Why so few Play by Post Players?

[Leitz]

We have a Play by Post (PbP) section and a fairly wide spread audience. Flykiller and atpollard are running games but there seems to be few players. On the flip side, other forums have dozens to hundreds of games going.

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

 

[ffilz]

We have a Play by Post (PbP) section and a fairly wide spread audience. Flykiller and atpollard are running games but there seems to be few players. On the flip side, other forums have dozens to hundreds of games going.

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

I run play by post gaming on three platforms (OD&D on two of them, Traveller on all three). Some reasons I use those platforms:

A big one, each platform gives me as a GM, a sub-forum with moderator privileges (for free). This actually is a huge one, I played in a short lived Mongoose Traveller game on a fourth forum where there was just one sub-forum for play by post. I was worried that the threads would get lost though the game didn't last long enough and there ended up only one other active PbP on the same forum. I see we do have individual game sub-forums here, but I don't know if you need a moot membership to get one.

For Traveller, each forum has had a visible set of players interested in non-3I Classic Traveller (while I know there are some such folks here, I also see a lot of posting in the non-3I Classic Traveller threads that feels like thread jacking - that to me makes this a less friendly place for non-3I Classic Traveller than the other sites).

This forum has a feature that is very frustrating to me. The site seemingly randomly decides I have read everything (and conversely, getting the top level of the forum to update and indicate a given sub-forum has all been read doesn't work). The result for me for PbP would likely be delays in responding and confusion as I miss a posting at the end of a page of posts because I got marked read even though I never saw it, and a new post got onto a new page. Heck even without a new page, I might still miss that there was a post above the latest new post that was currently unread for me.

Frank

 

[Leitz]

Hey Frank,

I think a Moot membership is required for your own sub-forum. Not sure though. I can see the use of that. Neither atpollard nor I really asked for one. It sort of helps as our games are set in atpollard's non-3I setting.

Not sure I follow your comment about non-3I stuff in the CT area. Can you expand? CT isn't necessarily 3I, if I understand correctly. Most of us try to keep our negative opinions of other game versions to ourselves. Or else we just steal as much as possible to improve our own games.

 

[jcrocker]

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

Time constraints. Gotta run.

 

[ShawnDriscoll]

We have a Play by Post (PbP) section and a fairly wide spread audience. Flykiller and atpollard are running games but there seems to be few players. On the flip side, other forums have dozens to hundreds of games going.

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

Other forums? I think you answered your own question. What do those forums do differently?

 

[Timerover51]

We have a Play by Post (PbP) section and a fairly wide spread audience. Flykiller and atpollard are running games but there seems to be few players. On the flip side, other forums have dozens to hundreds of games going.

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

I was in a Play by Post campaign here, and my character was doing nothing, with no possibility of doing anything. So I dropped out. I have not been interested in anything since.

 

[ffilz]

Hey Frank,

I think a Moot membership is required for your own sub-forum. Not sure though. I can see the use of that. Neither atpollard nor I really asked for one. It sort of helps as our games are set in atpollard's non-3I setting.

Not sure I follow your comment about non-3I stuff in the CT area. Can you expand? CT isn't necessarily 3I, if I understand correctly. Most of us try to keep our negative opinions of other game versions to ourselves. Or else we just steal as much as possible to improve our own games.

I've seen CT threads derailed, not all, but enough to cause frustration. On the other hand, Google Hangouts has been much friendlier.

I'm glad there is some non-3I play by post here (I do see that atpollard's game is just in a general PbP sub-forum, so would have the "find the relevant threads" issue that worried me about the forum I played in the short lived game in), but for myself there is partly a perception problem. However, my technical issue with how this site manages unread posts would be a barrier even if this site did feel friendly to me for a non-3I Classic Traveller game.

The sub-forum is actually a pretty big issue for me. I sticky relevant reference threads. I start new threads as the game progresses to break things up. I have OOC threads, and chargen threads, and stuff like that. Keeping track of all the threads without sub-forum (with moderator privilege so I can sticky things, split threads, and move posts between threads) would make my work a lot harder.

