not counting plot and the current staff)
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Vallum
Junior Member
Serving as Aasha's Bodyguard
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Post by Vallum on Jan 25, 2015 21:21:49 GMT
Larisa hit the nail on the head with all her points, but particularly with Education. I know I'm just the bitchy new player here, but that's part of the problem. I don't know how to do what I'm interested in doing, and don't know what my options are. How many new players know about Hero Points let alone how to spend them? How many new players do downtime actions or plot submissions or after-action reports (or what do we even call them here?)? How many players have encouraged this? I'm lucky because I married an experienced player who tells me much of this stuff, but if we want new players, there needs to be an infrastructure to teach them this kind of stuff. I'm sure there are current players that need to know this kind of stuff too. Could a simple website be made to fill this gap? I'd be happy to create a presentation that can be sent to folks. One could be mechanics, one could be culture, one could be account-management and stuff. Here's a link to something I created for another game for a sample of what's been done in the past: prezi.com/c91cws92lwxl/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share (If you watch this, keep in mind the game system was designed to be both LARP and tabletop, consisting of six different-colored stones for a randomizer. People watching this presentation are assumed to have that prior knowledge.) I'm happy to help educate. With 12 years in the field, I know a thing or two about teaching. Okay, I'll stop talking and let others chime in here a bit more.
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Post by Rubicon on Jan 29, 2015 0:40:20 GMT
Larisa hit the nail on the head with all her points, but particularly with Education. I know I'm just the bitchy new player here, but that's part of the problem. I don't know how to do what I'm interested in doing, and don't know what my options are. How many new players know about Hero Points let alone how to spend them? How many new players do downtime actions or plot submissions or after-action reports (or what do we even call them here?)? How many players have encouraged this? I'm lucky because I married an experienced player who tells me much of this stuff, but if we want new players, there needs to be an infrastructure to teach them this kind of stuff. I'm sure there are current players that need to know this kind of stuff too. Could a simple website be made to fill this gap? I'd be happy to create a presentation that can be sent to folks. One could be mechanics, one could be culture, one could be account-management and stuff. Here's a link to something I created for another game for a sample of what's been done in the past: prezi.com/c91cws92lwxl/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share (If you watch this, keep in mind the game system was designed to be both LARP and tabletop, consisting of six different-colored stones for a randomizer. People watching this presentation are assumed to have that prior knowledge.) I'm happy to help educate. With 12 years in the field, I know a thing or two about teaching. Okay, I'll stop talking and let others chime in here a bit more. I'm probably the most egregious perpetrator of some of your complaints Andy. To give everyone piece of mind, and I'll fill you in on my process, and why its not always possible for me to respond. Whenever I receive a request or an inquiry about Heroic, it gets added to my long list of crap I need to do for Heroic, with a date next to it identifying a date it needs to get done by, usually the date of an upcoming game if the request is on the player side. The logistics requests for the Nebraska chapter alone are not so time consuming, and answering back requests acknowledging that I received them normally wouldn't be a big deal. Unfortunately, the number of hats I wear for this organization means the stuff I need to get done for Nebraska's logistics only makes up a small portion of my list. I handle logistics for several players outside of the Midwest region, I'm in the process of revising H1 for the final time, I'm in the process of updating all the XP logs on Google Drive so that they can be considered Fundamental Characters, I personally update the National Member Database for those who get their memberships through the website, I have Board of Director duties which include being Chair of the Finance Committee, a member of the Rules Committee, and now Executive Director in lieu of Treasurer. I'm the Chapter Director, the Properties Master, and the Head of Plot. All of this on top of a full time job. In essence, my list of crap to do for Heroic is a mile long. All that said, I could probably do a better job communicating. On the actual subject of your post, I 100% agree, we are in desperate need of a comprehensive new player guide. I actually started working on one for core, to help make the rules more understandable and ease them into the game. Instead I wrote H1. I'm not sure what format for is best for a new player guide, or even what information needs to be included in it, but there needs to be one. - Sebastian
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Post by Aasha Cathmoore on Jan 29, 2015 1:48:35 GMT
Sebastian,
Good points! Thank you for sharing. I certainly had no idea that you were doing that much stuff.
If you had to pick the #1 need right now, would that be the new player guide? (LOL that you started writing one and came up with H1, love it.)
