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On Expectations
by Dariel Quiogue... My other thought, which in fairness I must offer in contrast to the previous article, is that we sometimes game with those whose expectations are not in line with ours.
Some gamers play simply to amuse themselves, or to be amused. Some play because their significant other is also playing. Some play for the heady rush of vicariously performing feats you only see in the movies. In a recent game of Gamma World - which by the way was our April Fools' Day game - we actually played, deliberately, in a manner that got all our characters killed (and had great fun doing so).
For myself, as a rule, I like crafting and playing well-defined characters that are a colorful part of the game world. I like crafting characters that fit very well into their milieu, I like setting the details of a fictional personality and bringing that out in play, and most of all I like being part of and contributing to an exciting story. You could say I like characters and adventures that could have been in a good novel or movie.
However, let me be the first to say that I do *not* believe this is any kind of One True Way of gaming. Hell no! I've enjoyed creating combat monsters to kick butt with, and one of my most enjoyable characters to date was a drunken monk whose density would've impressed a neutron star. But in general, I do take a serious approach to roleplaying, because that's what I enjoy most. With this in mind, I come to a game with certain expectations, and whether those expectations are met or not will make or break my fun for the evening.
But what happens when other players, or more importantly, your GM, has totally *different* aims and expectations?
In a previous article, I brought up as an example an actual instance in a game in which I was very disappointed in the GM for not taking my character's background into consideration; looking back, however, I must admit that the two of us had very different aims and expectations for that game. Our GM wanted nothing more than to run a typical dungeon crawl (we were using a commercial module); I wanted to be part of a story that could have been written by a Robert E Howard or a Tolkien. An utter mismatch if ever there was one, and to a certain extent, my fault as well.
Had we both made our expectations plain, we might have found a means to meet halfway. It's an easy enough thing to do.
Looking back, I must say that this and related experiences reinforce the need for players and GM's to talk well before starting a new game or more importantly, a new campaign. It's a player's right, and a GM's duty, to give out information on the theme and setting of the adventure, even if it's just a dungeon crawl with generic characters. It is important for players to know what kinds of characters are expected from them, and how the GM intends to play the game - serious, wacky, grim, angsty, and so on - because when mismatches occur everyone's enjoyment is jeopardized.
With many of us "old boys" having less and less time for gaming (whether it be because of our jobs or the lack of one ^_^), it's our responsibility to ourselves to make sure our games can make up in quality what they lack in quantity.
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