New Years Resolutions For Gamers

[Walking Paradox]

Here are some slightly tongue-in-cheek resolutions for us dice-rollers. Not all of them apply to everyone here but I am sure everybody here knows at least one person who could benefit from one or more of them.

1. I will realize that "bathing" and "deodorant" are not un-manly things but rather are things that people appreciate when I partake in them it at least once daily.
2. I will not consider things like "fresh air" and "physical activity" to be manifestations of evil.
3. I will try to play at least one game that I never played before, at least once, in the next 12 months.
4. I will make a sincere effort to actually play every new RPG that I buy this coming year, or to use every supplement that I buy at least once.
5. I will support a local game convention, but only if it was organized well, by someone who is running it for reasons other than the padding of his inflated ego.
6. At least one time, I will try to pretend that the GM has an actual use and that the work that he has done to create a plot is not some sort of evil plan to stifle the "true creativity that only players can bring to the game table"; realizing that whinging about GMs "not tolerating player creativity" is almost as bad as rules lawyering and that maybe I should try running a game instead if this really bothers me so much.
7. Realization: the latest product that everybody is talking about here is neither the greatest gift to humankind since the invention of chocolate-covered cheeseburgers and polyhedral dice; nor is it a fetid manifestation of Cthulhoid defecation on the face of the hobby. It's just a bunch of words on a bunch of pages. Ranting and raving (or poo-pooing them to no end) on forums like this one, or on blogs, or on podcasts, or on Twitter; do not make me an "intellectual"; they make me part of the hype that people in the industry don't want to pay for with real advertising to advance the hobby in any real way. (If I am a Pathfinder or Dresden Files fan, I will read this resolution again; maybe several times. If I can't shut up about 4th Ed or anything by Palladium, the forgoing applies as well.)
8. I will remember that while "freedom of speech" is a good thing, it does not equate with an obligation for everyone else to listen, to pay attention, to reply, or even to care. This means that I won't spew out my opinions without backing them up in some way and I will remember that while emotions are temporary, everything I post is permanent. I further promise not to shoot off about "intellectual property" or "copyrights" unless I actually know what I am talking about and I am able to cite the law.
9. I will actually play some games this year, at least once, rather than just posting about them.
10. I will realize that the few people in this business who make a living designing games are able to do so because they think in terms of products that people will sense value in and consequently buy, not in terms of abstract design concepts that people debate on forums.

Like I said, these aren't for everyone here. There are even some people here to whom none of them apply. Still, I would be shocked if anybody here would say that they have never met anyone in the past year who could not benefit from following at least one of these resolutions…

 

[Weregrognard]

My list isn't nearly that long, but I have a couple of gaming resolutions/challenges for the coming year:

1. Replay/rerun older (pre 2000) D&D; to get back to my roots.

2. Take advantage of the awesome gift that was the OGL and attempt to write my own D&D "heartbreaker" as a personal game design exercise.

 

[Mark CMG]

chocolate-covered cheeseburgers

I guess I could try one of these in the new year.

 

[SkredlitheOgre]

I have two gaming resolutions:

1) Have fun DM'ing instead of seeing it as work when I have to adjust modules for the group. It's fun for me to come up with surprises.

1a) Start working on #1 prior to the day before a game session.

2) Roll the Hell out of my dice.

 

[Rolflyn]

Mine would be:

1) Try to play an RPG at least once this year. I'm newly a dad to twins, so gaming is taking a back seat in my life right now.

2) If I can pull of #1, try not to play with all the same people I played with last year. Some of those people would be okay, but I'd like to break out of the old mold if possible.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I really do not have too many new year's resolutions this year. I met my list from last year, though they were not that hard to meet.

 

[was]

I will stop challenging fellow players to see who can fit the most dice up their nose.

 

[Elf Witch]

I only have one and that is to work on my game before game day so I am not going nuts.

Reading the list most does not apply to me. I already have great hygiene. I am a girly girl who wears make up and perfume everyday even when I am not going anywhere.

I don't like playing games at cons so I never attend just a gaming con my con money when I have it is for literary cons like Worldcon and Mediawest the big zine con.

I really have no desire to play a different game system just to play a different game system.

 

[Stormonu]

For me:

1) I will actually sell that part of my collection on e-bay that I still haven't removed the shrink-wrap on since I got it
2) I'll actually read the rules before I attempt to play the new game I bought
3) I will take time out to play rather than run a game
4) Don't sell off Gammarauders. Just take out one of the two "Reverse Combat Results" and the game will play fine.
5) I don't need to buy any more collector edition re-issues; I still have the originals.
6) I WILL paint all the miniatures I bought this year
7) My 10-year-old's undefeated Chaos army will fall before me in 40K before year's end; this I swear!

 

[DM Howard]

1) I will do my best to start a game down at my university (Pitt State) even if I have to run the game myself.

2) I will NOT sit and read RPG books when there is homework to be taken care of ahead of schedule.