Post by Chad Olson on Jan 3, 2021 20:00:39 GMT -5
Maybe it’s because of the New Year or maybe it’s because I’ve had a very restful holiday season, but I’ve had a lot of time to think about my game playing. I listen to a lot of podcasts, mostly wrestling, but also true crime stuff, creativity/work efficiency, and role playing game theory. One of the podcasts I listen to is called “Roleplay Rescue”. I’d describe it as an interactive audio diary, where the host posts discussion topics and listeners respond by leaving audio messages, which he plays and responds to on the next episode. He talks about his ideas and concepts for creating a great gaming world for his players, and is very open about his own struggles with depression and anxiety.
What the heck does this have to do with our game? As I listened to two recent episodes, it occurred to me that I’ve seen some of his concerns manifest in our little community. People will often ask “what era should I start in?” or “What should I do with this result?” or “Should I restart my fed?” I want to give you my opinion, which is just that, MY OPINION. (Feel free to read further, disregard, or snicker as you see fit!)
Never has the phrase “it’s up to you, Promoter!” been more appropriate. It’s your game, you need to do what makes you happy. If you want to run a series of barbed wire matches between Frank Gotch and Rhea, go for it! If doing elaborate story/interview driven write ups brings you joy, go for it! If you don’t like that and just want to posts bare bones results, go for it! Some folks have said they lose playing time because write-ups take too long. Perhaps the solution is to not do write-ups!
I’ve heard people say, “I don’t like where my fed is going, so I’ll scrap it and start over. But I really liked what happened in the two months prior to this result.” Erase the two months that give you angst from your history and go for it! No one is going to take away your game. Or, think of it as a challenge, and try to make lemonade out of the lemons the dice have handed you. Or, start over if that’s what you really want to do. It is indeed, up to you, Promoter!
I think sometimes people get concerned about running the best promotion on the discussion board when they should be concerned with having the most fun they can with the FG products. This isn’t a competition. Nothing is at stake. The praise from fellow promoters is nice, but in the end, your main concern should be having fun with the game editions you’ve purchased. If you post very basic results and someone chimes in with “I can’t believe Shayne has beat Monolith 12 times in a row for you!” you’ve started a discussion with someone and maybe made a new friend on the board.
I’ve been with COTG since the beginning, but my active promoting of the GWF and CWA (think CPC) stopped around 2001, when I became a single parent. I started a Legends fed (the AWA, what else?) when Legends Rematch came out that I ran for about two years. I turned my free time to coaching my son in youth sports. In 2008, I got remarried and became a parent to twins in 2009. My creative participation in the COTG/LOW community came from creating Legends cards and helping review some of the other products. I didn’t have the “wrestling bandwidth” to give promoting shows, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I never stopped booking angles for the AWA and my long dormant GWF & CWA feds in my head. I’d do little projects within my COTG universe or play Legends with Cory Olson at holidays, but there were stretches where I literally didn’t roll any matches for a year or two.
As I’ve mentioned on “Uncharted Territory”, Red Talon and Duke of Destruction reignited a fire in me to promote 2087 era GWF again. That beautiful black and white Chuck Carter artwork on those two new cards took me back to being 13 years old, when I first discovered this game. (I wish you all could have seen the fanboy conversation iowaoaks and I had when we met at the TNTHOF pro wrestling show. We bumped into each other in line to get the Iron Sheik's autograph and I had my Sheik LOW card. We started talking about the Talon and Duke b&w cards and we were giggling like 10 year olds after fart joke!) I didn’t want to start over, but I did want to supplement my GWF history with some matches with those two characters. As I combed over my old results, like I’ve done dozens of times before, I realized once again that my records are a god awful mess. This time, instead of worrying about what’s going to happen if my records don’t mesh with the match results that were posted in the Club Galactica Super Report, I’m just going to fix the holes in my history, play out some new matches where needed, and HAVE FUN! (Nothing is going to happen if my results don’t match the CGSR, by the way. “History is written by the survivors” is a saying I’m fond of!) I look forward to sharing that new/revised/updated history with my fellow promoters when I get those results typed up. Maybe some day I'll get "caught up" with everyone in 2136, but that is not even a blip on my radar right now. I'm having fun with a lot of old friends named Beast-Rider, Pulsar, and the Greek Gods.
In addition to the GWF 2087 project, I've also started a Legends fed based on Georgia Championship Wrestling on WTBS. I just had a 30 minute session where I didn't roll one die, but I did some booking that will take me out for the next 3-4 seasons of that promotion. I'm excited because instead of just booking in my head, I'm confident that I will roll out those matches, because I've rediscovered that passion for actually playing this game.
Regardless if I stop playing next week because I lose all of my dice or some catastrophe, this game has given me so much in terms of life long friends. If I never played again, I still have gained so much. So keep having fun, visit with folks on the discussion board, and join in on the new virtual events, even if you can't make to an in-person one.
I’d encourage you to check out the recent episodes of “Roleplay Rescue” that triggered this long winded diatribe on my part. They are episode 801 “Finding My Own Way” December 25, and Bonus episode “Am I Stuck In A Loop?” December 28. They’re quick listens (20-30 minutes each), not like the blowhards on “Uncharted Territory”.