Frank

 

[ffilz]

I was in a Play by Post campaign here, and my character was doing nothing, with no possibility of doing anything. So I dropped out. I have not been interested in anything since.

Play by post can be agonizingly slow. It takes a dedicated GM and dedicated players. I played in an almost 10 year OD&D play by post campaign, so I know it's possible and can be fun over the long term.

Frank

 

[aramis]

Hey Frank,

I think a Moot membership is required for your own sub-forum. Not sure though. I can see the use of that. Neither atpollard nor I really asked for one. It sort of helps as our games are set in atpollard's non-3I setting.

Not sure I follow your comment about non-3I stuff in the CT area. Can you expand? CT isn't necessarily 3I, if I understand correctly. Most of us try to keep our negative opinions of other game versions to ourselves. Or else we just steal as much as possible to improve our own games.

People are welcome to run games in the general area. Some have. Subforums do require a moot membership.

 

[Spinward Scout]

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

I was in atpollard's PbP game for a while, but Life™ got in the way. Now I can't even make it out to the twice-a-month Pathfinder game at my FLGS anymore. But the paycheck I get is nice.

 

[khadaji2002]

I looked over the PbP game forum and didn't see any clear signs how to join a game, how to know a game was active and what games are recruiting. Otherwise I would have tried to join a game. So there's a perception issue, at least on my side. Some of us need clear signs "This Is How You Join Up".

 

[flykiller]

Some of us need clear signs "This Is How You Join Up"

post a reply or a pm of "yes, I'd like to play in (whatever the game is)." chargen/char-assignment can occur either in the ooc thread or in pm.

 

[Leitz]

I looked over the PbP game forum and didn't see any clear signs how to join a game, how to know a game was active and what games are recruiting. Otherwise I would have tried to join a game. So there's a perception issue, at least on my side. Some of us need clear signs "This Is How You Join Up".

First, I'll comment on your tagline: I used that to start a position paper at work one time. Didn't last long in the job after that, but didn't realize how stressful the job was until they fired me. Painful, but good. Funny. :coffeegulp:

Understood on the protocol to join. In general we don't have a lot going on and don't do well at "advertising". The "last post" date is the best sign of activity, except that atpollard has been sick for weeks and I've been writing fiction and am now sick.

So, flykiller and atpollard are running games. My game is mostly a one on one for atpollard; he's a better DM. Flykiller always comes up with cool game ideas. The simplest way is to post or send them a note asking how to get in.

Note to those running games: Please work on advertising and intake.

 

[ffilz]

People are welcome to run games in the general area. Some have. Subforums do require a moot membership.

That's what I figured, and ultimately sensible.

I think it's worth understanding why there aren't more play by post games here, but it's also not necessarily something that needs to change. This forum has a definite value. Some find it more valuable than others, and that's totally fine. I am willing to offer my reasons for not running or playing PbP here. but I don't expect a change unless enough folks have similar reasons and the admins didn't intend for those things to be barriers.

Frank

 

[Cryton]

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

Can't speak for others, but I have NEVER liked PBP and will not play in them. I prefer to run in face to face games, and always have.

I personally believe that a combination of worldwide social media, Skype in games, gaming using one of the many online face to face tabletop gaming programs (such as Roll20) on platforms like Twitch, has all added up to literally make PBP games obsolete. You are able to game in groups that can have members from anywhere in the world that connects to the internet, at literally any time of the day that you have available. And you don't even have to leave your home. Instant gratification.

As to what can be done about it? Dunno.

~Cryton

 

[ffilz]

Can't speak for others, but I have NEVER liked PBP and will not play in them. I prefer to run in face to face games, and always have.

I personally believe that a combination of worldwide social media, Skype in games, gaming using one of the many online face to face tabletop gaming programs (such as Roll20) on platforms like Twitch, has all added up to literally make PBP games obsolete. You are able to game in groups that can have members from anywhere in the world that connects to the internet, at literally any time of the day that you have available. And you don't even have to leave your home. Instant gratification.

