Re-Igniting Playspiration
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How does one do it? I hate that I've become ambivalent toward a game/character I love and can neither pinpoint the reason for my ambivalence nor figure out a way to reverse the feeling and become passionate about playing again. Should I be Kondo-ing, or grit my teeth and keep trying? Is there some other tactic to consider?
Advice appreciated.
"If you stand for nothing Burr, what will you fall for?"
-- Hamilton: An American Musical -
@Cupcake said in Re-Igniting Playspiration:
How does one do it? I hate that I've become ambivalent toward a game/character I love and can neither pinpoint the reason for my ambivalence nor figure out a way to reverse the feeling and become passionate about playing again. Should I be Kondo-ing, or grit my teeth and keep trying? Is there some other tactic to consider?
Advice appreciated.
What did you used to like so much?
Do that. Ignore the other stuff.
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I would say never grit your teeth and keep trying; IME, that just makes it all worse. Playing becomes a chore, and it'll sink your interest faster. I have better luck with telling myself it's okay to have my inspiration lapse for a while and find entertainment in other avenues aside from that particular character, that particular game, or even MU*ing in general. Even if I don't disappear from the game, I'll just stop trying to kickstart myself for a while and do other stuff instead.
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I thoroughly agree with @Roz. Don't force yourself to RP someone you're not feeling. Fastest way to burn out. My advice would be to think of some element of the character you want to explore. Find a scenario to put them in that makes them new again. If nothing strikes, it's okay to take a break for a little bit until something does. The less pressure and more fun you can associate with them the better.
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The only thing that's ever worked for me is to get the inspiration for some new project to chase. I need for my characters to have tangible goals, something which drives them. Once I succeed at something if I don't come up with something else pdq, the chances for my shiny flash of inspiration involving a totally new and different character goes through the roof.
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I was feeling sort of meh on Rinel/Arx for no reason in particular, so I stopped logging in every day and started playing Gray Harbor.
Less than a week I had dozens of new and exciting ideas and am back to loving playing Rinel. Plus I've found a fun new MUSH.
Take a break. Doesn't have to be official. Just show up less. Your brain is fantastic at working on things while you are away from them. It'll give you something neat.
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chinprops
It's easier said than done to just step aside, so like, that's super good advice, but not actually always easy to do.
I'm feeling just... bad. Not ICly necessarily but all over. It means I can't play Kenna like I want to, and Norwood's kinda shrunk to just his family. (This is ALL ON ME, NOT ON ANY ONE ELSE. Laurent/Keaton/Everyone has been amazing and I'm so happy when you guys go "COME DO THIS THING.") I just wish I could reciprocate with ideas and such. So I keep hanging around (literally, I'm sleeping 12-15+ hours a day right now) hoping something will strike me or I'll be letting people down.
Like, I have the time to play, shouldn't I be doing it? How crappy is it that it's summer, and I'm 100% accessible, and I'm RPing LESS than I did at the height of getting my master's degree, in the middle of a multi-state move, or even state testing time?
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@Cupcake said in Re-Igniting Playspiration:
Should I be Kondo-ing, or grit my teeth and keep trying? Is there some other tactic to consider?
I wouldn't suggest muscling through it and gritting your teeth. That tends to result in resentment. Sometimes no matter how hard you beat the horse it won't Jesus.
My advice:
Step away. Make some tea. Ask yourself what you are really looking for in the hobby, if there was a time you had that, and how long it's been. Ask yourself if you currently feel like it's possible to get back to that. Is there hurt? Does the hobby make you feel negative things that dont feel good? (Self esteem, exclusion, unwanted).
You know you, and if you don't, knowing you will almost always help you find your way through times like these. When it comes to hobbies or social stuff it's not always a particular game or a person that is ruining it, but it can be tied more to unfulfillment of something that you may not be consciously aware of.
Example.
I was "forever GM" for my RL tabletop group for about 12 years. For 12 years I held this candle that I would get to PLAY in a Star Wars RPG game. For 12 years I kept running games my group loved and would always dangle this "okay who is running next?" carrot. No one ever bit. Eventually I said "after this one I'm done running, so if we want to keep playing one of you needs to step up." The group drifted apart rather than try to run, and I never got my SW game.
I was upset. After some tea and instrospection I realized that it wasn't because I never got my SW game, but because I had relied on my friends to give back and they never did.
Now, as a result, it wasn't a happy ending, but at least I am more aware that I need to seek a new gaming group rather than try another single year of beating my head against that wall. Unfortunate, but at least now I can own my feelings on the issue.
