What Kind of a Gamer Am I?

[Chasuk]

I've read the glossary, and various articles filled with definitions, but I still haven't been able to divine what kind of a gamer I am; what gaming niche I occupy.

Here is my description:  I play for puzzles and storyline ONLY.  I prefer short and sweet sessions to interminable crusades.  Having said that, if a story honestly takes weeks or months to resolve, played over many several hour sessions, that's perfectly okay.  But it must end, and have an arc, to really float my boat.  The fewer opportunities to roll dice, the better.  Minimal combat.  Nary a rat swarm in sight.  No Rule Nazis invited to sessions where I will be playing, please.

What category of gamer am I?  I normally dislike labels, but this time I am openly seeking one!

[contracycle]

The standard response ton this sort of request is as follows: Please describe several moments of play that for you, personally, were high-points of what RPG Should Be.  The best experiences you have had.  What has happening, what you did, how you felt about it, what you thought was cool.  No diagnosis can occur without a description of your behaviour in actual play.

[Matt Machell]

The other standard response is: There aren't types of gamer, just types of creative agenda, of which a player may have a preference, but is certainly not defined by.

-Matt

[Nogusielkt]

That being said, however, it seems clear to me that you prefer the N in GNS.

[Alan]

That being said, however, it seems clear to me that you prefer the N in GNS.

That's jumping to a conclusion.  Let's hear what he has to say about actual play.

[lumpley]

Hi Chasuk, welcome to the Forge. I'm Vincent.

Let's start at the beginning, okay?

There are only two kinds of gamers: satisfied gamers and unsatisfied gamers.

Is your roleplaying consistently what you hope it will be?

If it isn't, then GNS can help you figure out a) what you're missing and b) how to get it.

If it is, then any kind of GNS "diagnosis" will be totally irrelevent to you. That's a good thing - it means you can set G,N and S aside and focus on what we're really accomplishing here.

-Vincent

[Chasuk]

The standard response ton this sort of request is as follows: Please describe several moments of play that for you, personally, were high-points of what RPG Should Be.  The best experiences you have had.  What has happening, what you did, how you felt about it, what you thought was cool.  No diagnosis can occur without a description of your behaviour in actual play.

Invariably, the high-points of any roleplay experience begin with a satisfying storyline being unveiled.  By satisfying, I mean a rich, complicated puzzle/mystery.  This puzzle/mystery has not been patly laid before us, but required a lot of persistent querying of publicans and hostile monks (or whatever NPC's exist in that particular adventure)  It continues when one of our party member notice strange hieroglyphics on the wall of a local abandoned mill, which seem to tie in with our mystery.  This might dictate visiting a library looking for ancient explanatory tomes, but it always eventually involves exploration of carefully designed dungeons, replete with traps, and hopefully labyrinthine.

.Ah!  Satisfaction!

[lumpley]

How often do you get such a high point? Often enough for you?

-Vincent

[Chasuk]

There are only two kinds of gamers: satisfied gamers and unsatisfied gamers.

Is your roleplaying consistently what you hope it will be?

Generally, it is enormously unsatisfying.  :-(

[Sydney Freedberg]

Nicely described; thanks.

Let me ask the next question, and see if we can nail down the source of this elusive satisfaction: This rich and complicated puzzle or mystery -- who made it up, and when? (Because, after all, this is imaginary; someone imagined it).
a) Did the gamemaster come up with every detail beforehand, and the satisfaction lies in seeing how all the pieces s/he gives you fit together (like classical music)? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body." Player 1: "I examine it." GM: "It's your brother, John!" Player 2: "I ask people about John." GM: "He had a shady past.")
b) Or are all of you suggesting things on the fly and improvizing, and the satisfaction lies in seeing how you can collectively invent something that makes sense of the pieces (like jazz)? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body!" Player 1: "Oh no, it's my brother, John!" Player 2: "Your brother's shady past has caught up to him!" GM: "Uh... yeah! Cool!")
c) Or something in between -- say, the gamemaster had a basic idea to start, but everyone can add details and the GM improvizes them into the tapestry? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body!" Player 1: "Is it my brother, John?" GM: "Uh -- yes!" {crosses out name on NPC character sheet, writes in "John") Player 2: "I investigate!" GM: "John had a shady past!")

