Human Motivation and Gaming
In the June 2007 issue of Men's Health, I read that recent research in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) points to three basic needs that must be met to maximize motivation:
1. Autonomy - The choice to do it.
2. Competence - You know what you're doing or at least becoming better at it.
3. Relatedness - The act connects you in some other way to other people.
The RPG best practices that I've observed with "autonomy" include:
a) Choice of whether to play (given)
b) Influence on the outcome
c) Requirement to choose the kind of character you play
d) Requirement to craft your own background with some general guidance
e) Quick reinforcing pleasure/satisfaction (think about how addictive video games are) around goals
f) Manage expectations
This medium is necessarily slower than F2F gaming. While it certainly has its upsides, creating constant reinforcing pleasure/satisfaction, particilarly in reactive players, is a challenge. It has negatively affected every game I've played in or GM'd over the past seven years.
Because many people do not write well, "competence" can be daunting. Keeping activity action-oriented can defuse the competence gap, but leave those seeking more role-playing feeling like they've eaten hors d'oeuvres for weeks. The other side of this is that people who don't write well frequently don't converse in writing with the other players and become frustrated when their own skills don't allow them to solve a complex situation that requires teaming. It also means that when salient details are provided by the GM to less active players in the hope of promoting greater participation, those details are frequently not shared.
Players who are not active are necessarily disconnected from the other players. Encouraging personal interaction with real names, so that people become friends, can help.