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Updated 12/30/99
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Notes from the Live Game
Discussion of November 1999

Overall Style | Rules and Mechanics | Plot Design | Character Design | Logistics

Caveat: There were a lot of opinions expressed at this meeting, not all of them compatible. In general, everyone agreed that almost any kind of game can work but that players should be told what they’re getting into! GMs have a responsibility to provide their potential players with as much info up front as possible and then the players can decide whether or not they want to participate.

Overall Style
     In general, most people agreed that when live gaming they expect an experience different than table-top gaming. They don’t want to roll dice, look up tables, or perform actions by describing them. They want to actually do things and have a simulated experience as close to reality as possible. GMs need to do everything possible to not break the illusion.
     Emotional reality is very important. Props and settings can help, but also add in characters and events that inspire excitement, fear, drama, comedy, or whatever emotion you’re going for.

Rules and Mechanics
     People like game mechanics that foster the illusion of reality and simulate the actual physical or mental effort involved in a task. Everyone agreed: skills that say "spend 10 minutes doing nothing" are game-killers.
     Avoid excessive rules. Minimize wherever possible. Figure out the absolute minimum of things that require simulation and can’t be handled through "real" actions by the players and create rules only for that.
     Players should never have to consult the rules during a game.
     If you have mechanics that require GMs or refs, ensure that you have lots of them. Never make players wait in line to speak to a ref!
     GMs as NPCs can work, but only if the GM is not needed most of the time to act as GM. If the GM has to do double duty as a character and as an adjudicator, then one or the other will suffer.
     Avoid mechanics that require describing an action to a GM and then getting a ruling. That’s how table-top games work, not live games.
     Nobody has a foolproof method for handling character deaths. Almost everyone agreed that characters automatically coming back from the dead is no fun, unless there are other major consequences of combat. If you allow characters to kill one another, then the characters should have a good expectation that their defeated opponent will remain dead!

Plot Design
     A variety of plot choices can be good. Players don’t want to be railroaded down specific paths.
     Make plots that require contact with a lot of other players, requiring resources, skills, information, etc from many other characters. Try not to tie characters into small cliques that have no reason to work outside themselves.
     Give each character a chance to show off or shine. Specific examples were mentioned like the "introductions" in Sandman I, in which every character got a chance to stand before the assembled group and state his name and intentions. (This also doubled as a great "introductory system" so that name badges weren’t required.)
     GMs should schedule events or happenings throughout the game that enrich the background, break up the activity, and provide a sense of progress.
     Provide incentives for players to trade or ally, otherwise you end up with an assassin game.
     Be careful of game balance. All powers should have some limitation or cost. Don’t build positive feedback loops into your plots and mechanics.
     Create incentives or mechanisms to keep character deaths low or non-existent in the early parts of the game. No one likes to be killed off 5 minutes into a game. If you want a high body count, you can build in mechanisms to remove these as the game progresses.
     If you have an uberplot, make sure that it really can involve everybody in the game. Games that degenerate into a few people making decisions behind closed doors make everyone else pissed.
     As a general rule, set things up so that players can’t isolate themselves for long periods of time. Characters may need short-term privacy for deal-making or secrets, but in the long run closed doors kill plots.

Character Design
     GMs really like to receive rich background material from the characters. Most of the GMs present said that they let the character submissions write the game.
     Vague goals allow players to role-play without forcing actions, while excessive attention to specific goals can force the players to set aside role-playing in favor of "winning". One example: Don’t have a goal of "get a million dollars from the bank", instead have a goal of "get rich" and create an environment where there are multiple means to achieve this.
     In addition to the standard Plot Intensity rating which most GMs ask players to decide on, many people liked a Goal versus Personality rating. It’s possible to be high plot involvement while concentrating on "role-playing" over "goal achievement".
     Nobody likes pretending to not know something which they actually do know. Avoid this where possible. If a character isn’t supposed to have a piece of information, keep it from the player.

Logistics
     Food can make or break a game. Most games are in the evening, and players haven’t had a chance to have a full meal beforehand. Feed them. Cheap or insufficient food is enough to destroy a game; a hungry player is not a happy player.
     Most people agreed: alcohol doesn’t hurt.
     Build the game around the setting, rather than trying to force a specific setting to work in ways it really can’t.
     Provide some simple means for players to recognize each other if their characters know each other. Everyone hates name badges. Get this info to the players in advance, introduce everyone before the game, or build in an "introductory event" to the beginning of the game.

Notes taken by Scott Martin.