OMG! Your Game Is Killing Our Gaming Group!

I’ve figured it out… or I think I have. That’s right I’ve discovered the mystery why LARP groups always seem to degenerate into cesspools of embittered friends hating each other and burnt out storytellers wanting to kill friends they previously sought to entertain.

Curious?

Well, not only am I ready to share that secret with you but I’m also going to tell you how we’re using this to help make MGP the BEST place for MET gaming anywhere. BUT… we can’t do it alone. We need YOUR help!


THE SECRET
Let’s say for a moment that you and I are good friends. We LOVE hanging out together and we do it all the time. Now, let’s say for Christmas this year your significant other buys you the hottest new gaming system on the market. You treasure that game system. Whenever we hang out, we spend at least a little time talking about what you’ve done on the game system and your latest accomplishments so… yea, I know how very much this game system means to you.

Then, one afternoon I come by with my baseball bat and bash the crap out of it’s fragile plastic shell making it utterly unplayable EVER again. Tell me, how would that make you feel?

And then, to add insult to injury, if you asked me in a tear-filled (or rage-filled) voice “Dude, what the hell did you do that for” … if my response was, “Oh quite your whining, it’s just a piece of plastic.” TELL ME that I wouldn’t be in for a severe ass-kicking and probably wouldn’t ever hear from you again.

In Short the Secret Is: There is a fundamental flaw in the logic, that one can build a gaming group based around the idea of PVP game play and expect it to endure. Yes, maybe for a time the logic of “it’s just a game” will keep things going and maybe “they are my friends, and I love them more than I loved that game” will make people stick around for a while but, eventually people get tired of being the victim. Everyone has a breaking point for how much destruction of their shit they will allow their friends to commit.

But… how do we fix the problem when WOD creatures are particularly notorious for being selfish, ruthless, blood thirsty, power hungry, and dog-eat-dog type characters?

Keep reading and you’ll find out.



WHAT IS PVP?
This style of gaming is where one player tries very hard to build up the toughest, nastiest, most capable of surviving character that he or she can and actively (and here’s the key words) without regard for the other player’s desires, pit them against his or her fellow players’ characters in competition for resources and (more often than not) survival of the fittest competition. This sort of competition generally concludes with one of the two characters dying and in MET that means becoming unplayable.

Typically this style of gaming is successful in major war games which you may be familiar with (we won’t name names but if you haven’t heard of a game WORLD where the CRAFT of WAR is practiced, drop me a line and I’ll sell you a clue, cheap) but, in a game where your character doesn’t respawn after the ass-kickery is done… and one where your fellow combatants are your friends and know how much you love your character… this sort of game style has lasting and detrimental results to both the individual friendship and to the gaming group.



BUT DEE, VAMPIRE IS A CUT THROAT GAME – ISN’T IT?
I can hear some of you right now saying: “But Dee, Vampire is a game of politics and life and death. Stuff breaks, people die, and if you can’t handle that maturely then maybe you shouldn’t play vampire at all!”

Well, yes and no.

First off… yes. I do 110% agree with you that stuff breaks and people die in the world of darkness. Additionally, vampire is a game of politics and there is ZERO way to avoid vampires eventually (please read my “so you want to kill someone” blog) deciding to cut their losses with one another and end it in final death or utterly destroying each other’s love/joy/creations. These are the truths of the game and there is NO way to change that without fundamentally changing the game we all know and love.

However, there’s more than one way to respect your friends’ stuff without disregarding how the game is played.



SO, IF YOU AREN’T ASKING US TO CHANGE THE GAME – WHAT CAN WE DO?
Communicate – TALK to each other about your story.

For those of you who are from other LARP gaming groups I know how hard it is for you to do what I’m asking here. That’s to be expected. You were brought up in a game environment where you learned the hard way that if you talked to your friends about the story you wanted to tell… likely they’d try to steal it for themselves or destroy it. PVP mentality.

However, MGP isn’t just a LARP group. Here we practice Collaberative Storytelling … and to use smaller words: we work together to build the best story possible. Your readers/fans are your fellow site members. They WANT to see epic stories of good, evil, and gray. They WANT to experience those stories with you. They WANT a chance to be a hero, a villain, a sidekick… and the #1 most effective way to make that happen is to talk to each other about the stories you’re telling.

Want to share a story about love lost? Why make your lost lover an npc when it could be a player character? Or make a fellow player’s character the person who makes your character face the tough truths. Want to do a redemption storyline… ask someone to be that guy or girl who is going to help you out of the hole… or tempt you to stay down!



BUT DEE, I DON’T WANT TO TELL THE WHOLE STORY IN THE PLANNING OF IT!
No one does… and you don’t have to. Talk about the generalizations. Don’t give away everything on your sheet, don’t make the other person tell you exactly how they mean to come into your character’s life and do what you need them to do… but discuss the idea of where you want things to go. Let the other player have creative license to decide how to get you both there and touch base often to make sure you don’t stir off the agreed upon course.



HOW IS THAT GOING TO HELP?
Allow me a rather crass/tasteless analogy.

You meet me in a bar and decided I’m hot as hell and you’re totally going to score with me tonight. You follow me home, without even saying hi, and then you take me by force. Think I’m going to thank you for it? Obviously not… rape is a horrible crime of violation and no one likes having ANYTHING they didn’t agree to, forced on them… including someone’s character doing something dastardly to their own character.

On the flip side… let’s say I’m a kinky gal and I meet you in a bar and ask you to come by my house sometime and sneak in the window that I leave unlocked and “take” me… well, I think you get the point.

Bad things that happen because we asked for them = Entertainment.

Bad things that happen when we didn’t ask for it = Feelings of Victimization.

Coming to someone and saying, “Look I want to tell a story where my character eventually diablorizes someone who is a beloved member of the city… I’m willing to help your character become that person if you’re willing to, eventually, be my victim” isn’t going to guarantee they say yes… but it’s a hell of a lot more likely to keep your friend from feeling like you smashed his game system with a bat when you just do it without asking first.



BUT DEE – WHAT ABOUT META-GAMING!
Much like blogging, it’s a decision to put your story out there and it’s possible there will always be the one jerk out there who will try to abuse you. All the good blogging and sharing of information in the world won’t remove the fact that some people are just ass-hats. But, the benefits far out weigh the risks. Letting those couple annoying people ruin what could be AMAZING for you with dozens (or more) of other people, just isn’t practical.

Imagine not having to dread coming to a game based on the anticipation that doom from your friends is looming… or not having to feel stressed about hanging out after larp or in a chatroom based on who might be logged on (and I KNOW some of you have felt this way!) Imagine always eagerly joining the group and sharing your story without fear!

For some it’s something they may never feel comfortable doing because they will always link MET with their past larping experiences… and that’s unfortunate. There’s a lot to be gained by collaborative storytelling and PVE (player vs. environment) style play over PVP. I think if people gave it a try they’d find themselves happier, more satisfied with their experience in the community and honestly having more fun with their character play.

I hope you’ll join me in some collaborative storytelling in Werewolf and I look forward to surprising you and your friends in the Vampire Venue as you face the unknown… together.

Until Next Time!