Also as John Morrow rightly points out (in a different context), sometimes it's only one person in the group who wants to try something new (even though he/she is having fun at the moment) and this clashes with what the rest of the group wants and it could lead to the group fragmenting.

I think one of the benefits of trying new things is that it changes the way you view the old games you played. Sometimes you realize that you can't go back and sometimes you gain a whole new level of appreciation for those games.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: BalbinusI regularly watch foreign films

Well that's quite easy for you, I'm sure, being a foreigner.

Quote from: David RAlso as John Morrow rightly points out (in a different context), sometimes it's only one person in the group who wants to try something new (even though he/she is having fun at the moment) and this clashes with what the rest of the group wants and it could lead to the group fragmenting.

I've sort of been there. I know Clash has been.

In my case I wasn't the only one that wanted "something new" but I was definately the most vocal. In truth everyone had at least a sense we were in a rut but fear/distrust of the new, the untrodden path, held most back from taking the step of finding something. Afterall it wasn't that we didn't have any fun at all, hey we were friends hanging out. *shrug* I was in the end the one that just say "screw this, I refuse to NOT play something new". And when coming up with something new was obviously a huge problem in finding a direction that everyone would go with....

So I went and found new people to play a new game with. Initially it was only the new 4th edition of Shadowrun, because I hadn't even been able to convince the others to make that jump from SR3 to SR4. And yeah, it took a couple weeks and it wasn't the only contributing factor but the whole group entirely blew up...but only gaming-wise. For a while.  Now the group is back together and we play different games.

Quote from: DwightI've sort of been there. I know Clash has been.

Keerect! I stood it for years, taking no for an answer, hoping that the rest would get tired of the same old same old. I slowly burnt out, and still haven't recovered fully - I may never. Finally I broke up the group and set up a new group. Now I'm happy.

-clash

Quote from: DwightIn truth everyone had at least a sense we were in a rut but fear/distrust of the new, the untrodden path, held most back from taking the step of finding something.

Apparently this was situation my current crew were in when I showed up. They only ever played TSR and later on certain d20 games. I was supposed to assume GMing duties until the group's GM got his groove back. Trying out new things was exactly what they needed to sustain interest in gaming. We still play mostly long term campaigns - campaigns which last a year or more - but we mix it up with other games and short term play.

On the other hand, I know of a group were things did not work out so well. The group wanted to try something else - nWoD to be specific - and one player was not too keen on the idea. Like my group they play once a week and this new campaign has taken off and now he finds that his gaming has been reduced to twice a month.

Needless to say he ain't a happy camper. It gets really messy because they are a close knit group of friends and they didn't try a new game because they thought they were in a rut, but just wanted to try something new for the sake of trying something new.

Poor chap.

Regards,
David R

Quote from: Caesar SlaadI think the biggest problem behind trying new things is Sturgeons Law. 90% of games are crap, or at best, provide limited novelty. As such, a game really has to make a meaningful effort to demonstrate it's not crap up front or no, it's really not worth the risk of consuming one of our precious and few gaming time slots.

QFT and shit.

I work 7 days a week and the people I game with work 5-6 days a week. When we get togetehr to game, we play - learning a new game which may or may not be craptastic takes up time that we would rather be spent in actual play. I think the only new games that we will be looking at is Riki-Tiki-Traveller and the Pathfinder RPG when they come out because we've been impressed enough by the playtest and previews to give them a try. I think its also important that both of those "new" games are actually variations/improvements of older games that we enjoy and not wholesale re-imaginings.

Quote from: DwightIn truth everyone had at least a sense we were in a rut but fear/distrust of the new, the untrodden path, held most back from taking the step of finding something.

I always wonder how much of it is GM burnout.  Mining a particular vein until the resource becomes valuable enough to exploit again in the future but with diminishing returns.  It's almost exploitive on the players part.  Deliver fun.  Every edition and every game is enough to inspire a GM again.  Watching a big vein of silver pass as we are trying to mine the very last bit of gold or platinum really can kill a GM out for the profit of fun.  The hard part is taking control of the new direction or allow someone else to and hope the others trust in you enough to follow.

Here's how I see it:

Trying new things is great, but "trying new things" isn't my hobby. "Gaming" is the hobby, and the "trying new things" part can really only happen in between campaigns when it's time to re-choose what to play.

So for example ... right now: I play in two weekly campaigns (with one online). I show up every week to DM people through this campaign or the other and they are there, with character sheets in hand, ready to play.

So if I show up and say "hey guys, lets Try something new" they are likely to be annoyed with me. If I show up to play and someone in the group says "Hey guys, I decided we should try something new", the rest of the group is bound to be annoyed with that guy as well. Because we are all set, ready to play, and here's this guy saying he wants to "try something new".

Now- the right way to do it is of course when the campaign isn't going on, or like.. between sessions. And generally, if you want to sell your friends on the idea, you probably will have to GM whatever new system you want to try.

But that takes work, and if you want anyone to ever play a second session it also takes a bit of talent, skill, group management, and organization. Not a lot, either, but like.. a certain amount.

And without stereotyping, I think a lot of people simply lack either the will or the ability to put that kind of effort into gaming, and thus gravitate towards GMs who *do* put in the work.

This is one of the things that I find infuriating about the forgie slur that "players just want to passively be told a story" or "be entertained". It's completely backwards. Players just want to play. The real thing that makes a difference is whether or not the GM wants to do any work.

Quote from: Abyssal MawTrying new things is great, but "trying new things" isn't my hobby.

That's a loverly quote. :cool:

Some friends and I, in fact, set up a fortnightly one-shot slot specifically so that people could test-run games that they were itching at a chance to run, both published games and homebrews.

Quote from: WarthurSome friends and I, in fact, set up a fortnightly one-shot slot specifically so that people could test-run games that they were itching at a chance to run, both published games and homebrews.

That's a good idea.

Quote from: GunslingerI always wonder how much of it is GM burnout.

In our case nah. Unlike a lot of groups, apparently, we had no primary GM. We all took turns (although my wife and another only had one shortish stint each). Yes I was the person that put the group together and I was the first one that DMed (fall 2000) but some of them were people I played with before that and I didn't log the majority of DM time.

EDIT:  It was just ... well, we were gunked up from a lot of dumb ideas that come out of [A]D&D. None of us had ever really sat down and figured out how pathological that shit is. We just put up with the fallout 'cuz, you know, that's how RPGs are suppose to be. :/

Whether the new game is fun or not, I find the meta-activity of learning and assessing a new system to be bags of fun. Even if the game sucks the evening is always fun (though that's partly from our simple dosomethingelseifbored policy). So whether plating an old reliable or a shiny new danger, we have fun. Just, sometimes, different fun.