It is fairly typical of the last few RPGs I've read to scare GMs away from filling up game time with too many details.  We're advised to get to the action, gloss over, skip to the sunrise.

Well, my group would probably respond to this kind of suggestion with a resounding: Screw that with a 10-foot pole.  I'm not really sure how it developed, but when I'm DMing D&D my players are frequently fixated on food-related details.  Maybe I cursed them with this, or maybe they trained me to include those details - the specifics are lost to the mists of our campaigns.  But, seriously, any Survival or Hunting roll/proficiency...they want to know what was caught or foraged.  Inevitably someone takes a cooking-related skill and describes what they fixed up for the group.  When they arrive at an inn, they want to know what's on the menu.  One character, an arch-typical paternal blacksmith bumpkin, developed the catch phrase: "Oh man, what does it eat?" whenever an unknown monster was encountered.  It has persisted in my group for over a decade.  Sort of our own "I've got a bad feeling about this."

What is it about food that fuels immersion for us?  I have a couple of theories:
a) Its a cultural cue.  If the players are served pasta at the inn they make different assumptions about the setting than if it was to be rice.  If they are used to rice, and giant beetles are on the menu, they know they've crossed the tracks.

b) It reflects the social atmosphere of gaming.  Eating is a social activity, so is gaming.  If sitting around a table with dice makes us feel good, imagining us around a campfire with some beast roasting a spit tickles a fancy.

c) We don't have enough snacks.  I suppose its possible that when participants are hungry they will imagine more food-related details.

Ours can't be the only group given to embellishing on food-related details.  I've seen plenty of modules and generators that fixate on these things too.  How about your group?  If not food, what other setting details does your group fixate on, noticeably more than others? Language? Architecture?

During my Praemal campaign, the players were very interested in developing their characters' daily lives. We would basically play each out, including encounters with their family members, diners, whatever noticeable happened at their day jobs, and so on, so forth.

So yeah. Skipping the talk with the guards at the town's gate isn't to my usual players' tastes. That's kind of the *point* of playing a role-playing game to be able to engage in these sorts of activities that would be glossed over in movies, actually.

They too had an interest in whatever the inn's menu was, or this or that creature's diet, by the way. I think it's part of the immersion for some players, including myself. One of the best immersive experiences I had was playing a Hobbit cook in a MERP convention game. I kept making food comparisons to whatever was happening to us, and was preparing the meals for the group. It was both hilarious and awesome for the game's feel.

In one of my Rolemaster campaigns we had an illusionist who happened to be the party cook...

He was a brilliant cook and used to describe exactly what cullinary delights he was preparing - he didn't countenance anyone in his 'kitchen' (wherever that was). Everyone agreed that not only was he a kick-ass spell-caster, but he was a cook beyond compare.

Trouble is he threw any old crap they had into the pot and cast sight, smell and taste illusions on it to match his descriptions...

But he was a brilliant cook as far as the party was concerned.

I find the details of local cuisine to be a big boon to immersion in games I've played. Exactly the sort of detail I want in books/movies/games as well... it really helps to add color.
I remember being peckish all through LOTR because Tolkien kept going on about the hobbits and their food.
One of the few details I remember in Ian Watson's original Inquisitor book was a scene where Draco was drinking out of a big jug with some sort of alien fetus floating in it.
Similarly, here in Vegas at the Star Trek Experience, in Quark's bar, there was a menu board up with pictures of crazy extraterrestrial entrees. I think I remember that better than I do the actual ride.

Food , yes . Clothes and outfits more so in My usual group .
Comfort items , i.e. an "Ever Full Mug" or the folding Bath We found ,
(like a folding boat , except for all the ways it's not like a folding boat.) ,
are the things more debate goes on about "Who gets" more than weapons .
Those are also the items We are more likely to commision .

\Booze in Igbar
God yes.

Quote from: Cargoman;364641Food , yes . Clothes and outfits more so in My usual group .
Comfort items , i.e. an "Ever Full Mug" or the folding Bath We found ,
(like a folding boat , except for all the ways it's not like a folding boat.) ,
are the things more debate goes on about "Who gets" more than weapons .
Those are also the items We are more likely to commision .

Yeah, clothing is something I've always put a lot of thought into when world building.  Then, of course, my players want to know more about the food.  

Not being a fashion designer myself, I usually try to find an exemplary outfit to clip to a city map (or, nowadays, insert into a digital document) to compliment my limited fashion vocabulary.  How do you communicate the local dress to your players?  

Oh, and Vreeg: I have no idea what the hell your chart means, but serve me up Temperance' Hostile Red.  I'll worry about the consequences later

It's a fave, Bishop....
( I spent a while in the Vino Biz, it left a mark)

Quote from: winkingbishop;364669Yeah, clothing is something I've always put a lot of thought into when world building.

I am Patrick Bateman-like in my obsession with clothing in roleplaying games.

I also like a really good wine menu when my characters go out to dine.

Quote from: The Shaman;364672I am Patrick Bateman-like in my obsession with clothing in roleplaying games.

I also like a really good wine menu when my characters go out to dine.

How do you communicate your fashion obsession to the players?  Are you an artist? An excellent narrator?  Simply curious.  I tend to care more about local dress than my players and wonder about other, perhaps more interesting, ways to communicate it.

Quote from: winkingbishop;364679How do you communicate your fashion obsession to the players?

For historical settings, I use period pictures where I can, but otherwise I just give a description and highlight significant details; usually I have much more written down than I tell the players.

After all, it's my obsession, not theirs.

Quote from: The Shaman;364685use period pictures where I can

The same here . My wife scours fashion magazines/web sites , one of the Players and one of the rotating GM's are fair artist .
The other GM and I aren't afraid to show our pathetic attempts at art , paper doll books are a decent source as well .

The only time I can recall there being a real emphasis on food in a campaign was in my Roman campaigns, because it was part of the educational value of those to point out how different Roman cuisine was from our own.

"Wolf-Nipple Chips! Get 'em while they're hot, they're lovely!"

RPGPundit

Quote from: RPGPundit;364789The only time I can recall there being a real emphasis on food in a campaign was in my Roman campaigns, because it was part of the educational value of those to point out how different Roman cuisine was from our own.

"Wolf-Nipple Chips! Get 'em while they're hot, they're lovely!"

RPGPundit

Python's Life of Brian?  

God yes!

Our group is pretty much food obsessed at the best of times, so anytime the PCs dine, everyone mentions what they are eating. We've played quite a few 1920s and 1930s games where the PCs had a fair bit of money. Therefore visits to fine restaurants were where the PCs planned their next moves, but only after they had studied the menu and placed their orders.

Recently they were playing characters of more modest means in 1947 London, coping with living under a British rationing regime that was actually more frugal than during the war. Lucky for them someon eknew of a restaurant in Soho where they hammered horsemeat so hard it was nearly as tender as beefsteak.

The 1930s characters were beautifully dressed. In 1947, not so much.