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General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
Game Fundamentals - The Illusion of Accomplishment
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<blockquote data-quote="Negflar2099" data-source="post: 5158359" data-attributes="member: 65944"><p>Let me start off by saying this is a great post. I'm glad you brought this topic up. One time I was DMing for a group that was very focused on success and, as you describe, would balk at any challenge or complain wildly about any setback. When non-stop arguing with me wouldn't work many of the players resorted to cheating. As you did, I felt used, that I was only there to present weaksauce challenges for them to steamroll. They were exactly the ego gamers that you describe. </p><p></p><p>I agree with you that there is a trend towards games that satisfy the ego gamer. As you point out it's not just RPGs or tabletop games, it's everything. Designers have recently realized that games that provide simple but constant rewards (such as FarmVille or Wow for that matter) keep players addicted and playing. Bottom line (for video games at least) it works. Wow is addictive precisely because of this constant illusion of achievement. </p><p></p><p>The question is does that translate to pen and paper RPGS? My answer is I don't think so. I think that given the nature of RPGs which tend to have a lot of different playstyles and agendas at a table, focusing on anyone preferred playstyle is bound to alienate the others. If nothing else someone has to DM and personally I don't see how a DM can keep running a game for ego gamers without feeling used and if there's nobody willing to DM then there's no game. </p><p></p><p>That said I'm a story driven DM to the point where I am constantly fighting my own tendency to just want to railroad the players so I can tell the story I want to tell. Maybe there's a type of DM out there who wouldn't mind running a game just to satisfy his or her friend's egos. I have a hard time picturing it but I suppose it's possible.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Negflar2099, post: 5158359, member: 65944"] Let me start off by saying this is a great post. I'm glad you brought this topic up. One time I was DMing for a group that was very focused on success and, as you describe, would balk at any challenge or complain wildly about any setback. When non-stop arguing with me wouldn't work many of the players resorted to cheating. As you did, I felt used, that I was only there to present weaksauce challenges for them to steamroll. They were exactly the ego gamers that you describe. I agree with you that there is a trend towards games that satisfy the ego gamer. As you point out it's not just RPGs or tabletop games, it's everything. Designers have recently realized that games that provide simple but constant rewards (such as FarmVille or Wow for that matter) keep players addicted and playing. Bottom line (for video games at least) it works. Wow is addictive precisely because of this constant illusion of achievement. The question is does that translate to pen and paper RPGS? My answer is I don't think so. I think that given the nature of RPGs which tend to have a lot of different playstyles and agendas at a table, focusing on anyone preferred playstyle is bound to alienate the others. If nothing else someone has to DM and personally I don't see how a DM can keep running a game for ego gamers without feeling used and if there's nobody willing to DM then there's no game. That said I'm a story driven DM to the point where I am constantly fighting my own tendency to just want to railroad the players so I can tell the story I want to tell. Maybe there's a type of DM out there who wouldn't mind running a game just to satisfy his or her friend's egos. I have a hard time picturing it but I suppose it's possible. [/QUOTE]
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