Why do you leave games?

[fireinthedust]

As a long-time PBP enthusiast, I've learned that pbp games are transient. Players and GMs suddenly stop posting, so that the cycle of character creation and game recruitment begins over and over again. I join knowing full well that every game is. going. to. die. and, on top of that, they will die before any sort of plot is achieved or resolved. Full stop. Shorter than a Downer comic.


However, while I might know my reasons for leaving a game behind, I'd like to know what other people's reasons. So:

1) Why have you left games?

2) Why do you join games?

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?

4) What part of any game do you hate?

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?

 

[GameDaddy]

Poor Customer Service (Both from game publishers and game designers).

Predatory Business Practices.

Re-runs or republication of existing games. Usually with much worse rules.

Games that waste players & GM's time.

Games that are incomplete.

Games that are incompatible with other games already owned.

 

[IronWolf]

As a long-time PBP enthusiast, I've learned that pbp games are transient.

However, while I might know my reasons for leaving a game behind, I'd like to know what other people's reasons. So:

Since you start with PBP I assume you want answers from a PBP perspective. So bear that in mind with my responses.

1) Why have you left games?

Of the PBPs I have joined I have never left one as a player.

I did finally stop DM'ing a PBP a few years ago, but that game had gone on for nearly three years, so it was not short lived. That game ceased as other demands took my time and I was unable to create posts that I considered quality posts. I explained things to the players and they were understanding. I did not just up and disappear on them.

2) Why do you join games?

Generally so I can get my D&D fix. PBP have the nice feature of letting you post when the time works in your schedule. That's the biggest thing that attracts me to a PBP game.

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?

I like that the roleplaying depth tends to be deeper in a PBP. As a DM I certainly appreciate not having to think quite as fast on my feet, I can think things through a little more which helps add some depth.

4) What part of any game do you hate?

Updating the maps!

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?

A good group of players, frequent posters with interesting and fun to read posts.

 

[amerigoV]

As a long-time PBP enthusiast, I've learned that pbp games are transient. Players and GMs suddenly stop posting, so that the cycle of character creation and game recruitment begins over and over again. I join knowing full well that every game is. going. to. die. and, on top of that, they will die before any sort of plot is achieved or resolved. Full stop. Shorter than a Downer comic.


However, while I might know my reasons for leaving a game behind, I'd like to know what other people's reasons. So:

1) Why have you left games?

2) Why do you join games?

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?

4) What part of any game do you hate?

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?

To sum it up - I love the idea, I hate the pace. The thought of playing a cool character for years in a deep, rich plots is very enticing. However, pace always kills it for me. It seems like I never align with the ebbs and flows of posting. Either the group is posting fast and furious and I am slammed by real life. Or I am into it and nothing is going on (tap tap tap "hello, is this thing on?").

Also the pace of the story just drags. I really think a lot of GMs just do not understand that one or two sessions in a f2f game will take MONTHs to play out on pbp. I have seem games where their has been a couple of months of posts that just covers a couple of game hours. Zzzzzz.

One other thing that gets me is I am action oriented. Too many GMs leave you in a spot that does not give you any hooks to move forward. I think they want the PC/player to express their feelings there, but I would rather do that as the plot pushes forward.

I think what would keep me in a game long-term is a smaller group with short episodes. Get some resolution and successes. Basically, run short stories, not try to replicate Lord of the Rings. I have run a couple of short games that really seemed to hum when I did that. Now, I made no attempt to extend those games so they likely would have suffered the same burnout that many pbp eventually hit. But that is my hypothesis.

 

[Herobizkit]

1) Why have you left games?
* I just don't feel like playing/being creative some days which puts strain on others.
* the game moves too slowly and I lose focus and interest in my character.
* I hate crunching numbers and give up on making a character.
* I often grow tired of the fantasy genre
* My character/Myself and other characters/other players don't jive well
* not enough inter-party dialogue, too much in-game stats and map-measuring

2) Why do you join games?
* I don't play tabletop anymore - too hard to co-ordinate players/time
* I want to be creative and help tell a story
* Some social interaction is often better than none

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?
Social interaction. I enjoy the inter-party banter, learning more about the characters and how/why they are the way they are.