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Vallum
Junior Member
Serving as Aasha's Bodyguard
Posts: 47
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Post by Vallum on Jan 29, 2015 2:23:35 GMT
Sebastian, thank you very much for all that information. I can't believe you carry that all on your shoulders. We need to find out ways to help you, man.
Just knowing that stuff helps me understand some of the things that are going on. How can we help you figure out solutions? Does it bother you that we are bringing this up? I don't mean to poo-poo all the work you're doing. You all are creating a very fun game.
I'll start brainstorming a new players' guide with Larisa. If nothing else, our thoughts could go to the person that eventually works up a final product. I'm thinking a Wix page with a series of presentations and/or videos might be a good digital start. If we need to make up brochures or booklets or something, that can be handled later.
(I also love that you sat down to make a new player explanation and H1 came out!)
- Andy
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Post by mathias on Jan 29, 2015 5:46:01 GMT
People need to truly give a damn about their character and know every detail and how they would react to certain situations. Much like when Neko and Mathias sat huddled in a tent smoking hookah all night during a downpour. We spoke at length of our childhoods, our goals and ambitions. We managed to step away from typical backstory and really learn about eachother and ourselves. Getting checked in quicker wouldn't affect moments like that. It's the bond between players and their desire to tell a story.
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Post by Aasha Cathmoore on Jan 29, 2015 21:15:30 GMT
Matt, do you think hanging out OOG outside events, like planning socials and workshops would help to create a bond between players and not just characters, which would lead to more community and immersion?
-Larisa
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ZD
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Posts: 45
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Post by ZD on Jan 30, 2015 22:22:20 GMT
I'm going to try to be brief with this comment because it's a rabid bag of weasles for me. Everything so far is good and I just wanted to mention that first and foremost.
1) Sebastian isn't the only Chapter Director that carries such a big load on his shoulders, Many other Chapter Directors do. Katherine and I tried to hold the Committte for New Chapter Recruitment and Training, but that fell apart because due to life stepping in and requiring attention. That being said, This is a volunteer job. Larissa mentioned rewards and congradulation for good deeds even if it's something they are suppose to be doing helps motivate others to do better. Staff doesn't get much relief or reward for all the weight they carry, time and money they sacrifice.
Idea for resolution of this issue: Player run one shot games as thanks to the staff. There was a couple players down here in Austin that offered to run an event for us, but we shut down before they could give us such a gift. Joe Bearden did this for Katherine when she needed a break and it was a great story that brought new characters into game (Cloch and the whole Kinallen Clan came from that game)
2) Katherine mentioned need of staff, According to the bylaws all you need are a Chapter Director, Logistics Manager, Properties Manager and Head of Plot to run a game. Some chapters make due with 2 people taking those roles, some manage with 4. I also know that there are the extremes of success and failure. When staff asks for support they aren't joking about it. My chapter fell appart because the immersion they players wanted was too much for the staff to sustain with out more people-power. We asked no one answered and we burned out. If they ask for help, step up.
3) Plot minions, Minions who create sub stories in the over arching game so they can also play and be involced. This is something that I noticed in other games that I have not seen us utilize in Heroic. It is something I will have at Heroic Austin, those players will run those mods and their will be a time where they are running the big story one weekend and then not running a single mod the next because no one is interacting with it.
*steps back and closes bag of weasles* ~Diana Garcia
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Post by mathias on Jan 30, 2015 23:22:03 GMT
It leads to community not immersion. Like I keep saying, the players are what make things immersive.
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Post by Bowen Alloway on Jan 31, 2015 4:48:37 GMT
OOC gatherings help build bonds between players. Matt, do you have any solutions or just ideas? Ideas are good and lead to solutions. It's okay if you don't have solutions yet, but that's what we should all be working towards.
Diana, thanks for the solutions. I particularly love the idea of the players running one-shot type games for the staff to just enjoy. It's hard to just run things all the time. That was a good bag of weasels and you shared some helpful stuff.
- Andy
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ZD
Junior Member
Posts: 45
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Post by ZD on Feb 1, 2015 22:47:31 GMT
Andy, You are welcome. I was noticing that people where throwing ideas of what staff could do and were forgetting everything staff already does. I figured some player assistance might help relieve the stress and sweat staff puts into a game.
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Post by Bowen Alloway on Feb 2, 2015 18:13:29 GMT
Absolutely, frustration leads to burn-out that leads to dead games. That's why I was trying to get us to talk about solutions not just problems.
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