After 20-30 hours of work, this is a sneak peak on my recruitment project for the Cam/MES. Special thanks to Andrew and Lance for helping me on the day of shooting! If you’re a member of MES/The Cam and you’re curious what this was all about – be sure to get the latest from the General OOC list when the newsletter launches next week (I think it’s next week). This sort of content will be available from me once per quarter.
Category Archives: How To’s
How to…
Script for the upcoming MES Video on “Retention”
My Invictus (I did NOT make that dress, it was however a gift from an awesome girlfriend in NorCal)
These scripts go through a number of revisions, but in general I have to try not to be wordy and use run-on sentences with these things, as I’m writing to read these aloud, on camera, and in as little takes as I can manage. This often proves a challenge. One of these days I’ll post production photos to show people what it’s like to shoot them.
Each video I do is around 20-30 hours of work, but it’s a labor of love. If I can touch just ONE person with each video it’s a win. If I can make a difference in ONE domain, that makes it all worth while. As for this piece, it’s really pretty close to my heart as my own home domain is undergoing some of these symptoms. As I was writing this script I actually realized that I’m not doing enough personally to help my own domain retain members. Talk about a revelation!
Fortunately I think my domain is going to be okay and the people who need some time away from game will get that. It just really made me feel like I wasn’t doing enough for my own domain while writing this. I’m dedicating this video to those storytellers and coordinators out there who work the thankless jobs and day in and day out give their domains love, support, and time/energy.
Thank you. You are loved.
Below is the script. As I’m filming in a few hours here, the script is of course subject to change
Videos, Vegas, and Vampires
Pointy Things
As most folks who read this know, I’m from Las Vegas and was out there last week to see friends and family. I managed to get to do a little bit of photography while I was out there, including the shot to the right out at Red Rock National Park. It’s an area worth seeing if you enjoy desert landscapes and hiking. I do however recommend going either in the morning during the summer or in the non “OMG why is this city on the surface of the sun” months. Also bring water.
The trip was a much needed break from work, and I managed to have a few adventures while I was out there as well as sit back and give some thought to my most recent upcomig video for the MES/Cam – Retention. I chatted with several friends here in Denver as well as in Vegas (and abroad) about retaining people to a gaming organization. Recruiting is arguably the easier part. Things are sexy, flashy, and there’s a lot of burying the dirty laundry of the group. I’m not talking about genuine skeletons, but more about the problems that all gaming organisations face :
- Apathy
- Location Problems
- Burn Out (which leads to Apathy)
This list isn’t exhaustive but I think it’s a good start for me. Bringing in a wet behind the ears newbie at a gaming convention isn’t too hard – they’re excited, they’re already engaged and really they bring a lot of energy. The problem comes when you’ve got a veteran of 10 years who has given their time, love and money to an organization and they’ve seen and done everything. How do you keep that person from staggering out into the proverbial sunset?
Pointy things and Rocks
If you’re looking for the silver bullet – I don’t have it. (Trust me if I did I’d be running a national LARP).
But that’s just it – it isn’t any ONE answer, it’s many answers. Some of us have this weird undying sense of commitment to the organizations we belong to because well – this is our family. The orgs (NERO, the Cam, RoC for me) have been there for us when we needed them. So I feel a sense of responsibility to be there for the org when it needs me.
Retention takes patience, commitment, and a willingness to try and turn the tide. So what did people say when I asked them “How do you retain players?” I got a lot of interesting responses, but here were the top things I and those I asked believed could make a difference :
- Making an old character new with new ties into the game
- Hanging out OCly once a month (these people ARE our friends)
- Learning better conflict resolution
- Knowing when to give help and when to get it
- Finding new locations
- Saying “Thank You” to those who have to manage the insanity
A lot of these may sound obvious, but I think we get so ingrained in the rut of our own habits and behaviors that we forget about things like this. I know I had a revelation recently in my on gaming life that there was something very wrong, and I believe that my lack of action may have inadvertently adversely affected my own local game. Inaction is often more dangerous in the long term then action. However that’s an entirely different blog post.
