DMing: where's the fun?

[TheAuldGrump]

Over the years I found it was largely pointless in asking the players for comments. Though this may have to do with the many people in my previous gaming groups, being passive-aggressive personality types. (I found this out independently from other outside sources, about these many particular individuals who previously played in my games over the years).

I ask all the players in all three groups for comments after every game - I use forms from the Campaign Planner series by Ronin Arts, and give a small number of XP for them. They can be sent in any day up to the next game session. Roughly half of the players fill them out, though not every game, and those that do fill them out often give me something to think about.

And I want to say - one of those groups pointed out problems that one of the player who didn't fill out a response sheet was having, that her character was being pushed into a secondary role both by the other players and by me not taking the time to find out what she wanted to do rather than what some of the other players were telling her to do.

Asking for feedback is generally a good thing. Having a form for the players to fill out... might mean that the GM is a bit obsessive compulsive....

The Auld Grump, or really loves his paperwork... I like structure.

 

[xnosipjpqmhd]

Good points all 'round. Thanks for the replies.

I started the thread because I'm in a kind of gaming malaise as a DM, having lost sight of why I DM (and why others in my group decline that honor).

Historically speaking, I have enjoyed DMing more than playing, and am the DM in my group 95% of the time (or 1-19 on d20, if that makes more sense for you), but lately, I dunno.... DMing =/= fun.

Re: feedback from players... this kind of proves my point. As DMs we have been trained and advised countless times to find out what players want and give it to them. But who is finding out what the DM wants and giving it to him/her?

 

[ggroy]

I ask all the players in all three groups for comments after every game - I use forms from the Campaign Planner series by Ronin Arts, and give a small number of XP for them. They can be sent in any day up to the next game session. Roughly half of the players fill them out, though not every game, and those that do fill them out often give me something to think about.

And I want to say - one of those groups pointed out problems that one of the player who didn't fill out a response sheet was having, that her character was being pushed into a secondary role both by the other players and by me not taking the time to find out what she wanted to do rather than what some of the other players were telling her to do.

Asking for feedback is generally a good thing. Having a form for the players to fill out... might mean that the GM is a bit obsessive compulsive....

The Auld Grump, or really loves his paperwork... I like structure.

Are the comment replies done anonymously and privately?

 

[The Shaman]

One of the things I enjoy behind the screen is seeing the world through the eyes of the players and their characters. Part of refereeing the game is bringing the game-world to life, and I'm always fascinated by what the adventurers, and by extension the players, find significant. With whom do the adventurers build relationships in the course of play? What places pique their interest? Do they discover, and make sense of, clues to intrigues behind the scenes?

It's said that no referee's plan survives contact with players, and for me, that's where most of the fun of running a game is found.

 

[Dannager]

One of the best things a DM can do for himself is to learn to enjoy it when the players have fun. Once you're at the point where providing a game that's fun for everyone else is also enjoyable for you, it's smooth sailing from there. I firmly believe that DMing involves a bit of self-sacrifice, but that once you've gotten the hang of it suddenly it becomes very gratifying.

 

[Stormonu]

There's two reasons I DM. The first and foremost is the creative power to set up the scenarios. The few times I've been a player, you are one of many and if the DM's doing his job you only get a small subsection of the gaming arena to make your own. As the DM, you have the whole sandbox to decide how the world is formed. Certainly, it's the players interactions that drive what get used, but its the DM who sets up the constructs (scene, opponents, NPCs, storylines, etc.) that get interacted with. The trick is not to obsess with your own creations - overplanning, being too protective to kill certain NPCs/Villians/Allies and the like.

The second, and perhaps most important is the "what's going to happen next?" factor. Players are a surprising bunch, and when you let yourself be surprised by their reactions and interactions with the game, its a lot more enjoyable for both sides. The hard part is being able to roll with where the characters are taking events.

To me, the best DMs set up the situation and then step back and observe what the players do next, and keep feeding them new things to interact with when they finish with the old stuff.

I will say, I've burned myself out several times as DM, so I feel the pain of those others who are in a malaise about DMing. It's damn hard work and often under-appreciated. Its like being a parent; if you're doing it for the accolades, you're missing the point. You're providing the guidance for the game. No one said it would fun all the time or most of the time. All you can hope to say is that in the end, it was worth it.

