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Combating Apathy
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History
Original Publication: July 27, 2013 by Mastin2
Introduction
We've all felt it. That lack of care for the outcome of our games. I've felt it just as much as everyone else, having trouble dealing with it, but I've done what I can to fight it, and have taken a stab at some tips to help reduce that apathy.
Moderators
I'll be short and just say that you should see how Borkjerfkin mods his games and copy him. But let's give some examples of why his games are so fun to play in, by listing some of the things that he does that most mods don't do. (Or, at least, don't do often enough.)
Be Active!
Set a good example. Hold yourself to the standards you hold your players, if not higher. How can the players be expected to be active when the moderator isn't? Posting votecounts every page (or close to), providing things near-immediately (rather than editing them in minutes or even hours later), and answering questions in a timely manner all play into it. If you're more active than your players, you basically shame them into BEING more active. But if you're not active in your own game, you're going to have a lot of players who're suffering as a result of your neglect.
Yes, I know, you can't be on 24/7. But if you can't keep up with your players, get a co-/backup-mod to (if nothing else) give votecounts when you're not around. There's no shame in accepting that help. And this should be done on an active basis--not "Oh, my mod has been gone for a week, I-as-backup-mod should step in now" basis.
Be humorous.
Moderators shouldn't be robots--they should be humans. A simple, but effective, way to be human in your moderation is to provide some sort of small joke to be had. For instance, when trying to pagegrab, having a funny message or progression in messages. Or when going to a top of the page without a preprepared accurate votecount, having a funny filler inside the post. (Some mods even retain said funny filler after the votecount is up.) Little things like that make all the difference. They encourage players to interact with you in a more casual, relaxed nature, and that environment encourages fun.
Have a draw.
Humor's a good one, but you can also have other appealing aspects to your game. I don't care what type it is, if it's a newbie, an open, a micro, a mini, a large, a theme, or a normal. Give every game of yours a unique spin which makes people want to be there to see it, want to be there and play in it, and want to keep playing in it. Having something eye-catching about your modding in general for every game is also good, but even better is if you have both, with a unique aesthetic identifiable as making a game modded by you, while also having each game hold an individual charm.
Encourage self-regulation.
The more you tighten the noose, the more activity will slip through your fingers and create that un-fun environment to be in. While you obviously have to perform duties as a mod, like delivering out prods and intervening when things get really nasty, it makes your job much simpler if the players are doing that themselves without you forcing them to. Not only does it simplify your workload, but it also makes for the game to be more fun, with every player having more of a say in the environment of the game.
Emphasize spirit of rules.
Some players may technically be within the letter of your modly laws, but be violating the intention of those rules. Have something in place so that you can punish repeat abusers of these loopholes. If everyone follows the spirit of the laws, then the game is a far more healthy environment--especially since a common rule mods have in their ruleset is to "have fun".
Players
If the mod's doing a good job, the main people responsible for getting rid of apathy are you, so here's some things to help.
Generate Fun!
If you're not having fun in the game, try to make it more fun. (Basically, switch from being reactive into being proactive. You can generate fun by being reactive, but it's much easier to generate fun by being proactive.) So long as your entertainment is not detrimental to others', creating a fun game is a vital part of keeping apathy at bay. As an added bonus, in addition to making the game a more pleasant experience, it will also have the added bonus of making you a better player both as town and as scum. (Though, admittedly, mostly benefiting town.)
Change strategies.
If what you've been doing isn't working to keep you invested in the game, change your approach. For instance, you can change from trying to read every page to skimming them and reading in more detail when necessary, or skipping entire pages, or doing things in iso, and so on and so forth. This is related to the above, in that being at least partially proactive is a good way to keep your head in the game.
Play the game.
You signed up to play. That's nothing trivial. There WILL be a significant amount of time required for a game, a devotion of labor to play. If you're bored/tired enough that you can't actually put that effort into the game, you're probably not actually playing the game. Obviously, try to fix it.
But if despite your efforts, you're still not able to give the game the attention it deserves? Then there's no shame in replacing out and letting someone who can give the game the attention it deserves a chance to take your slot. I don't mean, "man, this game isn't fun, MOD REPLACE ME" only to immediately after posting that sign up for another game. (That's a dick move.) I also don't mean to replace out because you're losing and you think losing's not fun. (That's an even larger dick move.) I more mean if you're miserable and/or overwhelmed and unable to keep playing effectively.
You might think that you can hide it. But trust me--it shows. Badly. If you're not truly playing the game, then you're not truly playing the game, and everyone will know you're not, and wish you were. If you're not having fun, you drag your entire slot down. Don't stubbornly refuse to replace out because you think doing so is a black mark on your record. Life happens. We know it happens. We're aware it has priority. We also are fairly understanding when it comes to having that utter total lack of devotion and being unable to get out of that rut, because most of us have been there. So if it happens, let people know it's happened!
Be Honest!
