Rewards other than XP
-
So, I think rewarding people on the game can really help morale and encourage behavior or things you want to see in your game culture.
Beside XP, what are some rewards that you have seen? How did they work, well or badly?
-
Social recognition is the prime motivator for the hobby, I'd say.
But that's a goal, not a method.
-
I like the +badges, which is such a trivial thing but is good fun and positivity. (I may beg some day for someone to post this code somewhere so more games can use it, or may try a wiki/game hybrid thing with this idea.)
I'm using a lot of incremental XP awards in some of the stuff I've been kicking around for a few years, but also looking at some other things that are a bit more ephemeral. I know @Sunny had some ideas that were XP-linked or similar that were used for something other than buying stats (but could be put toward special goals) that I hope she'll chime in with here as well.
Something I think might be really nice? Something that stores the +reccs (or whatever system a game is using along these lines) someone has rec'd by others, and can display them -- the text of them. This may be, code-wise, too huge a bear to do, but being about to +recc/list <name> and see what good things others have said and given thanks for is something I know I want to figure out how to do and would love to see more of on games in general. A lot of times, people who put a lot of effort into things do so somewhat invisibly -- or they feel these efforts are not really even known about, seen, or appreciated. Being able to list one's own would help to counter the latter a little, and this would also make it possible for others to see: hey, this is a player who regularly goes out of their way for others, that's really cool!
Recognition for someone's contributions, no matter who they are or how big or small that contribution is, is something I'm big on.
Cautions: I know that some of the things I'm looking at, I still need to hyper-scrutinize in terms of scale. Since I'm gonna guess you're asking for things to implement on FC, scale's a huge factor as is a game just starting vs. a game that's been running for a couple of years. Something that'd be great on a game from day one might be easy to implement if you do it later on a small game with a dozen players and mayeb 30 total characters, but it'll be harder to tuck in to a game with 20-35 players with 2-3 chars each and starts to take a lot of work and time. (Reno1 was like this, with the 1E -> 2E werewolf conversion. Ask me about my eyetic! Or don't, please? It's embarrassing.
) Similarly, some stuff will be easy on a small game where everyone can talk to staff about some custom thing or another in depth, and cook up something unique for them. Some things are just too big to really do past a certain point without it becoming more trouble than it's worth.Oh fucking well.
-
I in no way wish for social recognition.
+badges, if given out strictly, can be a useful way to communicate what you have done.
Noting a variety of positive traits such as:
able to run a short story in 4 hours
able to accommodate and challenge low IC skill
able to accommodate and challenge high IC skill
able to coordinate many interrelated scenes
good thematic presentation
good setting presentation
good portrayal of NPCs
able to make an on the spot call
able to herd players towards participation
integrates background, rp hooks, or other character specific details
patient with OOC questions
accepting of OOC criticism
steady, will complete series of sessions to complete storyI have a waggish sense of humor.
-
@surreality said in Rewards other than XP:
I like the +badges, which is such a trivial thing but is good fun and positivity. (I may beg some day for someone to post this code somewhere so more games can use it, or may try a wiki/game hybrid thing with this idea.)
I read the idea of video game-style achievements elsewhere recently, and it really appealed to me. They have no value but I love getting them, and I suspect this would translate to MU*ing well.
-
Oh! I forgot.
While we're on the topic of other rewards than XP, make sure to also not penalize people for doing cool things.
For example if you're on a +vote system make sure to allow STs to get voted even when their PCs aren't present. Or if there's an IC prestige system present make it so they don't miss out on gaining some for their characters while running the very scenes in which others are gaining it for theirs.
That sort of thing.
-
@Misadventure said in Rewards other than XP:
I in no way wish for social recognition.
I've known people who were turned off by getting badges. Sometimes the only joy it brings is to the person giving them.
Aether was masterful at its social recognition. The twice-a-year Aether Oscars, the public posting of "best reccs this month", so on. These focus on players honoring other players.
I do like @Misadventure's ideas of what would make solid achievements (which is surprising, since he and I usually disagree about social systems!); they are all things that a staffer may be impressed with and have everything to do with the hobby. "You are a good RPer." / "You went above and beyond in making everyone a part of this scene."
