Rhenny
Adventurer
Lots of good advice in this thread so far.
It is inevitable that at some time over a long period of play with the same players there will be some sort of burn out. I agree with what others have said, but I also believe that burn out is some of the issue with your table.
Taking a break, having other person DM, could help.
Depending on the group, here are some other options:
1) Change the genre of the game some how. When I started to experience a little burn out, and I felt that the players were becoming too predictable and "boring" during my long standing 3.5e campaign, the PCs did something that gave me a chance to change the environment from classical D&D/medieval Europe to post-apocalyptic United States (ala...Darwin's World or Gamma World). The complete change of genre woke the players up. They started exploring with an authentic curiosity. (It helped that I was DMing for 5 NASA scientists and one of their teenage sons). In this new world/environment, they really didn't know what was happening and the change of pace was refreshing.
2) Invite a new player or two into the game. Sometimes the entire group needs an outsider to add diversity and fresh perspective/enthusiasm.
3) Play for an audience. One thing that has helped my games is when I make the players more aware that I will be writing up the adventure summaries to post in the Story Hour on ENWorld. This reminds them that our games are about story telling and doing interesting things. If you set it up and the players buy into it, it can tone down the bickering and focus your campaign on risk taking, cool antics, and other story driven aspects. I have not DMd on camera yet, but in one game I played, the DM broadcasted it on Google+ Hangout. During that game, I felt an interesting urgency and sense of performer's adrenaline. That actually helped me play my character and I had a terrific, exciting time during that game session. (alas..it was only 1 session during the Playtest, but I really enjoyed the sense of being on stage to some extent).
I hope all works out for you and your group, but sometimes, the mix of players and the way they interact with each other is something that can't be fixed. You'll have to find out from them if that's the case.
Cheers.
It is inevitable that at some time over a long period of play with the same players there will be some sort of burn out. I agree with what others have said, but I also believe that burn out is some of the issue with your table.
Taking a break, having other person DM, could help.
Depending on the group, here are some other options:
1) Change the genre of the game some how. When I started to experience a little burn out, and I felt that the players were becoming too predictable and "boring" during my long standing 3.5e campaign, the PCs did something that gave me a chance to change the environment from classical D&D/medieval Europe to post-apocalyptic United States (ala...Darwin's World or Gamma World). The complete change of genre woke the players up. They started exploring with an authentic curiosity. (It helped that I was DMing for 5 NASA scientists and one of their teenage sons). In this new world/environment, they really didn't know what was happening and the change of pace was refreshing.
2) Invite a new player or two into the game. Sometimes the entire group needs an outsider to add diversity and fresh perspective/enthusiasm.
3) Play for an audience. One thing that has helped my games is when I make the players more aware that I will be writing up the adventure summaries to post in the Story Hour on ENWorld. This reminds them that our games are about story telling and doing interesting things. If you set it up and the players buy into it, it can tone down the bickering and focus your campaign on risk taking, cool antics, and other story driven aspects. I have not DMd on camera yet, but in one game I played, the DM broadcasted it on Google+ Hangout. During that game, I felt an interesting urgency and sense of performer's adrenaline. That actually helped me play my character and I had a terrific, exciting time during that game session. (alas..it was only 1 session during the Playtest, but I really enjoyed the sense of being on stage to some extent).
I hope all works out for you and your group, but sometimes, the mix of players and the way they interact with each other is something that can't be fixed. You'll have to find out from them if that's the case.
Cheers.