Re: Shadowrun in settings like Redmond Barrens: Mature or Adult?
well, a couple of ways. the first is that players tend to all approach games with different expectations, different experiences with previous games. And while trying to flesh out YOUR game's expectations before the game starts is a must, you can never really cover everything. So often you end up with players expecting something different than what they get. That tends to lead to players slowing in posting rate, 'waiting their turn' instead of taking initiative, or just outright disappearing.
I've also never had a good experience with a player decker being able to keep up with a game. and because of that, it leads to players expecting all sorts of data from their decker, and either having to wait long enough for it that the game begins to stall, or it becomes an NPC decker, in which case it really makes it hard to balance what the team should be able to accomplish in the matrix with players expecting more.
third, players on RPOL tend to try to design the most effective character they possibly can, often pushing the limits of the system they play. But that leads to players all trying to max out numbers in a few areas, while basically not caring about trying to get the game running well. They are often more focused on just how much damage they can do, or how they can bypass the next hazard with their cool character gimmick, instead of worrying about whether or not the team as a whole is actually working together, or if the game is running smoothly.
that last one isn't just shadowrun, I've seen it in D&D and other number heavy systems. But in shadowrun, it often leads to players just walking through, on a rail shooter like was said above, waiting for their turn to roll their big dice pool instead of actually playing out a character in a story.
I'm sure much of this would be mitigated by finding a steady shadowrun group to play consistently on RPOL with, but I can't do that without trying to get a game running and moving forward.