I think for most is that they just find it more social. The game is about hanging out with people as it is immersion. I kinda find having cameras on distracting. When I'm playing in online games with cameras on it is usually in a separate program than the VTT, usually discord, and I never look at it. The few times I've played in games that had the video in the same interface as the VTT, I just found it distracting and a waste of screen real estate.
Yep. That's my experience. Another benefit for me as a GM is that I have a terrible poker face. Not being on camera keeps my players on edge.
I'm in complete agreement with you about recording, and I like cameras for online play. I'm playing this game, for our mutual enjoyment. I'm not trying to be "on" and be at my best for something for public consumption. That's a heck of a lot of energy diverted from playing the game with my friends. I'm here to have fun, and yes playing and especially running take energy, but that doesn't mean I want to be recorded.I think for most is that they just find it more social. The game is about hanging out with people as it is immersion. I kinda find having cameras on distracting. When I'm playing in online games with cameras on it is usually in a separate program than the VTT, usually discord, and I never look at it. The few times I've played in games that had the video in the same interface as the VTT, I just found it distracting and a waste of screen real estate.
I have, however, contacted GMs looking for players who wanted to record every game and post them to their YouTube channels. Always noped out of them. Not something I'm interested in. Besides, it seems like a strange way to build up a live play stream. All of the successful live plays are successful because of chemistry of the group. I would think you would want to first put together a group that works well together to make an entertaining show.
Yep. That's my experience. Another benefit for me as a GM is that I have a terrible poker face. Not being on camera keeps my players on edge.
That came from personal experience. But I was the guilty party. I wasn't cheating, just overly enthusiastic. I was playing in an on-line convention game set in the Mouth of Doom (extra area in later editions of Rappan Athuk). The DM was using Fantasy Grounds with manual fog of war. Out of combat he would clear the fog in an area, describe it, and we would move, discuss, describe what we were doing, not in any turn order. It was getting close to the end of the session, we were doing well and eager to get the second level of the dungeon before the end of the session (it was see how far you can get in the murder dungeon session). He cleared the fog from a long hallway ending in a spiral staircase heading down. Without thinking or say anything I move my token down the hall to the edge of the stair case.
Yeah, something anyone who has participated in online meetings can attest to. For TTRPGs I find this more of an issue with one-shots with strangers or at the beginning of a new campaign with new people. I find, however, that after a few sessions most groups fall into natural patterns and it becomes less of an issue.
Yeah, it helps to have good bandwidth and high-quality headsets, which not everyone can afford. We use Discord and push-to-talk really helps. It is much easier and more natural than trying to constantly click the mute button on and off during the game. But even push to talk only gets you so far. If you have lag, it is just really difficult to avoid. I've had to use Discord on some pretty poor connections and I've been very impressed. I've never experienced lag in the years we've been using it. When there is a bandwidth issue you might get garbled sound but I don't recall ever having lag.
When I was running Rappan Athuk, a mega dungeon with over 100 maps and some of those maps were huge, this was pretty common. It can work very well in some situations. Foundry allows the GM to pause the game and prevent movement by hitting the space bar, so if someone runs into an encounter, trap, or something that requires more detailed description you can address it without worrying about further player movement.
I love rolling physical dice, but even more, I love everyone being able to see the role. Not to avoid cheating, I'm not worried about that with my group. It is just more participatory. In Foundry I use the Dice So Nice module which has 3D dice clacking across the play area when you roll. I miss the tactile nature of holding and throwing physical dice, and I've thought of getting bluetooth dice that can sync with Foundry via a community module, but they are expensive and I think only the number is posted to the chat. I much prefer seeing the digital dice rolling on the screen than I would just seeing a number pop up in chat.
Just put on this mask and start taking notes in a notebook.
