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09:49, 29th March 2024 (GMT+0)

First come, first served....

Posted by Jarodemo
Jarodemo
member, 790 posts
My hovercraft
is full of eels
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 13:04
  • msg #1

First come, first served....

I have seen a few games recently that have been advertising for new players on a first come, first served basis. IMHO that's fine if you are selling coffee or suchlike, but when seeking players for a game surely you want good people, not the first couple of jokers that happen to see your advert and respond.

My question is why would a GM do this and risk killing the game they are setting up? Why not do some quality control? Why not invest in good players who might actually contribute to the game?

Also, as a potential player would this put you off from even RTJing, knowing that you risk joining a game where the GM is just accepting anyone rather than good people?

Am I wrong? Are there good examples of games that have flourished on a FCFS basis?

Thoughts...?
willvr
member, 655 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 13:48
  • msg #2

Re: First come, first served....

I dunno. I think there might be too much effort spent on getting 'the right person' when writing samples really don't tell you a lot. I don't go first come, best served myself, but I don't rely on writing samples; I look at concepts. There's no guarantee of who I get will be good; and there've been some mistakes made; but in the end I end up with a good group.

Which is generally how games work in PbP I think. You struggle along with having to replace players for a while; and then you get a good group together.

I personally, hate the competitive nature of the RTJs of 'quality control'. I think you're going to turn away good, but inexperienced players; and doesn't help you to encourage the next generation of gamers.
Shiv
member, 412 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 13:49
  • msg #3

Re: First come, first served....

I've seen games with extremely stringent RTJ requirements; stuff like 10,000 word back stories and references from other RPOL users that fell apart before they even started.  I see no problem with first come, first serve as the likelihood of it being a good game is at least equal to games with Elitist requirements.
Egleris
member, 126 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 14:02
  • msg #4

Re: First come, first served....


It would depend, I think, on the type of game a GM wants; the first people to ask are likely to be ones who have a very strong enthusiasm for the game concept you're presenting, for whatever reason made them post so fast.

And it doesn't necessarily means those players are ones that will lose interested quickly either - the first game I ever joined here was on a "first come, first served" basis, and it went on for over 15'000 posts with those very same first three players who joined it.

I wouldn't personally use that particular method for new players, myself - I prefer to select ones who give me a solid character concept, like willvr says - but that's a matter of taste (I prefer peole invested enough in their characters to want to play them out). If one wants to start a game quickly and the tone of the game requires players who are strongly enthusiast about it, then taking the ones who joined it the fastest might be best.

TLDR: RTJ format is just another tool to tailor your game with - each type has its uses.
PbPguy
member, 5 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 14:23
  • msg #5

Re: First come, first served....

I won't even RTJ a game that wants a writing sample.
Tileira
member, 500 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 14:28
  • msg #6

Re: First come, first served....

I don't think I've ever seen a game advertised that way either. I've seen games advertised as not first-come.

I would never run a game on first come, first served. That said, if I have 4 spaces and feel 2/6 applicants fit, I don't generally wait around before adding those two.


I don't ask for a lot in RTJs anymore. I find the more 'rules' and 'guidelines' a game has for RTJs, the more it puts people off submitting them. I just filter out afterward.

But I do generally expect an RTJ to contain a proper character concept summary (more than 3 sentences), to show that you've looked at the game info at least briefly, and to show interest.

But you don't even have to do that much, because if I feel something is missing I will ask. It's when you don't respond to the PMs with anything resembling interest or enthusiasm that I cross you off the list. (Or if you stumble on the unwritten Don'ts).
truemane
member, 1963 posts
Firing magic missles at
the darkness!
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 16:49
  • msg #7

Re: First come, first served....

Shiv:
...games with Elitist requirements.


That's not at all fair. Asking for [whatever] as an RTJ doesn't mean anyone is or isn't Elitist. It just means that they want players willing and able to do [whatever]. And anyone not able or willing should look elsewhere. No snap moral judgments required.

I tend to run very specific games with very specific stories and very specific tones. I try my best to be very clear about what, exactly, I'm trying to do and how I plan to go about it. I've found that, most of the time, being very upfront about my plans and vision tends to attract players into whatever it is I'm doing.

I would never go FCFS. I need some sense of what kind of player they are before I can know if I want to tell that story with them. And even a short RTJ can tell you a lot. I've only ever ignored my instincts twice in all my Rpol days, and I've only ever had two players problematic enough to ask them to leave a game.

And yes, lots of my games fall apart for various reasons. Most games on Rpol fall apart for various reasons.

But whichever way you do it, player selection is essentially a crap-shoot.
Shiv
member, 413 posts
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 17:15
  • msg #8

Re: First come, first served....

truemane:
Shiv:
...games with Elitist requirements.



And yes, lots of my games fall apart for various reasons. Most games on Rpol fall apart for various reasons.

But whichever way you do it, player selection is essentially a crap-shoot.


Which of course was my point.  I wasn't judging GMs for having Elite requirements.  GMs are free to decide what is or isn't important to them.  What they think makes for the best group, etc...

Its just been in my experience that, in the long run, it doesn't seem to matter one way or another.
CosmicGamer
member, 96 posts
Traveller RPG (Mongoose)
Tue 7 Apr 2015
at 17:30
  • msg #9

Re: First come, first served....

I don't advertise as "first come first serve".  I thought it was implied and to me the logical method of processing requests because I do process rtj's in a fifo like que but that does not mean I don't have criteria for joining and pass on some people that are not a good fit for the game.

If you get 50, 100, 200 applicants, do you go through every single one of them to pick the best? Work backwards from the most recent request to the first?  Check them randomly until you fill all your player "slots" and ignore the rest?

First come first serve games may be open to beginners.  Let them join and start working on a character before dismissing them out of hand.  Nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps "first come first serve" is a nicety so that the GM need not get into a confrontational back and forth with someone regarding rejecting them.  They can simply just say the game is already full.

EDIT: For full disclosure, I have only started one game as a GM on this site.  Much of my experience is from elsewhere.
This message was last edited by the user at 17:40, Tue 07 Apr 2015.
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