4) What part of any game do you hate?
The mechanics and the book-keeping. I like my games loose and fast-paced, cinematic and wushu. When it takes me 2-3 hrs to build a character only to never see most of what I had to write down come into play, it really grinds my gears.

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?
Non-epic, short, cinematic stories that chain together into a larger whole. I want my pbp to be like a TV show rather than LotR. One PbP I'm in deserves special mention:
http://www.enworld.org/forum/playing-game/273187-d20-modern-coreline-firewalls-episode-1-ic.html.

Though he doesn't post that often, his DMing style is exactly what I look for in a PbP.

 

[Camelot]

I have tried to DM 3 PbP games. All have failed for the same reason you said.

I agree with IronWolf. My problem is that I play 4e, which I have found out is not meant for PbP at all, especially the way I DM. Darn fun combats...Anyway, I think it could work, but everyone has to be willing to just keep going even if things are looking to be a tad boring.

I've seen it done, and I'd love to be a part of it, as DM or player. But I haven't had that luck, and due to players quitting without even telling me, I'm not in a hurry to DM such a game again. I'd love to give playing a try, though.

 

[fireinthedust]

I am absolutely talking about PBP games.

I had a DM who just left a 4e game. It was fantastic, he did great maps, great posts, amazing characterization... and then suddenly all the other players but me and one guy left. It was pretty harsh. No explaination, just gone. I can say, however, that I haven't enjoyed gaming like that in a looooooong time.

Still, it leaves me wondering: what were the other players thinking? They didn't respond to emails, nothing. As far as I can tell, maybe the two of them exploded in RL and couldn't post, I dunno. Still, it's disappointing.

Another reason is that, as a DM, I want to make the best PBP game possible. What does that involve? So far, lots of posts and quick story resolutions; fun characters; and something to do at all times. But is there somehting I'm missing?

 

[Verdande]

1) My personal schedule and others' doesn't usually align. I'm not a regular poster, and sometimes I'm not on the internet at all. Like, for days. When I get back online, I feel really bad about not posting for the last couple of days, and then I avoid the site I was playing on. It's a horrible cycle.

2) As a (so far) lifelong DM, I like to see what other DMs are doing, and get a feel for other peoples' playstyles. It's really neat, in theory, but the #1 above really kills it for me. Not to mention that a lot of other DMs bore me to tears. I read some posts, even on here, about games that people play and the situations they encounter, and I realize that even games that people like a lot just aren't for me.

3) The detail. I play a fast and loose game at home, so seeing some precise bean-counting going on is kind of fun. It's a different feel for a game, and it's not bad.

4) See #1 and the last part of #2. If I'm bored, I have no problem leaving without saying anything, and my style is idiosyncratic, I guess.

5) I have no idea. I haven't played a PbP game for longer than a couple of weeks so far.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

However, while I might know my reasons for leaving a game behind, I'd like to know what other people's reasons. So:

1) Why have you left games?

I've left three D20 PBP games that I clearly remember.

In the first case, I was under the mistaken impression that the DM was following the rules for d20 Modern, but it turned out to be grim-and-gritty with a focus on realistic combat in heavy armor... using d20 Modern rules. I wanted to be a swashbuckler. Yeah... Didn't even bother to show up for the first session. I don't think I even finished making my character, though I'd been accepted into the group.

Another one, I made the mistake of being a science-type guy in a d20 Future game. Don't do that; the rules can never support such a character. Worse in sci-fi, whereas the rules might be better, the player's understanding of fields of science that haven't even been discovered yet will, by necessity, be limited. We had this plotline where a ship had been shut down by unknown means, and I and a few other players kept throwing random quasi-scientific ideas ("it was a hack!" "it was a negative space wedgie!" "EMP!") because, not being 25th century (or whatever) scientists, we had no idea what was going on. The inability to connect to the plot caused players to gradually stop playing.

