I didn't say any choice was any better or worse than any another reason to come (I have my preferences, but I tried to not express that in this poll), I just wanted to get a handle on what people's #1 reason was for participating. We have already established that they are all integral parts of the game.
Now, that being said, if folks like Reid (I put that puzzle vote in just for you, Reid, I know you love em
) feel that they can't or don't want to roleplay but like other aspects of the game, like combat and folks like Art enjoy the roleplaying but abhor combat, I feel those are both valid viewpoints. Everyone is still following the rules and neither viewpoint is disruptive. Now, if Reid was walking around at the game saying roleplaying is lame and stupid or if Art wasn't taking shots because he chose not to participate in combat, that would be a problem. Neither style player is any more disruptive than the other, nor any more disruptive than those who fall more in the middle ground.
This "put up or shut up" attitude really needs to stop. I'm trying to figure out where that is coming from all of a sudden the last few weeks. You do have a point...if the FH participants/staff consists of close-minded elitists who don't care about hearing what others have to say and only care about their own wants and needs, then maybe this isn't the game for me, or for a lot of our players or future players. Fortunately, I know this is not true and I hope it remains so. The major complaint I have heard about ANY LARP is that the community is already so focused inwards that it is hard for new players to come in and assimilate. They are made to feel like outsiders if if they attempt to fit in. That wasn't the case when I started playing and I want to see it continue.
I have no problem having my mind changed on why certain things are the way they are. I want to hear opinions other than my own and I want to be convinced when there is a reason for something. I feel I'm pretty reasonable in that aspect. I may not always be happy with the final result, but I almost always feel satisfied that I understand why. I know that if someone is really not happy with the game, there is usually a reasonable explanation for it and there is usually a resolution besides telling said player to "get out."
Heaven forbid anyone question the almighty rule-book on the forums between games...after all, there are never any holes, errors or clarifications missing, nothing should ever be added or removed and it is written in stone. Also the forums are only a place to post links to flash videos and blogs, not to discuss aspects of the LARP
I talked with Chris briefly on some of this last week: My only problem with combat is that I personally find it terribly scene-breaking. Calls can't be avoided -- discussions of tactics based on the game-manual or telling people to use certain abilities can be and should be. In MOST cases, roleplaying goes to hell as soon as a fight breaks out and it turns into listening to a MMORPG raid over headsets. There have been a few notable exceptions, but I fear they are in the minority. I remember it being much better when I started a few years ago, but maybe I just still had my rose-colored newbie goggles on, but I feel like people (Including myself, so I am part of the problem too) have gotten really lazy.
What I would like to see:
Remember your medications. This has been a problem this year. People forget things they need to stay healthy and spend the most of the weekend miserable, making things miserable for others.
People taking better care to hide non-period items - wrapping your soda bottles, covering modern labels or transferring food items into something more appropriate. Covering backpacks and out-of-game things like toiletries with blankets or the like. Take better care to turn off cell-phones and other electronic devices...nothing pisses me off more than to finally get to bed at 6 just to hear someone's cellphone go off at 7:45 and said person leave it ringing because they are hard asleep. This has happened to me a LOT this year. Rota Kiwan is a nice camp, it's also very modern looking on the inside of the lodges and I think this has contributed to the downward spiral of effort. I'd like to see people encouraged to do better and I would like to see the community push this line harder with newbies and especially oldies who know better.
Keep those IC and OOC relationships separate. This one shouldn't even have to be stated but it's been pretty frequent this year. Presume that anything said in-game is said in-character and DON'T take it personally. Your friend owes you nothing in-game, just as you owe your friend nothing in-game. Don't take it with you at the end of the weekend.
Following that line --->
Leave the out-of-character drama at home. You don't have to show up just to keep tabs on a friend/significant other/relative. If you don't want to be there (Or you only want to be there because they are), let said person come alone and you can stay home. Don't show up and make things miserable for yourself, said person and everyone else. And you ARE making things miserable for others by remarking how you shouldn't be at the game. If you really feel you have to give it a shot, take separate vehicles and head back home after a couple of hours if you don't feel any better about coming.
On that similar note, stay home if you really don't feel good. You aren't going to feel any better at the game with lack of sleep and lack of food, trust me, you will only feel worse.
Taking more care to NOT slip out of character when combat strikes. If you are a tactician in battle, fine, but find a better way to describe it. Stay in character. Roleplaying is NO LESS VITAL than combat stats and I will continue to beat that drum until I am either evicted from the game or people get some comprehension on what a LARP is. You want the roleplayers to enjoy combat? Great, stay in-character and try not to break a scene with book jargon. Rules are important. So is keeping them in the background. A play is no fun if you can see the wood and strings hanging the set better than you can hear the characters.
These are the peeves that came to mind in the last hour, so they must be the ones at the forefront of my mind.