-
@Thenomain Back in the day, X-Men: End Times (XET) also had a sort of 'RP Oscars' and I always thought they were a blast.
Nominating for them also meant people went back and reviewed the last year's logs, which is always kinda cool.
-
@Three-Eyed-Crow The other big thing with this, for me, is that you get to see who came up with 'that thing you like'. It may be a custom power or a cool business on the grid or a rules change or piece of code that makes everything easier for everyone. It's a positive reminder that even if the IC of a place is heavy duty PvP (and there aren't a lot of those out there), the OOC side of things is a collaborative effort. I also really like to know who created that cool thing that made me go, "Oh, wow, I wish I had thought of that!" because I am that person who will page them and say, well, exactly that, and I know there are a lot of other folks who do the same. So something with crediting/etc. on that end can be so big, so dang big.
Also, so many games share content these days that it means you know who to ask if you may, since not everyone has a github, or a wiki of their crap with a 'use whatever templates you like' note or similar. I know I like to know if something helps somebody out, and wouldn't touch something I didn't have direct permission to use (or isn't up for public distribution with a notice to that end), but that's really a sideline. It is cool to know an idea was liked enough that it isn't just immediately helpful at that moment, but is helpful even outside its original context.
-
On an 'works on things to apply on IC/in game'scale:
- We did some 'free retest' rewards in some of the LARPs I ran, rather than XP. You could get a few of them and they were a thing that people liked. Turn in your card, get a 'breaks the normal retest rules' retest. It wasn't even abused in a 40 person LARP. Something like that, spend it to get a reroll on a fail or somesuc.
- Ties to the 'world' at large. This is more difficult to put together, especially on a larger game, but having 'spend this to be tied to <X> thing, guaranteed'. People will come out of the woodwork for this, but staff must be willing to back it. This one worked out really well, as it turned more into personal plot for the players ('Wait... you're an Alastor? Holy shit, how did THAT happen?' ''Well, youseewhathahappenwas...') in my experience.
On an OOC scale:
- We did a 'player review' thing at a few of the TF MU*s I was on; you did occasionally get people who were assats, but most of it was a nice recognition roulette. We did the same with staff.
- Cookies. Like +reccs or votes, but for OOC. They weren't spendable, and we used them to make announcements like 'So and so has reached 100 cookies!' Mostly a method of recognizing people who were playing and active. So I guess like +recc's?
- MUSHwide awards. Mostly a follow up from the old Transformers newsgroup awards, where you'd do an Oscars kinda voting thing, and it had a TF MU* section. It was always cool to see people throw up your character and the criteria for why they put you up there.
- Working with players to enable their plots on a larger scale. I'm not talking just an open PrP policy, I'm talking 'OK, you have this idea. I like it. What can I do to help you make it happen?' or something along those lines. In my Masquerade LARP, I had a Giovanni player who ended up getting invested in the Underworld. Around the time that the Sixth Great Maelstrom/end of the Underworld was going to happen. He was interested in it, so I went out of my way to look up Wraith stuff. And he turned it into plot not just for him but for many other characters who he roped into helping him out. This type of 'player support' from staff isn't, perhaps a 'reward' but is something that more trustworthy players should be allowed.
-
@Bobotron I like some of your ideas. Particularly, allowing players to have their plots run on a larger scale, or allowing them to have that cool story or mcguffin that they want. This is the sort of kudos that means more than a brief, fuzzy feeling one might get from reading a +recc. Coming off of some bitter experiences on mushes, I can honestly say that gratitude from staff could not mean less to me. A staff member's appreciation cannot be eaten, nor can it be spent. It would have been really cool to have a meaningful reward if you've legitimately earned one through contributing to the mush.
-
@bladesurfer said in Rewards other than XP:
@Thenomain Back in the day, X-Men: End Times (XET) also had a sort of 'RP Oscars' and I always thought they were a blast.
Nominating for them also meant people went back and reviewed the last year's logs, which is always kinda cool.
omfg it's a @bladesurfer.