What does this have to do with anything? I don’t know, but thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing what anyone else has to share!
What the heck does this have to do with our game? As I listened to two recent episodes, it occurred to me that I’ve seen some of his concerns manifest in our little community. People will often ask “what era should I start in?” or “What should I do with this result?” or “Should I restart my fed?” I want to give you my opinion, which is just that, MY OPINION. (Feel free to read further, disregard, or snicker as you see fit!)
Never has the phrase “it’s up to you, Promoter!” been more appropriate. It’s your game, you need to do what makes you happy. If you want to run a series of barbed wire matches between Frank Gotch and Rhea, go for it! If doing elaborate story/interview driven write ups brings you joy, go for it! If you don’t like that and just want to posts bare bones results, go for it! Some folks have said they lose playing time because write-ups take too long. Perhaps the solution is to not do write-ups!
I’ve heard people say, “I don’t like where my fed is going, so I’ll scrap it and start over. But I really liked what happened in the two months prior to this result.” Erase the two months that give you angst from your history and go for it! No one is going to take away your game. Or, think of it as a challenge, and try to make lemonade out of the lemons the dice have handed you. Or, start over if that’s what you really want to do. It is indeed, up to you, Promoter!
I think sometimes people get concerned about running the best promotion on the discussion board when they should be concerned with having the most fun they can with the FG products. This isn’t a competition. Nothing is at stake. The praise from fellow promoters is nice, but in the end, your main concern should be having fun with the game editions you’ve purchased. If you post very basic results and someone chimes in with “I can’t believe Shayne has beat Monolith 12 times in a row for you!” you’ve started a discussion with someone and maybe made a new friend on the board.
I’ve been with COTG since the beginning, but my active promoting of the GWF and CWA (think CPC) stopped around 2001, when I became a single parent. I started a Legends fed (the AWA, what else?) when Legends Rematch came out that I ran for about two years. I turned my free time to coaching my son in youth sports. In 2008, I got remarried and became a parent to twins in 2009. My creative participation in the COTG/LOW community came from creating Legends cards and helping review some of the other products. I didn’t have the “wrestling bandwidth” to give promoting shows, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I never stopped booking angles for the AWA and my long dormant GWF & CWA feds in my head. I’d do little projects within my COTG universe or play Legends with Cory Olson at holidays, but there were stretches where I literally didn’t roll any matches for a year or two.
As I’ve mentioned on “Uncharted Territory”, Red Talon and Duke of Destruction reignited a fire in me to promote 2087 era GWF again. That beautiful black and white Chuck Carter artwork on those two new cards took me back to being 13 years old, when I first discovered this game. (I wish you all could have seen the fanboy conversation iowaoaks and I had when we met at the TNTHOF pro wrestling show. We bumped into each other in line to get the Iron Sheik's autograph and I had my Sheik LOW card. We started talking about the Talon and Duke b&w cards and we were giggling like 10 year olds after fart joke!) I didn’t want to start over, but I did want to supplement my GWF history with some matches with those two characters. As I combed over my old results, like I’ve done dozens of times before, I realized once again that my records are a god awful mess. This time, instead of worrying about what’s going to happen if my records don’t mesh with the match results that were posted in the Club Galactica Super Report, I’m just going to fix the holes in my history, play out some new matches where needed, and HAVE FUN! (Nothing is going to happen if my results don’t match the CGSR, by the way. “History is written by the survivors” is a saying I’m fond of!) I look forward to sharing that new/revised/updated history with my fellow promoters when I get those results typed up. Maybe some day I'll get "caught up" with everyone in 2136, but that is not even a blip on my radar right now. I'm having fun with a lot of old friends named Beast-Rider, Pulsar, and the Greek Gods.
In addition to the GWF 2087 project, I've also started a Legends fed based on Georgia Championship Wrestling on WTBS. I just had a 30 minute session where I didn't roll one die, but I did some booking that will take me out for the next 3-4 seasons of that promotion. I'm excited because instead of just booking in my head, I'm confident that I will roll out those matches, because I've rediscovered that passion for actually playing this game.
Regardless if I stop playing next week because I lose all of my dice or some catastrophe, this game has given me so much in terms of life long friends. If I never played again, I still have gained so much. So keep having fun, visit with folks on the discussion board, and join in on the new virtual events, even if you can't make to an in-person one.
I’d encourage you to check out the recent episodes of “Roleplay Rescue” that triggered this long winded diatribe on my part. They are episode 801 “Finding My Own Way” December 25, and Bonus episode “Am I Stuck In A Loop?” December 28. They’re quick listens (20-30 minutes each), not like the blowhards on “Uncharted Territory”.
What does this have to do with anything? I don’t know, but thanks for reading and I look forward to hearing what anyone else has to share!
?). I say do whatever makes you enjoy the game, i like tinkering with feuds and alignments. Plus learning about legends and indy guys I don't know that well. I kind of have wished I had done some more eras by pulling out certain people like all the cowboys in a wild west era for example.
