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00:49, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Wanted players: silliness.

Posted by Andrew Wilson
bigbadron
moderator, 14766 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 20:21

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to Gaffer (msg # 35):

Opening the first item in the list will clear the red light off the main menu, which is what a lot of people are interested in doing - they don't care if the rest of the threads are marked unread, as long as that red number isn't ruining the feng shui of the main menu.  So just one click to clear the red light.
bigbadron
moderator, 14767 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 20:24

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to DarkLightHitomi (msg # 33):

I disagree on the potential usefulness of a counter.  It doesn't actually matter how many people look at the thread, all that matters is how many send an RtJ.  A thousand people reading the thread is worth nothing, if none of them apply to the game.

And the counter will not tell you whether they didn't apply because of your mass typos and poor grammar, or if the system is unpopular, or the game concept did not grab their attention, or if they don't like your GMing style (or were just opening the thread to clear the marker).
This message was last edited by the user at 20:29, Wed 28 Jan 2015.
Gaffer
member, 1225 posts
Ocoee FL
40 yrs of RPGs
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 20:27
  • msg #38

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to bigbadron (msg # 36):

That often doesn't work for me. Odd.
bigbadron
moderator, 14768 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 20:30

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

Might be a cookies thing.
Shiv
member, 383 posts
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 20:36
  • msg #40

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

Doesn't an Interest Check post in the Game Proposals, Input and Advice thread already act as a counter of sorts?

As Shannara mentioned a counter may lead to "false positives" or perhaps an idea about mild curiosity, but not real interest while a post in the Game Proposals, Input and Advice thread gives people the option to leave input, ask pertinent questions, or perhaps offer advice.  Anyone that leaves an answering post tells you more about interest than a simple "32 people looked at this post".
DarkLightHitomi
member, 860 posts
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 21:42
  • msg #41

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

The Game Proposals thread is where I think this would be most useful. A lot of games I see there don't have the system decided yet, and often wait to see what the players think before picking one.

Unlike the Players wanted section, Game proposals doesn't have a lot of preset information to search by. The proposed games might not be of a certain genre, system, or anything else that someone searching for games might look through. So in game proposals section, how do people decide whether to read a thread or not, by the title.

Personally I wouldn't see a counter as measuring interest, but rather it measures the opposite. It is a means to figure out that your proposal/advertisement is not grabbing their interest, which is a very important thing to know, even if you don't know why they aren't interested.

It would be helpful to know that if you haven't got any views, that might be why no one is responding to it, thus no need to give up hope on the concept just yet as no one has really seen the concept, try some patience first, then after a week, just either try changing the title if in the Game proposal section, or perhaps go make a thread on the Game proposal section asking for advice about it, so folks can tell you why they think no one is looking at it (such as "it is a rare system" "it is an uncommon genre" etc).

On the other hand, if you have lots of views but no one is indicating interest, that means you are likely better off dropping it altogether and trying some other concept.

Basically, if no one has seen your idea, then you need to go find people to look at it. If people have seen it, but give no word, then that says something about your concept.
Gaffer
member, 1226 posts
Ocoee FL
40 yrs of RPGs
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 21:43
  • msg #42

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to Shiv (msg # 40):

I think the idea is to see how many people might be looking at the post but not responding.Or looking at a P-W ad and not RTJing.
DarkLightHitomi
member, 861 posts
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 21:48
  • msg #43

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to Gaffer (msg # 42):

That is my understanding, and the piece of info I have often wanted to know.
icosahedron152
member, 421 posts
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 22:01
  • msg #44

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

gladiusdei:
Only if a game is a system I like will I bother to look at the title.

gaffer:
I never open anything in systems I don't want to play or freeform.


That seems to be a singularly self-limiting practice. In fact it never occurred to me that anyone would do that. Explains some of the lack of interest in my 'less usual' games, I suppose.

Each to his/her own, of course, but I take a look at anything and everything if I'm looking for a game. Always seeking new and interesting experiences. The way I see it, if I hadn't taken a chance on something new, I would never have got into gaming at all - and look at the fun I got out of that gamble...

What I don't open, though, are ads that simply say 'looking for players' or some such. I figure if GMs can't be bothered to say what their game is about, what does that suggest about their inventiveness and dedication in-game?

And I must admit to a (very short) blacklist of genres/rulesets/GMs that just don't interest me - 'been there, done that, didn't like it' types.
gladiusdei
member, 299 posts
Wed 28 Jan 2015
at 22:45
  • msg #45

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

your last sentence is my view of games like freeform and a few other rule sets.  So it's not as different from yours as you think.
Lord Caladin
member, 239 posts
It all about the journey
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 00:11
  • msg #46

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to DarkLightHitomi (msg # 41):

That was kind of what I was thinking :)
kouk
member, 528 posts
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 01:04
  • msg #47

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

I had taken it for granted that people will review the game system first, the GM name second, and the title last. That's always how I've looked for games.

Only if one is a master gamer that loves nearly all systems, or really wants to learn all systems, or is absolutely desperate for a specific concept will they look at the titles before the other information.

Or if they are trying to kill some time.


System is king. You could name your game "Game Name" and get a dozen or more applications as long as the system is popular and you illustrate a basic grasp of grammar and the rules in your ad.
This message was last edited by the user at 01:07, Thu 29 Jan 2015.
Undeadbob
member, 1844 posts
RPGA member #6004591
Just a little weird
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 01:25
  • msg #48

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

bigbadron:
Might be a cookies thing.