Don't lie to yourself. If you can't handle playing...then you can't handle playing. That's not to say you can't handle playing at all. It just means that you can't handle the load you've placed on yourself at that time, and if you're wise enough to recognize that, then you hold a massive amount of respect from me. Knowing your limits and when not to exceed them is a skill many mafia players lack. There's no shame in admitting the truth of the fact, that you're not having fun. In fact, doing so is actually a surprisingly-good way to help generate that fun factor. Let people know your situation. They'll be there to help. But you have to let them know.
Be realistic!
Tied to the above, but basically...don't make promises you can't keep. If you can't do something, acknowledge that you can't do it. People will be able to tell you can't do it, anyway, so it's not like you're fooling them. They'll be much more understanding towards you if you admit you bit off more than you could chew than they will be if you continue to stubbornly refuse to admit it.
Apathy's contagious!
Recognize it.
Especially the smaller the living playerlist. One player not being devoted to the game often sets off a chain-reaction where soon, most players simply don't care. So don't think it'll be just you, and that you can bear it. Like I said--it shows. No matter how much you may think it doesn't, there will always be giveaways that you're experiencing that lack of care, and that poisonous personality will bleed into the overall environment of the game. All it can take is one player to set off a chain-reaction that causes the entire momentum of the game to plummet. Because chances are, other players aren't going to be fully invested, either, and if your own drive is completely gone, it influences others and takes their drive out as well.
Ask About Hydraing
A fair share of mods won't allow a mid-game hydra, but a surprisingly large number of them will. It never hurts to ask! Hydras are an excellent way to get the best of both worlds. You get the freshness of a new player, without the guilt of replacing out. A lot of mods recognize and understand that you can't continue playing on your own, but can continue if you have help.
Plan Ahead!
Yes, we know, life happens. You can never anticipate every minuscule problem that you'll encounter. Something inevitably will enter your life that limits your ability to play, and there's nothing you can do to stop that. Doesn't mean you can't prepare for it, though. Mafia games are a significant investment in time, and should not be taken lightly. Even a micro is going to typically take a few weeks. Mini games can go for a month or two/three. A large game can potentially last for half a year! Not only are they longer games, but they're also much larger games as well. The more people that are posting, the more words are going to be present, which means both more reading and more typing and more thinking, all of which requires...more time.
Plan your future accordingly. Plan your load. Look into your schedule, and see what you have in coming up. Also think about how much time each game's going to sap, and how much time you have to afford. This last bit is important, because it's what most players forget to take into account. They may be able to handle their current game load, but if anything happens in their immediate future, what they could handle before is now far too much for them to deal with. You want to give yourself some leeway and flexibility so that if you have less time available OR a game becomes a much larger investment than expected, you have anticipated this and compensated for it.
This is particularly important for Scummers who go to school. School schedules vary. And even if they remain constant, chances are that you're not going to school year-round. In your "off-time", you will obviously be able to handle more games, but you need to anticipate your life's workload increasing exponentially once it resumes, and thus, your ability to play mafia to take a mirrored decrease.
Seek Synergy.
Playerlist Synergy is Awesome.
By far one of the largest factors in having a good game is having players that are good to have in the same game. This doesn't necessarily mean they have to be top-caliber players. (In fact, often-times, top-caliber players don't get along very well with one another.) They can be, but they could also be lower-mediocre players or even bad players. What isn't important is the skill of the player...so much as it is, how fun that player is to be around. (That said, there often is a correlation between the two, up to a certain point.)
If you get players you enjoy playing with to be in the same game as you, chances are you'll be having fun. This is particularly true of replacements, too. If the game is dragging...a replacement can really liven the game up.
Socialize!
Mafia, at its fundamental core, is a game of socializing. It's a social game, so if you're not socializing, you're defeating a large part of the entire reason to be playing the game. If you socialize with the players, make friends, be friendly, have good conversations with them...chances are, you'll not only generate interest in the game, but have your ability to play be refined as well, because socializing is a key aspect of charisma. (A skill equally needed by any alignment.)
Learn to care.
Grow emotionally-attached to your games. Not overly-so; you don't want to get obsessed with them. (That's not healthy. Especially not if you get ticked off when things start going south, as they are likely to inevitably go.) But enough to where the game you're in isn't just your latest game. Learn to love your faction. Learn to care about honoring them and working towards victory for them. Ultimately, the way I prefer to think about it is that the win you're aiming for isn't for yourself. It's for your (hopefully-)friends sharing your alignment, and also for the mod you (hopefully) want to stay on good terms with.
Never wait.
By which, I mean, if you're waiting for someone...don't. That can have the nasty effect of dragging the entire game down. If you're waiting for someone, try to think of things you can do while you're waiting for that someone. Chances are, more often than not, there's something you can say. Same applies for waiting on the mod to flip a player. Don't wait. Make productive use of the dusk/dawn time. Be proactive, and don't waste that time.
In Summary
Never forget, as either a player or a moderator, that the purpose of a game is to have fun. If that fun is not being had, something has gone wrong, and it needs to be fixed.