I think I'll avoid volunteering to be the driver... :)

I don't know about anyone else, but my games have been DEAD lately.  :(

(not this one)

Waiting a few days for a post has become the norm.  -_-
This message was last edited by the player at 20:29, Wed 26 Jan 2005.

That is too bad Cyan I could name at least fifteen games that either never made it off the ground or fizzled out since I started gaming so I know how you feel.
Which is why I applied to this one. I figured any game with as many posts as this one must be a winner!:)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:45, Wed 26 Jan 2005.

Games are finicky on RPOL. I've seen a lot of great games sputter out, either right away or down the road. Somehow, I seem to have gotten into some very good ones right now. Some are slow, but they're steady.

One of the games I run is close to sputtering out right now, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I'm used to games getting slow in between things, but this one is almost stopped right in the middle of an action sequence... swords clashing and cannon being aimed and all that and no one is posting...

I was hoping a couple new players would liven it up, but I'm finding that the game won't even progress enough to get them introduced-- lol....

I hate it when my games die. I always worry I'll get a reputation for running games that fail.

Yes, finicky games.  :)  I've been on Rpol for about five years now, and the same with Storycrafter (however long that one has been around).  I see the whole 'games pop up' and then die thing, over and over - fizzling out, as you put it.  That's good, I like that.  They arrive, there's a HUGE spate of long posts, then a trickle of short posts, then one player saying 'Hello?  Hello?' to the crickets.

*sigh*

It's just that the games I'm now in, I've been in for at least a year, sometimes much more (like this one).  They go through waves - up and down, up and down.  Right now, they're ALL on a down, all at the same time.  :(  Even the games I'm running on Storycrafter.  Odd.

Poot.

But I'm not going to start any new ones.  Last time this happened, I started one game and joined another three, only to have all my old games sudden regain their life.  :)  I think I'll just wait this one out, and have fun posting here.  :)

I'm sorry to hear about the dying game, Dorian.  I know how frustrating that can be.  I've had to boot out about 50% of my Middle-Earth game's players, simply because they vanished, slowed posting to once a month, sat on their rear and did nothing except try to go to the market at 3:00 in the morning or so (one player), stalked me, that sort of thing.  Now, after about 4 years of running the cursed game, I think I have a winning group.

I hope!  :)

And the same here, too!  Though it isn't 'my' group, just the people with whom I play....

I bet any game you run is a good one.  Don't worry about getting a rep for anything but that! :)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:52, Wed 26 Jan 2005.

Don't feel bad Dorian. I think most people who have experience with online gaming whether it be rpol, yahoo groups or something else know that  it is not  the sole fault of the GM of a game dies. Games often die just like you were saying when people stop posting..or RL gets in the way and a GM has to drop a game. I GM'd a game that I could no longer continue GM'ing due to medical problems. And anyone who has done it knows there is a world of difference betweem playing and GMing :)

That's exactly right - Listen to Serena, Dorian! :)

I start lots of games that fail for one reason or another:

Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. - Hope and Glory         - just ran out of steam.
Traveller - Profit Margin (Mk 1.)           - RL problems and loss of motivation.
Bushido - Legends of Nippon                 - players drifting away, some because the game was
                                              "too realistic" ie: I wouldn't let them play some animé
                                              style super ninja in a game set in a more "realistic"
                                              fantasy Japan.
Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. - Dead Chanel            - started the game for characters from another
                                              GM's game that folded after about a month.  Kept it
                                              running for a year or so, but it died.
GURPS - Daredevils, Aces, and Fallen Angels - Too many player disagreements, and not
                                              enough time put into it to make me want to keep going
                                              through it all.

I have (so far) run five games between PbW and here that I classify as successful, so about a 50/50 split.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:05, Thu 27 Jan 2005.

Thanks for the words, guys. I don't feel so bad now that I see Dworkin's list, lol.

I have one game that's going strong, but its only a few months old. That's my arena game (link to "Spectacles of Death") which is living up to its name, so far-- lol. Its been a pleasant surprise, actually. I didn't expect it to do so well.

I've had three others. One is losing steam, the other lost steam and the third is an exception. I took it over from a friend who was going dump it after getting some players (before even starting). I decided it wasn't my thing after a quick adventure and another player took it from me-- now I play in it and it's still going.


So, I'd feel good with a 50/50 record. I guess this motivates me to keep trying, though. :D  Otherwise, I was feeling like maybe just limiting myself to playing.


One thing I have learned is you have to deal with problem players. Otherwise, they'll drag your game down into the pits.

It's not much better as a player.  I have yet to GM anything on RPoL (though I confess to being sorely tempted).  I've made a couple of poor game choice decisions but even so my record would be 50/50 at best.  And that would be before counting the games I had to drop out of when I was travelling overseas.

I prefer GMing to playing any day.  I'm a control freak.  :p

I just like storytelling, so GM or player is fine.  I'd like to GM maybe a DnD or d20 Modern game (they're the rule-sets I know best at the moment).  But once I had a storyline thought out I think I'd get impatient waiting for the players to reach the next section.  The nature of RPoL and similar systems enforces a relatively slow pace even with committed players and a regular posting schedule.

Yeah... players are such slackers.  :p

I've bombed at my share of GMing attempts, so I can certainly relate. I find that I prefer being one of the flock instead of leading it. :P

Hmm... maybe that's why Aaron sucks as a leader. >P

I burned out as a GM years ago.  I had a tabletop RPG group and ran most of the games, ending up with a couple that ran for over four years each (one of them ran eight years, off and on).  Nobody else wanted to GM, so I quit.

Then I found online RPG.

I prefer playing right now, mainly because I'm still burned out at the GMing.  I run two games, and I'm very pleased with one (less pleased with another).  Like James, I'd say my success rate playing has been at best 50/50.  I have yet to 'finish' a game, which is fine with me (I was actually IN one of those games that bombed for James).

So it runs both ways with me.

And Good Morning!  And congrats, Aaron, for your 1000th post. I forgot to say that before.  :)

So, what about Serena's story?  I guess we should phone up Aaron - unless you want to tell the story twice, Serena.

Morning all.  :)

I think I like GMing best because it gives me a chance to play lots of different characters.  :)

Uncluding Paul Bunyan and Babe, apparantly.  :)

After a while I decided that, despite my love for telling the story, I also wanted to actually PLAY and make a difference.  :)

James came up with the name, I just added the imagery.  :)

Good stuff.  :)  More cross-world legends.

Morning to all..I think my latest question will answer we should ring him up Cyan:)

Morning all.

Good morning to you two! :)

Well, I'm ringing him.  :)  Now we need to wait for Dworkin to set up a private thread...assuming I get in touch with Aaron [dramatic music plays].

LOL :)

Or you could just PM him.  :p

I'm never certain if I'm allowed.  You know, the whole 'Aaron answers what he thinks is Cyan's Trump contact, and it turns out to be Brand on a rampage' thing....