Death of a PBeM or “What the Heck Went Wrong?”
One of the most common complaints about pbem’s is that they just don’t last very long - or rather, very little actually happens before the game dies. There are many number of reasons why this happens, and this month’s column will be examining a few of the more common reasons for a game’s failure.
The game just never gets started.
For whatever reason the game never gets going. Sometimes the idea for a game it sent out and there isn’t enough of a response to the GM about people who want to play. Other times the players go through the effort of creating characters and developing backgrounds only to have the game fizzle.
There’s not much that a GM can do about a lack of response other than to try as many venues as possible, or to see about running the game with a smaller group of people. I have found that I typically get between 6 and 8 responses to my postings about a new game starting. If a GM doesn’t get enough responses with the first posting, post again, and try other locations. Get your players to pass the word along that you are looking for more people to join the game.
If you are a GM and discover that you’re not going to be able to run the game at any point, make sure you tell all your players. It’s rather frustrating to have a GM suddenly disappear. The same goes for a player - if you’re not going to be able to continue to play at any point in the game, tell the GM.
The GM/Player(s) lose interest.
Whether the GM becomes bored running the game or the players lose interest, it is another thing that can kill a game.
It is a difficult hurdle to overcome. The best thing to do is prep work ahead of time. The GM should ask her players what kind of plots or subplots they are looking for. For example, would the player be interested in pursuing a romantic subplot? The more you can find out about what your players want to do, the easier it will be to keep them interested.
If the players are interested and really participating in the game, then the chances are that the GM will stay enthused about it. If the GM is losing interest, then there are a number of things that the GM can do - other than stopping the game, of course.
First, the GM should sit down and look at the game and see what it is that is really bugging him. For example, are the players not role-playing enough? Are your subtle hints for subplots (or main plots) too subtle? Are you not providing what your players want?
Sometimes a GM just burns out and loses interest in a game, and there’s not much that you can do about that. A good way to refresh yourself is to take a break. Perhaps see if you can get in on a game somewhere. Take a set amount of time away from the game.
“We’ve been playing for over a year and only three game days have passed. It just takes too long to accomplish anything.”
That is one of the most common complaints about pbem games. It’s just the nature of the beast. There are, however, ways to speed things up, though some of them depend upon the game system that you are using:
1. If there is a slow turnover of moves because people are not replying in a timely manner, give each move a deadline. If you don’t receive a response from a player by the deadline, their character does not get to act.
2. If possible, see if you can increase the number of turns or moves you send out each week. This may or may not be possible depending on your situation.
3. Get your players to give as much information in their replies as possible so you can get more done in each move. For example, get them to give you a series of actions and what their character will do if any of the actions cannot be completed.
4. Find a way to streamline combat. This is the one thing that may or may not be possible based on the game system you use. In a game that has multiple parts per turn of combat, it can take a long time (sometimes weeks or months) to complete a few seconds of game time.
Real World obligations have taken up so much time that I don’t have the time to play/run the game.
Well, there’s not much that can be done about this if things get really hectic. Part of the workload could be reduced if the GM has done prep work ahead of time, such as coming up with two or three scenarios ahead of time and has them all ready to go. That way there’s very little development work that has to be done and the GM can spend her time dealing with the moves and not developing the plot.
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