Staff scrutiny during CGen

Ominous

I think the "what do you love, what do you hate, why are you here?" is all that you really need to get started. That's a really good summation of all of the important stuff. Maybe throw in a "describe your character in a caricatured few word title" sort of like what Arx does.

Thenomain

Alright, enough of my thoughts are pulled together to comment on this part.

@Auspice said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

What does your character love?

What does your character hate?

I often don't know. I play to find this out. If this creates a flat character that I can't engage with I don't think that this is the problem of the game or game staff. Someone can convince me that these two questions are critical for playing a character, but I will do a complete 180° on the third one:

Why did your character join the Stargate program?

Or as @Ominous summarizes: "Why are you here?"

If that question can't even be answered in some form or another, then how does anyone know what your character's engagement with the game will be?

Sometimes you do have to convince those around you that you're going to be a responsible citizen. Love this question. A+, would answer again.

Arkandel

@Thenomain said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

I often don't know. I play to find this out. If this creates a flat character that I can't engage with I don't think that this is the problem of the game or game staff. Someone can convince me that these two questions are critical for playing a character, but I will do a complete 180° on the third one:

I don't think it's critical that you have an answer. I think it is critical you are aware of the fact yourself.

For example "Joe is a regular person. He wants to make a decent living, get good dental and perhaps retire in his forties to focus on his real passion which is gardening. He was never exceptional at anything but decent at a lot of things so since the paycheck for this Stargate program came with great benefits he decided to join it".

Then you have this guy who's not trying to save the world and who might become a walking redshirt, an unwitting hero, an incompetent coward or anything in between determined by what happens to him after play begins; you don't know how he'll react or turn out any more than he does.

As staff I'd have no issues with this as long as I knew you knew. For example if you're going to play him as a Man in Black who's unphased and regularly tackles existential threats like it's another Tuesday at the office I'd like to be aware of it since that may or not fit the kind of game I have in mind, but a blank slate is fine.

Auspice

The reason we ask these on SGM is that we use them. We take them into consideration.

You're also welcome to update them later on.

If your character just really really love fishing, cool.
If they have a deep, abiding hatred for Chevy and everything related to the brand because it was a Chevy that done killed their father late that Winter night in '88 when a driver came down the mountain road and the brakes went out due to an unreported fault in the system....well.

Thenomain

@Arkandel

"What is your character concept?"

I was going to mention this as the other question I love as being a to-the-point way to get an early gauge on a character that is—and let's not ignore this point—not yours on a game—and this is also important—that is.

So keeping the questions as short jumping-off points is amazing.

Ganymede

@Arkandel said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

"Joe is a regular person. He wants to make a decent living, get good dental and perhaps retire in his forties to focus on his real passion which is gardening. He was never exceptional at anything but decent at a lot of things so since the paycheck for this Stargate program came with great benefits he decided to join it".

Candace wanted to make a decent living, but she didn't have any marketable skills. One bad decision led to another, and life eventually deposited her into a strip club outside of Madison, Wisconsin. On a cold Saturday in January, she happened to give a dance to an engineer that found her enrapturing. He eventually hired her into his firm as a secretary-with-benefits, where she learned how to juggle the personalities of all of the eccentric brainiacs she ridiculed in high school. After her love child made it into college, she left the firm to join the Stargate program as a personnel specialist.

The Sands

@Lotherio said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

If a player makes some concept that infringes on others fun, and the others stop playing with them, and then they do not have fun ... then staff failed to ensure the player has a good time.

This makes a couple of assumptions that I don't think are safe;

Firstly, a player could make a concept that ruins the fun of a group of players but which leave enough people unaffected that the person going through CG continues to be able to have fun. As an example, some WoD super-mage who is constructed around the driving goal of casting a spell that will wipe out all the vampires in the city. They'll still have the other mages, werewolves, sorcerers, strippers, etc. to play with but the concept of a character being made to kill off a substantial portion of the game should have gotten nipped-in-the-bud during CG.

Second, it ignores that the player could just be a troll. People want to stop playing with me? That's just too damn bad. I'll figure out how to pretzel the rules so they can't escape from me. What? I'm going to feel bad that I'm chasing them out of scenes? That's the whole idea for a troll.

Thenomain

@The-Sands

I try to focus on what's "good for the game" rather than "good for the player". It does leave a lot of vague and abusable nonsense, but it also puts the focus on maximizing the fun of the game which is often phrased as:

The job of staff is to facilitate fun.

Not guarantee, not provide, but facilitate. Make sure all the conditions are in place so that fun can be had. If fun isn't being had, it's up to them to decide what to do next.

It also insulates staff against the idea that if an individual isn't having fun it's up to staff to fix this. If it's an indication of bigger problems staff should probably pay attention, if it's a response to a plot staff is running then they should also probably pay some attention, but one-on-one it's not a critical duty of staff.

It's my personal philosophy that if everyone does what they can for the nebulous being I call The Game, then chances for fun is broadened on more shoulders and more people are there and willing to, wait for it:

@Ghost said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

Make sure everyone is playing the same game.

Ominous

@Thenomain said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

@Auspice said in Staff scrutiny during CGen:

What does your character love?

What does your character hate?

I often don't know. I play to find this out. If this creates a flat character that I can't engage with I don't think that this is the problem of the game or game staff. Someone can convince me that these two questions are critical for playing a character, but I will do a complete 180° on the third one:

It doesn't have to be an all-encompassing love or hate. It can be a like and dislike.

Bob likes food, but hates alcohol.

Just something that shows you have somewhat of an idea of the character and a direction you are going to head in.

Thenomain

@Ominous

If staff has questions about my character’s direction that are important to the game, then they should ask them.

Otherwise I would like a chance to play my character first and make those discoveries on my own.

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