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Whose Enjoyment Matters Most?

Who deserves priority when it comes to game enjoyment?

  • The GM

    Votes: 22 4.9%
  • The Players

    Votes: 50 11.2%
  • Everyone Equally

    Votes: 338 76.0%
  • Me

    Votes: 35 7.9%

James Heard

Explorer
My enjoyment matters the most, because if I'm not enjoying myself then whether or not the rest of the folks are having fun is irrelevant. The thing is though, if everyone's having a rotten time but me I fully expect the game to become as dead to them as it is to me. However, people have fun all the time in games I find to be bored and insufferable all the time - therefore the "fun issue" begins at me and ends at me. Just like every other social situation, they work best when everyone's not having a crappy experience but I could care less as long as I'm not having one with them.
 

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Arnwyn

First Post
Given the options in the poll, my answer is an easy: "Me".

Because this:
James Heard said:
My enjoyment matters the most, because if I'm not enjoying myself then whether or not the rest of the folks are having fun is irrelevant. The thing is though, if everyone's having a rotten time but me I fully expect the game to become as dead to them as it is to me. However, people have fun all the time in games I find to be bored and insufferable all the time - therefore the "fun issue" begins at me and ends at me. Just like every other social situation, they work best when everyone's not having a crappy experience but I could care less as long as I'm not having one with them.
is correct.

Again, this is given the options in the poll. I couldn't care less if the final result is "no game at all" - as a wise ENWorlder often posts: "Life is too short to play crappy games." My personal enjoyment is paramount.
 

Harmon

First Post
I take no enjoyment from GMing. To me GMing is a necassary, like the guy that pays the dinner bill and drives all the drunks home at the end of the night.

I GM so that others can have fun.

May the gods in heaven above bless all you that like to GM and may you have only good fortune if do it and have happy players at the end of the session. Thank you. :)
 


wedgeski

Adventurer
Nothing worse than a bored, half-hearted DM. He's got to be having at least as much fun as the rest of the people round the table. I voted everyone equally.
 

Jupp

Explorer
Yup, the players should have the most fun. Because if they have a fun and exciting time while they are playing, I as a DM will be happy as well.
 

Henry

Autoexreginated
The Thayan Menace said:
If you had to choose, whose enjoyment do you believe has priority at your gaming table?

Short Term? The players. Players who don't enjoy the session aren't as quick to come back.

Long Term? Everybody, because a burned-out DM can't run a game.
 

Lord Pendragon

First Post
Tuzenbach said:
fun x 1 < fun x more-than-one
There are whole schools of moral philosophy that argue against this.

Personally, I voted "everyone equally." This is because I assumed initially that the poll meant to deal with absolutes, meaning that there are only two possible conditions: "having fun" and "not having fun." In that case, it's the highest priority that everyone be "having fun."

Now, the question becomes a bit more sticky if we assume that everyone is "having fun" but that certain individuals' degree of fun may vary. In this case, I'd vote for the DM. The DM spends a lot more time thinking about the game, preparing for the game, and then runs the game, whereas a player need only think of the game while he is actually playing. Because of this, the DM needs to be excited about the campaign concept enough to sustain his interest in the long term.

If a player "likes" a campaign idea but doesn't love it, he'll still have a fair bit of fun in the game.

If a DM "likes" a campaign but doesn't love it, he's going to have a hard time brainstorming ideas for its long-term survival, being excited enough about it to put in the work statting monsters and creating dungeons, etc. etc.

So if if comes down to only one or the other being "excited" about the campaign idea, while the other merely "likes" it, my nod goes to the DM. Though of course the best possible scenario is where both DM and players are excited about a campaign.
 



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