DM: Long article sort of on why I play DM. From: crip@Micor.OCUnix.on.ca (Garth Werner) Date: Tue, 01 Jun 1993 18:36:19 +0000 Hey, sorry guys, I uploaded this file, and it looks like it didn't like the page width. Please be patient. The other day, Matt dropped a note asking me to expand on why I (as he puts it) insist on playing DM after all these years. This is far from being an easy answer, as there is no single motivation for staying with the game, but rather it is the co mbination of several aspects that I enjoy. First thing, is a bit about myself. I don't really think I fit into the mold o f the stereo typical gamer. (I've been harassed into defining this role before, and never do succeed.) For one, I am not into reading books. Seems like every Tom, Di ck and Ween that I've run into through DM and DM type games loves to read, particula rly sci-fi or fanstasy novels. The last 5 books I've read (Outside of textbooks), w ere Max Ward's bio of an unknown title from June 92 to Jan 93. The first two books of Stephen King's Gunslinger trilogy (Started when they first came out on the markey , finished Oct 92), Ken Dryden's "The Game" (I think this was in 89 or 90), and The first trilogy of Stephen Donaldson's (Lord Foul's Bane?) back in 84. I am not into any form of role-playing games, although I did flounder around with the D&D thing ea rly in highschool, but once again, it just wasn't my thing. What I do enjoy is competition. Those who know me know I'm into sports, any an d all (except hoops), and it's not the thrill of winning that keeps me going, but th e adrenalin of competition. One ball team I was on last year ended up winning the l eague championship for the 6th time in 7 years (I was with them for 2). To me, this was the least enjoyable sporting activity of my life. We were going out knowing we were going to win, so what's the point. I left that team this year, it's not that I don't want to win, because I always do, it's that I want it to be a challenge to w in. I've never quit anything because we were losing all the time. Hell, one of my hockey teams was 3-22 two years ago and 2- 19-1 this year. I would continue to play for them again this year, except I've been called up to play for a significantly hi gher calibre team. This I'll jump at the chance to play, because although the chall enge for the team to win won't be as mind boggling, the challenge to raise my level of skill to match the corresponding skill of the league will be immense. Now carry that thought over to DM. If I could just walk over the opposition, I probably wouldn't be in the game. There are challenges at all levels of the game. While my Primus challenge is to continuously strive to get either Christine or King Pin to the throne in Primus (No one else really has a hope in hell), find it an equ al challenge to fight my marginal characters against what I know are other manager's "Destined for Primus Gods" I have only once looked at a team and said to myself "H ey, this team will be my Primus God team". Of course, this team really isn't doing well, and I've found myself resigned to the fact that the attempt to run a team with that philosophy is futile, and I find myself running warriors with 13 wits on my Pr imus gods team. There is always a challenge to be had in the game, and that is one of the things that keeps me going. But it's not the only thing. When I first started playing back in the Good old days of the real Lyratilan, the only DM arena that ever mattered, I really didn't k now what the hell I was doing. The team name, Cryptics, came as a manipulation of t he knickname that at least three of the netters out there christened me with, and a team theme eventually rolled around where I came up with knicknames (or mutations th ereof) of that group of friends that had dubbed (No I haven't used Dub or Woman yet) me Crip. But in the arena were two teams who I thought had awesome names, John Bl ohm's Sir Vivors, and Victor Melucci's Carnival. Wow, the inspiration of team theme 's with characters to match. The possibilities are endless. And my list of team/ c haracter names is not even close to drying up. I always respect those who hold a go od theme, be it bad puns or what, but simply going and taking names out of a book si mply does the same thing as putting in a personal ad, "Hey, I'm thick headed and my team wants to be pumelled into the ground" Take a look at the standings in North Fo rk. Land of Oz, (OK, but the guy runs so many teams, I can understand his themes st art to run dry, but he keeps them in character, and not just the main characters), R oyal Flush (Need I say more, puns the top five cards in the Deck), Baron Knights (Al a Genghis' Sir names), Street Performers, Tarot (kinda lame team, but the names have been all right), Recipe for Death (Killer Food), Power Tools Inc (More Puns), The B ear's Paw (Bear names, but much better than Papa Bear's) and I could go on. Then th e teams at the bottom of the standings Exedous (?), Asbach Knight (?) Pegasus Knight s(?), The Renegades (?), Iron Wolves (?) and that list goes on and on too. While AG may hold some of the competition aspects that I like about DM, they ch aracterization without role-playing that makes my teams what they are just won't cut it in AG, unless I had a million to spend. Character development in AG is nice, bu t I have no real qualms with DM's system (Yes it sucks, but I live with it). One th ing I do dislike about AG is the fact that the game is always changing. You design your character for a certain set of rules, then next week, the rules all change and are left holding the bag. Although it didn't happened to me, a friend got stuck wit h a inferior character, which could have been much better had he started a month or two later. The rule changes may or may not impact the top level characters much, be cause they ought to be able to do a little bit of everything well, and they can cove r of on the newly created options much quicker than beginning characters can. Why n ot just have a fixed set of rules, and if you want to change the rules send everyone back to square 1. As far as I can tell, AG is the only game that changes it's rule s on a regular basis. Could you imagine football if the rules changed everytime. N o thanks, give me a set of parameters, a challenge of what to try and do, and eventu ally, I will come out on top. It's that cycle which has kept me motivated with ever y character that I have run. Sorry, Matt, I don't think it really answered your question, perhaps I can expl ain myself better with a series of questions and answers. ************************************************************************** Crip Member of the BHB, Alliance that rules North Fork Mgr of Royal Flush (DM47), Open Sesame (DM50), and others... "Honestly, Christine's not one of my favourite warriors" ************************************************************************** Referenced By Up