As to what can be done about it? Dunno.

~Cryton

Not true. I have been able to play via play by post for 10 years because I could slip in play time a few minutes at a time, through times when I could not have possibly kept up any sort of real time game schedule. I am now playing once a week real time via Roll20, however, I have had to skip the past several weeks because of conflicts. PbP has cruised along during this time...

Frank

 

[aramis]

Can't speak for others, but I have NEVER liked PBP and will not play in them. I prefer to run in face to face games, and always have.

I personally believe that a combination of worldwide social media, Skype in games, gaming using one of the many online face to face tabletop gaming programs (such as Roll20) on platforms like Twitch, has all added up to literally make PBP games obsolete. You are able to game in groups that can have members from anywhere in the world that connects to the internet, at literally any time of the day that you have available. And you don't even have to leave your home. Instant gratification.

As to what can be done about it? Dunno.

~Cryton

Obsolete? Hardly.
No longer the dominant alternative to FTF? certainly.

That Hunter didn't encourage it when it was? A business decision, because he was publishing one of the first commercial VTTs.

 

[Leitz]

Not true. I have been able to play via play by post for 10 years because I could slip in play time a few minutes at a time, through times when I could not have possibly kept up any sort of real time game schedule. I am now playing once a week real time via Roll20, however, I have had to skip the past several weeks because of conflicts. PbP has cruised along during this time...

Frank

I'm with Frank on this one. PbP let's me dwell on options and has provided a much richer gaming experience. It also means we can share the story with others.

The asynchronous nature of PbP means I don't have to wait on getting everyone together. Each of us adds their part and the game moves forward. In the last decade or so I've had no success finding a F2F or eF2F group. The PbP scene has given me years of fun and a few books of stories. At this point I don't really have a desire for F2F gaming.

I realize my preferences are my own. Happy to let others F2F game.

 

[Leitz]

That's what I figured, and ultimately sensible.

I think it's worth understanding why there aren't more play by post games here, but it's also not necessarily something that needs to change. This forum has a definite value. Some find it more valuable than others, and that's totally fine. I am willing to offer my reasons for not running or playing PbP here. but I don't expect a change unless enough folks have similar reasons and the admins didn't intend for those things to be barriers.

Frank

Have you tried using a Wiki in addition to the [IC] and [OOC] threads? In the games I've played on RPG. net we'd often have semi-static content on a wiki and the regular IC/OOC threads in the overall PbP forum. One game dealt with minister level characters in Romance of the Three Kingdoms China and we had a Google docs spreadsheet for domain finances.

 

[Blue Ghost]

We have a Play by Post (PbP) section and a fairly wide spread audience. Flykiller and atpollard are running games but there seems to be few players. On the flip side, other forums have dozens to hundreds of games going.

Why do people not join in PbP here and what can be done about it?

I started one called Dragon's Bane, where I was going to just shove the PCs into a D&D-ish environment, but it got sidetracked somehow. I tried rebooting it but one of the players didn't like the premise.

I started that thread because someone on this very forum between when it first opened in 2001 and 2004, or thereabouts, posted an experience he had with doing that very thing. And, admittedly, I had done so in the late 80s, though the results were never conclusive.

I'm not a D&D fan because unlike the supermajority of fantasy RPers, I've actually read Le Morte d'Arthur and the Canterbury Tales, as well as lots of other literature (Dover publications) on the period out of curiosity, and also research for a series I wanted to produce. And D&D, even though it's flatly based off European folklore, is so far off base on a lot of things regarding the medieval period, that I just shrug my shoulders at it. To me it smacks of someone wanting to be a scifi author but getting all their exposure to the genre via Star Wars. Still, the game, for a game that pioneered RPing as we know it, is fairly rich.

My whole concept was to pit guns and starships kind of guys against things like hordes of goblins, a rampaging troll, horse mounted bandits, and, as per the title, a dragon. I thought it would be really fun. It turned out not to be so.

*rant mode off*