Legends Ep 1 Comments
Follow the thread here: https://plus.google.com/u/0/110136358070289646661/posts/Txfr5c2QqJr
I'm mixed. I think the performance/audience oriented gaming has its place in helping promote the ideas of RPGing to a broader audience, but I find that shows like Critical Role and others focus sometimes too much on the actors and less on the story and RPG aspects, and are generally boring for me to watch.
I think a more interactive twist, similar to what we did a few years ago with the Adventurer's Guild, combined with the more theatrical approach in Legends Through Shadow, might be a better mix to engage the audience, while still focusing on the RPG aspects.
I really like players that "get into" their characters well, but also balance the RPG components too.
I think the DM is off to a great start, especially as a beginner DM, but I have also pointed out to him it takes years to find the right personal balance between DM types: http://spokanerpg.com/archives/game-master-types (somewhat tongue in cheek). :-)
He is spending a lot of time on world building, story building, technical aspects, etc. and cautioned him to keep a balance so he doesn't burn out, that he approach it as a marathon not a sprint.
He wanted a long-term campaign, and when I suggested he might want to nudge the group (especially the several players that have not been in RPG before) to get more on track and help them know what they should do, he has emphasized he wants a very sandbox approach to his campaign, so letting it unfold as it may.
I think this works great with experienced players, but there are only 2 in the group (myself included) with any real experience, and the rest have either a smattering or none.
I have known him a few years now, and if he doesn't give up in frustration/overwhelm (his channel numbers are not doing as well since he focused on TRPG instead of video games), he will figure it all out, and find that balance.
I have also invited him to come play in one of my groups again, to help him stay in touch as a player, and get a break as DM.
He clearly has a lot of great potential that just needs time to hone.
The technology issues interfere the most with the game play, as I discovered over the years (hosting games online through CUSeeMe reflectors back in the 90s onward, Google+ Hangouts, etc.), and he really needs a dedicated engineer to handle the tech issues, so he can focus on the already very multifaceted complexity of DMing. But we do what we can with the resources we have, and he is doing an admirable job.
