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Post by chimerat on Jan 9, 2016 13:33:33 GMT
Hello!
I am thinking of putting up the Primetime Adventure game(s) I considered in another post, but I'm not certain if I should include the [Skype] tag.
I think it might be very helpful between Scenes since the game is supposed to allow the other Protagonists to pitch ideas to each other of where the story might go next, but I'm not sure if it might prove a distractions or delay (since not everyone can check Skype as easily as a forum).
This leads to the following questions (though feel free to pitch in more information if you have some)...
Has anyone had issues with using a Skype Chat for their games?
Has anyone found one absolutely invaluable to running the game?
Has anyone found it promotes Metagaming? (That's less a Primetime Adventures question, but it's still out there.)
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Post by Seya on Jan 9, 2016 13:45:19 GMT
I think the one big pro about Skype chats is that it keeps everybody who participates thinking about the game, and more often than not it means you don't have as long delays and people stay interested. I wouldn't use Skype as the only way to communicate about the future of the plot (an OOC thread is better for important information like that), but there are a number of campaigns it's been completely invaluable for. I really, really wish I'd thought of using Skype when my own game started during the summer, as right now as a GM it feels like I don't get much of a chance to connect to my players--and the game moves a lot slower than most because I find myself putting it as a lower priority than games where as a player I speak to my co-players and GMs OOC almost daily. Haven't had any issues with using Skype beyond the chats that don't actually have any conversations happening most of the time. Then they just function more or less like an OOC thread. Hope that helps.  |
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Post by Pandora on Jan 10, 2016 3:59:45 GMT
I know that sometimes people don't use Skype because it's usually used through the desktop or mobile client and people don't have a personal computer or smartphone they can reliably get on, but there is a browser version of Skype that people can use (currently in beta but it's not too shabby).
The other chat client that I love is Discord, which reminds me a little more of Teamspeak because you personally can voice chat if you want to or just use the text functionality (basically it's like an infinite voice call that people don't have to join but can still hear). Discord is also available with a browser, but there is also the option of a desktop or mobile client just like Skype. Oh, it also has Text-to-Speech. Best. Feature. Ever.
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Post by Kasumi on Jan 11, 2016 4:15:52 GMT
I've found that Skype is really, really useful for battles, because waiting three weeks to settle a fight is a bad thing. That requires everyone being in compatible time zones, but nothing kills a game quite like everyone getting bored from an unimportant fight that ran on too long. I also like that it doesn't give players all the time in the world to contemplate their actions, which reduces the number of people who act like they're tactical geniuses.
A Skype chat for the game is a good thing, too, for the reasons Seya said. I'll be honest, activity in the Skype chat is one of my deciding factors for picking out players. It's a good way to determine someone's energy and the group's chemistry.
I've also found that Skype's not... not very conducive towards good roleplaying (although PbP runs into the problem of people talking too long in a conversation, but that's a much more issue). It's a natural consequence of being effectively real-time.
Thus, I'm doing a mix of Skype-fighting and PbP-RPing in my Indigo League Challenge game, and will probably be doing the same thing for my future games.
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Post by chimerat on Jan 11, 2016 22:55:10 GMT
[...] I'll be honest, activity in the Skype chat is one of my deciding factors for picking out players. It's a good way to determine someone's energy and the group's chemistry. [..] That is unfortunate, as it means I won't be able to apply for your game (I can only check Skype once or twice a day as I have a full-time job with zero internet access while I'm there). The combat issue is interesting, but so long as people post once a day I'm not worried about that. (I also tend to let people run off into their own threads, though. |
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Post by chimerat on Jan 28, 2016 1:32:42 GMT
It's been nearly two weeks, but I've thought of a new question on this topic: Do you find that Skype threads tend to wander violently off topic?
I was in one recently where I'd log in to Players "RPing" their PCs undressing and/or making out, which was disturbing...
As I understand it, the site has rules against that sort of thing, but how does one prevent it in a Skype chat?
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Post by Pandora on Jan 28, 2016 2:47:14 GMT
I'm gonna address your post with two separate parts.
First, Skype chats wandering off-topic. If you have a very active group of players, it tends to happen. If you want a more focused chat that's just about the relevant campaign, then that's fine, but in my opinion you might as well have a regular forum OOC thread, since I think the most important pro of having a Skype chat is that players actually interact and talk with each other regularly, which also keeps the chat (and thus the campaign) fresh in the mind, and can lead to everyone becoming friends. As an personal example, a Skype chat that I joined for a PTU game nearly a year and a half ago has evolved into a chat for a very tight group of friends. It's about more than just PTU now, although that is still one thing we all share, but I digress.
Second, your particular example is something I find distasteful, especially if it's nowhere near what you signed up for. I would talk with the offenders and/or the GM first to try and settle it civilly, but that's still pretty uncalled for. As for how to prevent it, it's not like you can just stop people from doing it, but at the same time players shouldn't be bringing it into chats without express consent from all players anyway.
As an addendum, I'm not opposed to people RPing like that, but the key part here is that if someone wants to do that in a thread, Skype or otherwise, it's their responsibility to make sure that everyone's comfortable with it. If they go right ahead with antics like that without making sure and someone gets upset in one of my games, I would kick them out of the game so hard and wouldn't hesitate to report that.
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