Well the next game is tomorrow. I hope it goes better than the last. Seems like everyone had a decent time with last game. There were some technical errors and the like, but I think they rolled with it. I will attempt to do better with my story telling abilities this time so as to lessen the boredom that may occur because of the medium that is being used. I have solved the ship problem, instead of drawing a ship from scratch I just bought a picture set on roll20 the artist is a Gabriel Pickard. There are A LOT of amazing artists on this site that I will never be able to even come close to with my own stick figures. I am looking forward to the group getting to Anchorome. I know that I have to play through them going along the ocean and interacting with the Captain, and a potential to interact with sea creatures. I have to remember that the game is as much about the journey and what goes on in it as is the destination. And I have to remember that xp and things looted along the way will allow for more storied and interesting battles and dungeon crawls when they do occur. Hoping to show off some of the maps that I have created and use some of the charts that I have created for encounters.
The Medium (Roll20.net)
Using Roll20 or any online site that allows for group visuals changes the dynamic of a Table Top Game. On the one hand as I have mentioned it limits the social cues that the GM can pick up on from the players to determine what is going right, and what is going wrong. This can greatly affect the game, and from a players perspective it may feel weird having the GM asking if you’re having fun or changing things up based on the sound of your voice, when you may simply be distracted by non-game related things going on around you.
On the other hand the medium allows for better visuals, and I can instead describe the mood and the scene. This may allow for more of an encapsulating experience. Maps and things are great visuals to help with what I mentioned above. Again l can focus on the feel, and the mood, and the people in the scene instead of “there is a wooden crate to the left of the captain.” This also helps keep the story moving forward instead of having to recap where people are standing or where things are in the location.
But this can be true of any use of a visual aid, which many GM’s use when telling their story for a dungeon crawl to one extent or another, even when it is in person. Visual aids can have a disadvantage as well, in that it takes away from ad hoc creativity that I like about creating a story. This ad hoc creativity is important to me more so in a group that is in front of me; I can better read the group and see that this part of the story is taking too long, or that part needs to be stretched out. I am still in the process of learning these cues in an online game.
Well trying to keep these short and to the point so here we are at the end again.