 

[Abraxas]

I used to enjoy playing more than DMing and typically ran one game and played in one or more other games. More recently I have had long stretches of being either a player or the DM.

When I'm DMing I have found that I get a lot of fun by running a game that I would like to play in and seeing others having fun playing in it. The rest comes from gaming with people I like to be around - some of our best games have had relatively little gaming but so much laughing that I thought my sides were going to split.

I also get enjoyment while DMing because the play styles of the people in my current group are so varied - I can flex my DMing skills in a different ways depending on my mood so I don't get bored.

 

[yesnomu]

I don't DM often, but I did this semester for my group. Some things I really liked:

• Making a world and characters that my players could interact with and talk about. My players met the various people in the world, heard what they had to say, and picked a side to support--and the fact that they legitimately cared about the world and their cause meant a lot to me.
• Seeing something fun and translating it into the game. If I get a lot of enjoyment out of something (and my players don't know about it), it's fun for me to try to put it into the game and watch the players explore it. My game had Citadels reminiscent of Half-life 2's, boss fights taken from Shadow of the Colossus, and a puzzle where the PCs worked with time-shifted versions of themselves, inspired heavily by Cursor x 10.
• Letting my PCs shine in battle. I prided myself in pushing my players to the limit; sometimes having multiple PCs unconscious at once. The players got into some bad situations, and barely eked out some victories. But they always triumphed, and I didn't kill any of them (something else I'm happy about, since I hate killing PCs). By the end, everyone had stories of times they saved the day.

Overall I prefer playing to DMing, and it'll be a load off my mind to not have to prepare and improvise and stress so much every Sunday. But it was a fun experience, and I'd like to do it again sometime.

 

[the Jester]

The joy of creation.

To make a world is to be as a god.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

For me GMing has all the fun that the above posters have mentioned. It's creative. It's cool to see the players interacting with your creations, alternately amazing and horrifying me.

(I just looked down to check what had been covered in the thread and saw the new posts that had popped up while I was typing. This seems to be turning into a Burnt Out GM Support Group. That's cool, I've been having some trouble motivating myself to GM for the last few months as well. So please take all that follows in the sense of: I understand where you're coming from, I'm currently going through it too.)

Well that sounds pretty there, Kzach. I mean it's only good manners to thank the GM after the game. The GM puts in a lot of work. A LOT. Of course when I GM I also like to thank the players as well because they make my little fantasies come to life in a way I could not. It really is amazing how far this little courtesy goes. It can also open up the conversation to what people liked/didn't like and maybe fix some of the frustrations people (players and GM) are having.

It really sucks that you haven't been able to find people who have basic good manners. BUt they are out there. Even in gaming, a niche hobby in which many participants seem to have some sort of social awkwardness/ retardation. But there is hope that you can find a better group. Decent people do play the game. Take a break, or maybe join a local gaming group but only as a player. If you do find some folks you like gaming with maybe try to find other activities you can share so that you interact in other social situations. For instance I like to go to the pub (this may not be surprising to some) and I ask folks if they'd like to join me.

BAscially I must enjoy hanging out with the people with whom I game. If I don't I find the game itself goes south very fast. The times this has happened have been in the last couple of years when I've tried to get a game through using various gamer meet gamer forums/web spots/et.al. I've met some nice people this way and some really annoying idiots. The trick has been to winnow out the idiots but keep the good ones. If you can't keep the good ones without ditching the idiots (say in the case of a couple where one partner is cool and the other a total arse) lose both. I've managed to get a group of 6 together that has been solid for about 6 months now and looks like it'll go the distance. Hooray.

Right now I'm havign trouble going back to a campaign I run in another city. I'm not enjoying it anymore. I think the main problem is the fact that it long went off into stratosphere powers levels (It's a 3.5 game so I mean more than 10th level.) Toying with the idea of maybe changing system to HERO. Toning down the power level and getting back to something I'm more comfortable with. But that would be a hell of a lot of work. And I haven't even broached the idea with the players yet.

Hey, Auld Grump. What questions are on your feed back form? And which ones seem to get the most response?

Must go to work, will check in later.
Cheers.