Where is all my time?
This year I've played in 2 roleplaying games that my battered memory can recall. One was at Kapcon and was a Best Friends Lord of the Rings parody. The other was a game of Zombie Cinema. I think that brings my total hours spent roleplaying in 2009 to about 4.
What else have I been doing? Stuff. Other important stuff.
Like a number of other gamers of my generation I've started a family. This has pushed me even further in the direction I had been tending, of preferring high impact one-off games to campaigns. I still really enjoy games when I make* the time to play them but that's an infrequent thing. I want to jump into a one-off with both feet and rock out from start to finish, doing something I haven't done before. It's pretty much a recipe for indie gaming enthusiasm. It also makes me expect a lot from the games I do play in. I want to load story significance into every scene and take risks and unexpected turns from the get go. I don't have time to plod through the satisfying journey of character enhancement. I don't have time to play rehashes of games I've played before. I need NEW and FULL ON gaming in intense bursts.
This has, in theory, made me a less considerate player. I'm willing to mess with other players if it gives the story a kick in the pants. I will throw my character into mortal peril without worrying about the consequences. I will roll with my shit off safety.
If I ever make the time to actually play :-)
*I firmly believe there's a difference between 'wanting to find time' and 'making time'. To me one is an idle desire, the other is an action. I could spend my whole life wanting to find time to do stuff, but unless I *make* time to do it all I'll have is a string of missed opportunities hidden behind all the stuff that otherwise fills up my time. At the moment I'm making time to write, to watch a lot of TV shows, and spend a lot of time with my family. I'm choosing to make time for things other than gaming.
What else have I been doing? Stuff. Other important stuff.
Like a number of other gamers of my generation I've started a family. This has pushed me even further in the direction I had been tending, of preferring high impact one-off games to campaigns. I still really enjoy games when I make* the time to play them but that's an infrequent thing. I want to jump into a one-off with both feet and rock out from start to finish, doing something I haven't done before. It's pretty much a recipe for indie gaming enthusiasm. It also makes me expect a lot from the games I do play in. I want to load story significance into every scene and take risks and unexpected turns from the get go. I don't have time to plod through the satisfying journey of character enhancement. I don't have time to play rehashes of games I've played before. I need NEW and FULL ON gaming in intense bursts.
This has, in theory, made me a less considerate player. I'm willing to mess with other players if it gives the story a kick in the pants. I will throw my character into mortal peril without worrying about the consequences. I will roll with my shit off safety.
If I ever make the time to actually play :-)
*I firmly believe there's a difference between 'wanting to find time' and 'making time'. To me one is an idle desire, the other is an action. I could spend my whole life wanting to find time to do stuff, but unless I *make* time to do it all I'll have is a string of missed opportunities hidden behind all the stuff that otherwise fills up my time. At the moment I'm making time to write, to watch a lot of TV shows, and spend a lot of time with my family. I'm choosing to make time for things other than gaming.