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For me, it’s a sudden and sharp reality that I can’t do it on my own (or we can’t, if I speak for @Roadspike too). Most of the time, our games close because RL rears up (The 100 closed because of our spawn being born and TSS closed after Road’s mom died and we couldn’t kick it back to life after it floundered).
Right now, I can’t bring myself to open another game if it’s just Road and me running it; we need helpers. I’d feel like shit if we opened a game again and then couldn’t maintain it because RL isn’t always stable.
But Road knows how to make FS3 do almost anything; we’re good at theme-writing/world-building. Maybe one day we will either be able to hire in storytellers/game support and give that whole game-running thing another go.
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For me, it’s seeing the headache from OOC drama that staff are forced to deal with.
Like, it’s not enough that you need to code/update/write for a game, and generate excitement with players even when you yourself are drained from RL and don’t even feel like RPing, but you HAVE TO because otherwise you are letting down your players (to be clear, you’re not, but this is the mindset), and all of the other sacrifices you have to make for a game to run well.
But you also have to moderate fights on the junior high school level of maturity like “this character flirted with my IC boyfriend and so now I have to find a way to convince other players that she’s awful so people stop RPing with her”.
I just want to write compelling stories for players, and not have to be navigate cliques, OOC drama, mental health issues, etc.
So I stick to just writing up plotlines and running them as a player, and every once in a while inspiration hits for a campaign and I run it for 3-4 friends on Discord. That scratches my itch.
But yeah, dealing with the amped up drama of a bunch of people who never have to face the repercussion of what they do because the other people involved are on the other side of a keyboard? Not my circus, not my monkeys.
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I know my limitations. I can augment other peoples stories, but I fall on my face with creating or driving my own creations.
Forever an editor, not a writer.
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@Solstice said in What stops you from running a game?:
I know my limitations. I can augment other peoples stories, but I fall on my face with creating or driving my own creations.
Forever an editor, not a writer.
It’s like a Quentin Tarantino script doctor. I can’t write a script, but I can add punchy lines.
For me, it’s adding a plot twist.
Them: “I want the Barbarian Princess to go and try to convince the village to defeat the Evil Baron.”
Me: “What if the bartender is the Evil Baron’s bastard son and no one knew, and he harbors resentment and knows where the Baron’s secret tryst estate it?”
Invite me to your brainstorming sessions, but don’t ask me to start.
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@Solstice said in What stops you from running a game?:
Forever an editor, not a writer.
Feels like me also
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Honestly? Real Life. Also I suck as a headwiz. So a lack of time and ability.
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The realization that what I really want is an online tabletop I can run for a small group of folks (maybe 10-20) with scenes for individuals and small sub groups but with all the mush setup and ability for them to interact with each other and if desired running their own things outside of that. That’s more of enhanced tabletop rather than mush and easier and harder in many ways.
And the difficulty of converting my favorite setting to ares.
Also my time/energy is not great. And I don’t want to give up my mushing characters elsewhere, and I would probably need to do that at current energy levels and time allowances.
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@mietze said in What stops you from running a game?:
The realization that what I really want is an online tabletop I can run for a small group of folks (maybe 10-20) with scenes for individuals and small sub groups but with all the mush setup and ability for them to interact with each other and if desired running their own things outside of that. That’s more of enhanced tabletop rather than mush and easier and harder in many ways.
And the difficulty of converting my favorite setting to ares.
Also my time/energy is not great. And I don’t want to give up my mushing characters elsewhere, and I would probably need to do that at current energy levels and time allowances.
I honestly think more games like that would be great. Not all concepts are viable for a Big Huge MU*, but at the same time, there’s more potential for them than for just a tabletop game, and a lot of potential for ‘downtime’ activities and cross group activities.
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This is exactly my dream as well. A table top with extended downtime activities and stuff for players to sink their teeth into around the main campaign.
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I can’t code; my mental state bottoms out too regularly to be reliable for that kind of responsibility; and I am convinced I have no ideas anyone would like.
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Lack of coding skill is generally what holds up my making all sorts of game ideas I have a reality.
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T Tez moved this topic from Helping Hands on
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@icanbeyourmuse said in What stops you from running a game?:
Lack of coding skill is generally what holds up my making all sorts of game ideas I have a reality.
I can code a game.
I just don’t know enough people I trust to have a similar vision to mine well enough to /help/ me run it. Can’t run a game entirely by myself.
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The idea that I’d likely have to admin people I’ve played with and would wish into the cornfield if I could stops me.
I’ve tinkered with SO MANY engines that I actually consider that a hobby - I’m not a coder, but I can tinker and get results. The people part, though. Oof.
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Me every day as a game runner:
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Custom code. I have ideas but they’d require customization.
And I really lack the time (frankly, or willingness) at this stage in my life to invest into code development as well as all the other components running a game properly entails, in my opinion.
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I already replied to this thread once but here’s my Part 2: I’m not a good ST.
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Time. Like, I struggle to find enough time right now to play a single character. When I was unemployed this wasn’t an issue, but if I can’t even do one, writing plot, being NPC’s, storyrunning, coding and player conflict management are absolutely off the table as a load I can take on.
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In a more serious answer, coding in general. Ares has done a lot to remove a lot of the hard bits when it comes to coding, but the greatest limitation to Ares will always be how it’s not customized to all genres and themes of games.
This is not me dragging on Ares, I really like it and were it not for the system existing, I likely wouldn’t have a game at all. But it does tend to cater more toward modern or sci-fi genres. Which isn’t bad, it’s just not the easiest wield when you’re not aiming for either of those things.
Also, looking at your player numbers and getting lost in your own head about how you’re doing something wrong or not good enough. I think that’s a very easy trap to fall into. It very easy to fall into a hole when thinking about population numbers.
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I really want to run a tabletop/mush fusion. Unfortunately I can’t code for shit and the game theme I want (fading suns) doesn’t translate to ares very well which would be preferred platform. So I don’t have tools.
Also I have brain weasel worries that nobody would like it or want to participate.
which might be true for how I want to do it as it wouldn’t be really like the other FS games that have been out there.
