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Message: <blockquote data-quote="chaochou" data-source="post: 7610999" data-attributes="member: 99817">I don't know if I'd seen that essay before. Elements of it were familiar, but I didn't recognise it presented like that. Certainly an interesting and thoughtful read.With regard to pushing your GM-ing in new directions... yes, maybe! But the first session section of AW has good advice on how to bring the game to life. Barf forth Apocalyptica, Ask lots of questions, Leave things to wonder about, Springboard off character creation... those are all good techniques for starting things flowing.And the players have responsibility too... they'll starting looking at their playbooks and saying 'Holy **** I can do thaaaat?' and then they'll try to do something rad and they'll 7-9 it and you'll be running it just fine.For AW I usually... no... I always start with some collective worldbuilding. But looking at the essay you linked, it would really go down more as 'introductory colour'. Places with evocative names hand-sketched in on a rough drawn map, each person adding two or three things. Often we don't even know what they are. It's just someplace called 'The Pipes'.I've always found that early sketch gives everyone enough of a sense of place, and sets ideas spinning and kickstarts players to start dreaming of who they are playing and the things they want - and once they have that, your job as GM becomes a whole lot easier.We've discussed before my fondness for leading questions, and it's a good technique for getting players out of their shell if they're being a bit coy. Like:MC: Dusk, who'se the meanest rider in Deckers cycle gang?Player: I dunno, maybe Midnight? That guy's always giving me evils.MC: Right! So as you leave the cantina, why do you think you see him breaking into your lock-up?It's another version of 'there is no status quo'. There's no safe, non-commital answer here. You don't need to know or care why (in the fiction) that just happened. Out of the fiction, it's the cataclyst to get the player to introduce relationships, feuds or friendships, revenge, ex-lovers... which is what you need them doing. The fiction will work itself out, once the players start doing their job of really playing and bringing it.Is that helping?</blockquote>

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