And in another one, a PBEM, we were members of a psychic academy, so we were all low-level psi-type characters. This was 3.0, but IIRC we were using sane, non-MAD rules. However, it took too long, some players (eg myself) were more interested in plot and action than in RPing feelings (as in, an NPC got mentally injured, and I was only interested in what did it... I wasn't going to have her cry on my shoulder because I couldn't care less) and the DM made too many NPCs (his own admission). Eventually it just sort of slumped apart. Too bad... the plot seemed interesting, and the sessions were actually fast-paced at first.

There's a few others I barely recall. I think one was StarCraft d20 Modern/Future.

2) Why do you join games?

Not being in a "meatspace" game at the time, or not being in a satisfying game.

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?

Just being able to play. Otherwise it's never as good as playing in "meatspace".

4) What part of any game do you hate?

Not being able to connect to the plot. It's too easy to have a plot where the players can't see what's going on. Mysteries are cool, but they should be easy too. I'd rather have to kill my way past a miniboss squad than have to spend another session talking to the bartender to solve the mystery.

Not having a plot! For whatever reason, several of the gamers in my group love running player-driven games. And sometimes they forget to clarify this beforehand. And if they do clarify, you have a bunch of PCs who have no connection to each other, not even a plot they can all follow, so you end up with one separate game per player, with each of us competing for DM face time.

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?

Fast pacing. Clarify rules beforehand. Clear communication about concepts such as plot, player-driven or not, etc, before the game starts. (DMs must take the lead on this; players are sometimes shy, especially with a faceless e-person they know nothing about.)

And sometimes players don't really know what kind of game they're getting into, and should do more research before jumping in (then leaving and disappointing everyone else). Like that d20 "Modern" swashbuckler concept I got into. It was d20 Modern in the middle ages (I've run a successful campaign like that before; or at least the first few sessions were, and combat worked really well with minimal rules changes) and I had little idea of what "grim and gritty" meant to that particular GM.

 

[Argyle King]

As a long-time PBP enthusiast, I've learned that pbp games are transient. Players and GMs suddenly stop posting, so that the cycle of character creation and game recruitment begins over and over again. I join knowing full well that every game is. going. to. die. and, on top of that, they will die before any sort of plot is achieved or resolved. Full stop. Shorter than a Downer comic.


However, while I might know my reasons for leaving a game behind, I'd like to know what other people's reasons. So:

1) Why have you left games?

2) Why do you join games?

3) What part of a pbp game do you enjoy most?

4) What part of any game do you hate?

5) What would keep you in a game long-term (ie: potentially years)?

1) I've only left 2 games, and both times it was for similar reasons. In the first, the DM had houserules that he didn't inform me of. I did not discover these houserules until several sessions in when I found out that many of my character abilities worked completely differently than I thought they would.

In the second, it seemed as though the rules would change every few days as a way for the DM to deal with something he didn't like. In one example, the party defeated a band of bandits in a manner which I can only assume was more easily than I expected. Suddenly we are informed that none of the healer's spells will work because her god is unhappy that she is adventuring with people of other faiths. While that may be possible, it seemed very arbitrary at the time, and there were other similar instances which made the game seem as though I had very little control over my character's actions.


2) I like to play games. Usually I join games which match my interest, but sometimes I also join a game because it provides a style which is different from what I typically play. For example, fantasy is usually what I play in my face to face games, so I might join a game which involves World War 2, aliens, pirates, or all manner of different things; they still need to be presented in a manner which matches some of my core interests though.


3) I like that roleplaying seems to happen more. There also seems to be less of a constant focus on hack and slash. I like to kill things and get loot as much as the next guy, but sometimes it's nice to be able to take that loot and build a castle or do something non-combat related for a little bit.

4) As others have said, sometimes it's hard to find the right posting rate for a game. You either post a lot compared to everyone else or not enough compared to everyone else. I hate when a game has unrealistic posting expectations... I can usually post fairly regularly, but when the DM expects me to post several times per day; every day; without any consideration of real life, that's not fun, and it makes the game feel more like a job.

5) A consistant posting rate is one thing. Having equal opportunity for DM driven and player driven story is another. Beyond that, just be consistant with the rules, offer a game that I'm interested in, and use a system which is more open ended than it is linear.