Exchange of Realities

It’s a tradition I picked up from the first GM I played under in college. I’m still not sure if the line was originally his, or if he was quoting something, but it stuck with me either way. So at the end of every session, after the experience has been awarded and the excitement’s started dying down, I settle down and ask the group:

“Questions? Comments? Death threats?”

(Needless to say, I get a lot more of the first two than the last.)

Feedback is extremely important to creative processes like this, and more so to interactive creative processes like gaming or even blogging. After all, when you’re doling out little bits at a time, and when you’re involving in your audience rather than just letting them receive what you’re giving out, you have to be able to keep your audience’s attention, or they just drift away. So I find asking regularly to be the best way to go. If someone’s losing motivation, you can catch them early. If nobody has any idea where the plot’s going, despite the fact that you thought the clues were clear, there’s a good chance to hint/explain, or just figure out what they’re missing so you can either sprinkle more obvious clues or obtain a bigger cluebat. And how many of us are energized by the enthusiasm of our players, when they launch into speculation or “wasn’t it cool when?” or complicated crazy plans or deciding they want to talk one or another of the NPCs at first possible convenience? I know I am.

Besides, it’s a chance to make sure the people who are in it for the socialization can do their chatting, and to get the out of the character connections (and maybe even the in-character ones, now that we look back at it) between the group strengthened.

But for me, this isn’t just good for game.

Here we are, at the end of the year. For me, this stage in blogging is rather like reaching the end of a game session, and it’s about time to go for feedback directly. I’ve learned a lot over the past hundred-ninety-some days, but being the writer, I’m always going to miss things. That’s where you lot come in.

What’s working? What isn’t? Want more gaming-specific articles, more writing-specific, more of the blends, more personal examples? More character, more world, more detail? Is there anything I’m missing that I could add, or overemphasizing that I could pull back on? What parts keep you coming back? Any favorites? Anything you really could have done without? Or in short:

Questions? Comments? Death threats?