So where does one start to change things. As with all my commentary on these communities - change can start with just one person. While recruitment is about smoke and mirrors and glam, retention is about trust, friendship, and investment. Sometimes saying thank you to your storytellers, hosts, and the people who actually produce your gaming environment goes a long way. Most gamers are long past the honeymoon period with their hobby so a little romance there can go a long way.
I’m not saying buy them flowers, but giving them a smile and a hand here and there makes a big difference. Is one of them moving? Lend a hand. Love people? Host a BBQ with plenty of advanced notice. Want to spice up the RP? Offer to help decorate the space you play in. Get creative, but most of all remember this hobby takes all kinds – not just hot chicks in leather.
Vegas from a distance, home of hot chicks in leather.
I’ll be posting the script from this upcoming video when it’s done, which should be shortly. Remember, you can always see all of the videos I’ve produced for my gaming communities by checking them out on YouTube. This video should be done in the next week or so, just in time for the MES/Cam Q2 newsletter.
Cooking for 20+ People in a Boffer – On a budget.
Your Mission -
- 20+ people to feed
- You have a budget of $100 or less
- You ONLY have a kitchen sink and two outlets for a total of 3 plugs
- You must have coffee on at all times
What would you do?
You Panic.
Then you calm down and say “I can do this.”
Seriously – you can.
Simple center pieces
I’ve been helping out a local boffer game (www.crusadeoflegends.com) as their tavern cook for a few months now, and while it’s a lot to do and a huge investment of time and energy - it’s also very rewarding! After a long hard day of running around the Colorado Mountains chasing creatures, nothing makes people more happy then a hot meal. So how is this done?
- Crock Pot
- Toaster Oven
- Commitment
I had a couple of recipes and pieces of advice I wanted to share with other people who participate in these kinds of events.
- If you can pre-cook it and just heat it up there – do it. I discovered that quiches are healthy, filling, and can work for dinner OR breakfast. Here’s the recipe for the Quiche, and the recipe for the crust. The important part is to keep costs down and still make it hearty. Of course you can go with a more complex recipe for the quiche or use vegetables as opposed to ham. That’s up to you!
Pasta is a great way to have easy sides.
- Anything canned that can be heated up is awesome. I like to get canned corn, toss in butter, garlic, spices, salt and pepper and viola! I have an awesome tasty cheap veggie.
- If you can make it ahead of time AND it’s a cold dish? Double win! I’m trying out a pasta salad recipe for the first time this weekend and I’m excited about it. Namely because I can make it, leave it and serve it with no fuss.
- Remember not to have too many things to heat up otherwise you’ll be stuck with a backup in the kitchen.
- The Crock Pot. I never knew how magical this device was until I tried it for a table top gaming session some time ago. These things are genius. However it does take up an outlet for a full 6 hours. I’ll be using my BBQ Chicken recipe again for this event because it’s fast and easy.
You really can do a lot with a little and still enjoy the events of the day! Planning (and allrecipes.com) will make your life a lot easier. If you’ve got a recipe you use for these kind of events I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to leave a comment in the blog to share your secrets as well!
The Recruitment Manifesto Script
So I’m working on the Newsletter Video for Q1 of the Mind’s Eye Society (one of the Live Action groups I belong to) and I wanted to post the script from it because it might be useful to someone out there.
This will be a 15 minute long video (much longer then I had originally intended) and I’m hoping that domains around the country take it to heart (or any other Live Action group really)
Its pretty long, so I’m putting it behind a link. Comments are welcome! (Also apologies for the odd formatting)
Coming to a Youtube channel near you – How to recruit!
So I’m writing this lengthy piece (for video) on recruiting for MES domains. I’ll likely upload it to my blog, but if you have found one thing that’s worked REALLY well (not including short skirts and corsets… that’s a duh yall). Also.. I might… be in front of the camera for this one… /facepalms. Anyways, are you in a domain that recruits well? Tell me what worked for you.
