tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post2257986203874928546..comments2023-05-27T11:14:02.426-04:00Comments on Some Space to Think: The Business of GMingAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-40377380532978382622009-12-30T06:22:21.723-05:002009-12-30T06:22:21.723-05:00As a manager and a GM, I'm glad you brought th...As a manager and a GM, I'm glad you brought this up. The closest parallel I've found is not the GM as project manager or department manager, but as meeting manager. Find someone who can run a good meeting and watch how they do it.<br /><br />They get everyone involved, not letting the loud ones dominate the discussion.<br /><br />They ask the right questions to provoke the participants.<br /><br />They keep the discussion moving towards a resolution, a resolution that isn't always known beforehand.<br /><br />They keep people interested in the discussion.<br /><br />They give the spotlight to the experts in the relevant field.<br /><br />And so on. A game is something like a meeting to solve a problem. It needs the right participants, and the right person to get the best out of those participants.Andrew Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08300767315976122071noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-6999900007703563122009-12-25T16:47:14.910-05:002009-12-25T16:47:14.910-05:00I do think that business management theory is prob...I do think that business management theory is probably the wrong ethos to discuss good gamemastering in, although I can draw plenty of examples of bad gamemastering from bad management practice (such as a tendency to micromanage, failure to properly communicate, failure to listen, etal).<br /><br />Personally I find the best example to follow for best practice whilst gamemastering is that of a stage manager for a dramatic production, whose job is to ensure that the production flows smoothly.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-54717298679949189692009-12-25T12:12:24.936-05:002009-12-25T12:12:24.936-05:00It's funny. When I was applying for an ROTC sc...It's funny. When I was applying for an ROTC scholarship twenty-five years ago, the only real leadership experience I could point to was being a DM. I forget precisely what I told the interviewer--an Army officer in a Quonset hut at Fort Dix--but I know I mentioned that it had elements of teaching and getting people to work together.<br /><br />I wonder about relying on the management literature to give us the language to talk about the business of DMing, though. People are rightfully scornful of its tendency to rely on flavor-of-the-month buzzwords to hide the fact that life in organizations is about subordinating one's own interests to those of the organization. A rational army would run away, as Larry Niven once said--although I recognize that that's debatable.<br /><br />But I like the evolution away from GM-as-author/leader toward GM-as-coparticipant that's happening within the indie games community, and I'd like to see us adopt a theoretical language that mirrors rather than masks that.Bill Whitehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12824625064113090248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-27623114682645179512009-12-24T12:17:10.335-05:002009-12-24T12:17:10.335-05:00Hear hear!Hear hear!Kirby Vosburghhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11460798256196493562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-64441790797922006862009-12-24T11:05:06.352-05:002009-12-24T11:05:06.352-05:00The thing about it is that *SOME* people tend to r...The thing about it is that *SOME* people tend to respond to strong management.<br /><br />Some prefer it. Some hate it.<br /><br />Some have had wonderful managers (GMs) and trust that system. Some have had nothing but shit managers (GMs) who abuse them...and subsequently don't trust that system anymore.<br /><br />Lots of games have been developed with this in mind. While some games use GM fiat as their core, many have now been developed which almost eliminate GM fiat entirely.<br /><br />GM Fiat is based upon a system of trust. Once burned it's hard to go back. It's like a relationship.<br /><br />Managers/ GMs are people and no two are alike. Being burned by one doesn't mean you'll be burned by all of them. It's not a failure of the system, it's a failure of the individuals involved to trust (and uphold that trust).<br /><br />RPGs are ultimately social gatherings where we decide to use a system of trust (GM Fiat systems) or not. Neither is essentially right or wrong.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02269727660667017348noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-2927476747737326652009-12-24T10:22:59.996-05:002009-12-24T10:22:59.996-05:00The thing about it is that people tend to respond ...The thing about it is that people tend to respond to strong management - most especially the people being cynical and snide and dismissive of half-assed managers. Oh, they're still snide and cynical, especially at first, but they also tend to try to come in out of the cold when they begin to sense that maybe, possibly, there's something worthwhile over here. They just have a tendency to be, well, bluntly, skittish. This is really really true of folks who have been incredibly badly burned - and I think this is also a useful parallel. As a manager, all you can do with the situation is state, "Here, in plain English, is what we do and why. Here are my expectations of you. Here is what you may expect of me." Accept that they will not take you at face value at first. Then back it up: be consistent, follow through and communicate concisely and clearly until they start to gravitate to that sense of structure and purpose. It will not always be fun; it requires patience and being reasonable no matter what, but it tends to be worth it.Deborah Donoghuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13757575115119206182noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-38534847872500799932009-12-24T10:14:59.442-05:002009-12-24T10:14:59.442-05:00I think you have an excellent point. I think that ...I think you have an excellent point. I think that both GM'ing and managing are more art than science. And I agree that management has a better vocabulary for self-analysis than GM'ing. But note that there are several vocabularies for management discussions, not all of which are compatible.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18292659747606570506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-74580503956892003592009-12-24T10:14:15.089-05:002009-12-24T10:14:15.089-05:00I want more of this post.
For it is good.
I shal...I want more of this post.<br /><br />For it is good.<br /><br />I shall wait here while you write it.<br /><br />*twiddles thumbs, whistles*<br /><br />- c.Chuckhttp://www.terribleminds.com/ramblenoreply@blogger.com