Wake Up or Die! - Do I even need a GM?

[tomg]

I'm working on my first design - Wake Up or Die! about comatose people trying to keep from being consumed by otherworldly creatures.  The game is found here:  http://tomgurg.googlepages.com/home.
My question is - Do I really need a Game Moderator?
I'm leaning toward NO at this point because I can see how all the GM work could be done by the players as a group.  But I'm not sure. 
Your ideas and comments posted here or to tomgurg AT gmail DOT com are appreciated.
Thanks.
tomg

[whiteknife]

I think your link is broken.

[Vulpinoid]

I can't get it either...which is a shame because it sounds like an interesting notion.

V

[EdEdEd]

http://tomgurg.googlepages.com/home would be what tomg meant. I like the way scenes are created out of randomly selected dreams and nightmares; my worry about going GM-less would be that the players wouldn't have much cause to do anything besides mill around, trying to wake up.

I think if you played with the Turning mechanic a bit, that might be the answer; what if one or more characters begins already Turned, or very close to it? They get the job of making trouble for the other players. And who knows, maybe they can be uncorrupted by other folks; that puts a new wrinkle into it and forces players to interact.

That being said, I tend to prefer games with a GM, and I think this game would work better with one, as a face to represent the hive-mind creatures of the Dreamery. I feel like its a 'one side versus the other' sort of game, and that one way or another, you need a person to play the bad guy to preserve that.

[tomg]

Thanks for catching the broken link.  I'm not much with HTML and didn't recognize it was broken.

EdEdEd,
Thanks for the comments.  You id'ed one to the main issues I was having with the game - milling around potential.  Before your comment I was unable to put a face on it.  It was there but didn't gel until you stated it.  GMless would have the potential of boring. 
I like the idea of one person being nearer to Turned than the others and may use that.  I had the idea of 'rescuing or redemption' at one point.  I may revisit that.  Your are right that that may push the characters together.  That kind of hits what I was meaning with 'GM-less'.  One or all the players are the antagonist(s) at some point.  The game is definitely an us vs. them kind of game.  The creatures need a face.  I like how you put that.  I had lost sight of that in a sense. 
With the feedback from here and Story Games so far, I'm leaning toward a hybrid - GMless world building but GM/antagonist during play.
Thanks again,
tomg

[tomg]

I 'fixed' the link I think and also pdf'ed the game to make it easier to read.  If the original link is still broken hit hit EdEdEd's as it works.  I'm not a h/xtml savy and don't know why the link copied badly.
tomg

[whiteknife]

Very interesting idea. As for whether or not to have a GM, I think that if you want to focus more on interaction between the players more than fighting dream beasts, going GM-less may be a good route. If you do go GM-less then make sure to have plenty of ways to induce action to avoid boredom- things like random encounters, the impending death of one/all the characters, etc.

Anyways, I'm looking forward to more developments. Keep up the good work.

[tomg]

Whiteknife,
Thanks for taking a look.  I'm going with the hybrid for now.  I will playtest both paradigms and see which I like best.  I'll post updates as they happen.
Any problems with the link or the pdf?
tomg