[lumpley]

There are only two kinds of gamers: satisfied gamers and unsatisfied gamers.

Is your roleplaying consistently what you hope it will be?

Generally, it is enormously unsatisfying.  :-(

Oh man, that sucks.

Well, here's what you can do if you want us to try to help. Try whichever of these seems easier to you.

a) You can post in Actual Play your favorite roleplaying experience, a time when you got exactly what you were after. Say who your fellow players were, what their relationships were to one another, what game rules you were using. You don't need to tell us exactly what happened in character - instead, tell us as best you can exactly what happened in real life. Who said what happened? Who made the decisions? Who interpreted the dice? Stuff like that. (This is what Sydney's asking, as you can see.)

b) Or you can post in Actual Play a recent roleplaying experience that really sucked. Just the same: say who your fellow players were, what their relationships were to one another, what game rules you were using, what happened in real life. Especially, say who made the game go badly, how he or she did it, and what you wish he or she had done instead.

Then ask us for our take on what was really going on and read our replies with an open mind.

Make sense?

-Vincent

[Chasuk]

Let me ask the next question, and see if we can nail down the source of this elusive satisfaction: This rich and complicated puzzle or mystery -- who made it up, and when? (Because, after all, this is imaginary; someone imagined it).
a) Did the gamemaster come up with every detail beforehand, and the satisfaction lies in seeing how all the pieces s/he gives you fit together (like classical music)? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body." Player 1: "I examine it." GM: "It's your brother, John!" Player 2: "I ask people about John." GM: "He had a shady past.")
b) Or are all of you suggesting things on the fly and improvizing, and the satisfaction lies in seeing how you can collectively invent something that makes sense of the pieces (like jazz)? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body!" Player 1: "Oh no, it's my brother, John!" Player 2: "Your brother's shady past has caught up to him!" GM: "Uh... yeah! Cool!")
c) Or something in between -- say, the gamemaster had a basic idea to start, but everyone can add details and the GM improvizes them into the tapestry? (E.g. GM: "You find a dead body!" Player 1: "Is it my brother, John?" GM: "Uh -- yes!" {crosses out name on NPC character sheet, writes in "John") Player 2: "I investigate!" GM: "John had a shady past!")

I've enjoyed rich and complicated gaming experiences on more than one occasion.  Usually, it was a GM-devised adventure.  That answers the "who" and "when."  As for a), b), or c), I'd have to reply that I find option a) more satisfying, with some improvisation acceptable, but not as much as implied by option c).

Thanks for this, by the way.

[Chasuk]

a) You can post in Actual Play your favorite roleplaying experience, a time when you got exactly what you were after. Say who your fellow players were, what their relationships were to one another, what game rules you were using. You don't need to tell us exactly what happened in character - instead, tell us as best you can exactly what happened in real life. Who said what happened? Who made the decisions? Who interpreted the dice? Stuff like that. (This is what Sydney's asking, as you can see.)

b) Or you can post in Actual Play a recent roleplaying experience that really sucked. Just the same: say who your fellow players were, what their relationships were to one another, what game rules you were using, what happened in real life. Especially, say who made the game go badly, how he or she did it, and what you wish he or she had done instead.

Then ask us for our take on what was really going on and read our replies with an open mind.

Will do.  This thread is henceforth moving to Actual Play.

Thanks in advance!

[Sydney Freedberg]

Thanks; we'll follow with interest. (Do you have a link?)

Also, a note for the record: The whole thing about "GM preplans particular facts" vs "players improvise" vs "both" above (my a vs. b vs. c)? Nothing to do with GNS.