Gaming in the Time of COVID

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https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1tk172_Eyj-d_rrdi2NDxbqpvuUKEu7Es

Never mind where from the the virus came, COVID-19 Is here and now. 

Odds are your state’s issued a stay-at-home order and you’re probably bouncing off the walls. You 

The responsible person-to-person contact (apparently defined by texting or video chatting) appears to be limited to those locked inside your gilded cages with you, or those who like you are practicing responsible self quarantine. 

We as human beings whether extroverted or introverted, hermits or social butterflies, require in some way or another real human contact.

Well, because of the current state of affairs here at home, this one or more month long quarantine may be a way of life for a little while.

Whether you believe that COVID-19 is a threat or not, the physical reality remains that our way of life as we know it is on hold for now. 

Whether you and your gaming troupe met up once or twice a week or a couple times a month, if you’re observing the local stay-at-home order, those sessions have come to an abrupt and screeching halt.
...and so, if you’re observing the stay-at-home order, you’re options are very limited. 
There are still options and odds are you know them and have employed them before but if for some reason you do not, please consider these alternatives.

Pros: 

As Face-to-face as you’re going to get interaction, instant communication, can feel almost like being there in person. Almost.


Cons: 

Bandwidth issues. Video freezing. Video lag. Audio feedback. Audio echoes. Players talking over one another. 

  • Start a Facebook Gaming Group and run your game from there. Running your campaign from an FB group (or an equivalent). You can play by Facebook Group, or text group. Facebook Group (...or its equivalent.), is a better way to keep track. Check out my play-by-group on Facebook. It was a five year campaign.
Pros:Set a scheduled time to meet up in group and play. The GM writes the scene - rewarding and full of detail - the players act and react to those scenes. You can play on a schedule, and throughout the week if you want to - every day here and there if you like. Rich, detailed and fulfilling, PBFB offers you the experience of being in a literary love setting.
Cons: Keeping up with the narrative. Whether you’re the GM or the player, it can at times be a challenge. The story plays exactly like your live experience, but it’s all text. You never realize how much you actually talk during game until you’ve written it down. 

  • Play by E-Mail.

Pros: Much like the text RPGs of old, this format gives the GM the opportunity to really paint a scene. Players in turn can paint a lavish and detailed interaction. Can be played at a scheduled time, and throughout the week. 
Cons:It can take a long time. Period. You have to CC everyone in the group, and they have to CC you and each other. Every one has to read one another’s responses. Prior to instant messaging, Facebook groups, and texting, this was the way to make due.
We are - in this generation - experiencing an unprecedented and troubling event. Not unprecedented in the history of America, given we’ve had a plague only one-hundred years ago, but nothing we have ever experienced. I have no idea how this will change us as a people, or even if it does at all.
All I know is that here and now is the best time to build our community up, for us to draw together in any medium we can and keep our heads through this crises. While everyone else is complaining about being unable to go to the gym, or stay at their favorite hotels, play in the casino... let’s do what we do best.
In times like these, next to maintaining a roof over our heads and food in our bodies, maintaining the utmost best of morale is important to keeping from going stir crazy.
There is an end to all this, and now is the time to remember we are a community. We should support one another to ensure we all arrive safely on the other end of the tunnel when this is through. I cannot stress this enough. Apart, we are alone in this. Separate. Away.
Together, we are one great troupe. We are gamers one and all, and we have what it takes to keep ours and those around us entertained beyond slouching over a television like Neanderthals over fire. 
We as GMs and Players understand a campaign when we see one, and regardless what is written, we are the narrative even if we cannot control it.
I challenge anyone and everyone - however few you are - to invite new people to game with you, through whatever medium you can and give the people around you some much needed escapism.
Let’s go and do the good work and above all, stay safe - be safe - protect yourselves and your loved ones. 
A.G.

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