This is something that has been bugging me. I clicked that "accept cookies from rpol" when I joined up ten years ago. I assumed I would get my cookies at some point, but I have never got them,  so will their ever be cookies? Does mail just take a really long time from Australia? Will I never get my cookies, or is it one of those "when we get cookies, you get cookies" situations?
borderline_dnd
member, 322 posts
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 01:37
  • msg #49

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

The rats may have eaten the cookies while it was in route via cargo ship.

And for the record, I think that I like the button to remove the red more than I actually read any of the threads. But that's just me
This message was last edited by the user at 01:38, Thu 29 Jan 2015.
facemaker329
member, 6576 posts
Gaming for over 30
years, and counting!
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 04:03
  • msg #50

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

When I look through WP, I look first at systems.  If I see one that I know (and like), I'll look at the game (unless the headline is so jaw-droppingly uninspiring that it turns me off before I even read the game info...which doesn't happen often, but has happened.)

If I don't see any systems that catch my eye, then I'll look at the headlines, and see if anything catches my eye.  There are a few systems that, even with a catchy headline, I'll skip, just for the fact that what I know (or have heard) of that system means it's going to be an unwieldy rules-fest (I prefer my games rules-light).  If a headline catches my attention and the system doesn't turn me off, then I'll look at the ad.

I rarely look at GM names...unless it's a GM that I'm familiar with and really anticipate playing with (very short list).  I can only think of one GM (well, two, now) that I'd put on any sort of 'black list', but since I forgot to make note of their names, I've forgotten who they are, I'd have to recognize them by the way they're advertising their game.

With regards to a hypothetical counter--the only thing such a thing would tell me is that I've got a catchy headline.  It's not going to tell me if I'm getting no RTJs because of the system I chose, or if the style I used to write up my game info is off-putting, or if my setting is too obscure or over-the-top or in some other way turning off prospective players.  Knowing that people aren't looking at your ad doesn't help much, unless you know why they aren't looking, and there's not really any method for assessing that.  It could be anything from choosing an out-of-favor system to a poorly-written headline to a case of really bad timing (and everyone who'd be interested in your game is currently full-up on their list of games and not looking at ANY ads at the moment.)
icosahedron152
member, 422 posts
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 07:20
  • msg #51

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

Lol, looks like I'm the oddfish (again) for having a small blacklist rather than a small whitelist. <shrug> Never mind, been there more times than I can count. :)
kouk:
System is king. You could name your game "Game Name" and get a dozen or more applications as long as the system is popular and you illustrate a basic grasp of grammar and the rules in your ad.

Hmm. Yes, some people don't have to work for a living.

I just feel that I'm here to play fun RPGs, rather than being here to play X&Y. <Wanders off to watch the tumbleweeds drifting by.>
Jarodemo
member, 746 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 08:21
  • msg #52

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

As the Internet was invented by an Englishman can we please refer to cookies as biscuits from now on... thank you for your cooperation. :)
Gaffer
member, 1227 posts
Ocoee FL
40 yrs of RPGs
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 13:17
  • msg #53

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to Jarodemo (msg # 52):

I didn't know Al Gore is English.
truemane
member, 1937 posts
Firing magic missles at
the darkness!
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 14:02
  • msg #54

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

icosahedron152:
I just feel that I'm here to play fun RPGs, rather than being here to play X&Y.


I think everyone is here to play fun RPG's. And for some people, that does mean X&Y and for some people that means NOT X&Y and for most people it's some combination thereof.

I know lots of players who don't play freeform. Ever. And lots who only play freeform. I generally don't have the time to learn new systems willy-nilly, so any game that's a system I don't know I generally pass on.

With some exceptions, of course.

I think my experience mirrors others that I scroll through systems first, then titles. I check the GM names, but I pay way more attention to the ad itself.
Tileira
member, 467 posts
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 14:46
  • msg #55

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

I look at systems, then category, then ad titles, then GM name as an after thought because I don't remember that many.
But when it comes to systems, so long as it's not D&D/Pathfinder, GURPS or "Unknown" I'm not fussy.

If the ad title is misspelled or full of ~*~Exciting! Punk!tuation!~*~ I open the ad dubiously, but less so than "looking for players please".

After that it's a question of how well the ad persuades me I want to play with this GM.
bigbadron
moderator, 14769 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 14:56

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to truemane (msg # 54):

X&Y 2e was okay, after 3.2e it started to slide downhill.
Tileira
member, 468 posts
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 15:29
  • msg #57

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to bigbadron (msg # 56):

You should switch to XY-Z. The 1.7 errata just came out to fix the class balance issues for healers and provide further confusion clarification on magical items.
This message was last edited by the user at 15:31, Thu 29 Jan 2015.
truemane
member, 1938 posts
Firing magic missles at
the darkness!
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 15:38
  • msg #58

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to bigbadron (msg # 56):

Sorry, I'm a diehard fan of X&Y-Classic.

You're entitled to your opinion, of course, so long as you don't mind being wrong.
bigbadron
moderator, 14770 posts
He's big, he's bad,
but mostly he's Ron.
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 16:12

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

In reply to truemane (msg # 58):

I don't mind being wrong, because it's such a rare event when it happens.  :)
Lord Caladin
member, 240 posts
It all about the journey
Thu 29 Jan 2015
at 16:33
  • msg #60

Re: Wanted players: silliness.

Does X&Y-Classic use 'chits' and graph? lol JK

By the way for you young ins, that blue box original X&Y game :)

And if that went up in Players Wanted I think you may get some replies to the game requests, ....
Did I say that out loud.
This message was last edited by the user at 16:34, Thu 29 Jan 2015.
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