Player Engagement
Creating feedback through props.
StorytellingDesignCreateAcross the Cyberverse
I’ve been having a blast running a tabletop RPG for the last three years. Twice a month, my friends and I get together to play out a story in Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn Adventure Game.
Some of the players have never met in person, and even more have never been in the same state. I thought it would be a challenge getting the players to interact with the game and one another.
Connection and Possessions
People connect with possessions. Kwok, Grisham, and Norberg surmise that people form a connection with items based on their Instrumental Value, Likeability, Sentimentality, and attributed human characteristics (anthromorphism).
So this creates an opportunity and a question : I want to increase player engagement. Could I create a connection to the game, and increase engagement, by creating objects for my players?
Letters
In one of our earliest adventures, the players’ crew attended a social event and sabotaged the whole thing. I sent the crew letters. Some from their hostess, some from onlookers, and some hinting at a new plotline.
The reaction was less than I expected. There was no real impact of receiving the letters. The letters only recapped what they already knew, and plot threads I planted were never fully explored by players.
Portraits
While one player was unable to attend, the others commissioned in-game portraits of his character. I used DALLE-2 to generate terrible portraits of a player character. These were sent to his home address.
The players loved the commitment to the joke. We still laugh about them, and this moment inspired a new plotline for the game.
The portraits changed how I thought about my tangible items. I was originally thinking of them like clues in an escape room. The portraits were just for fun though. They became a reward for, or celebration of, the players actions.
Boxes
Our game started when a box was stollen from one of the player characters. The box had huge sentimental value to the young woman. Getting it back became the crew’s primary focus.
The box had been sealed, so it’s location and contents were a mystery to the crew. I wanted to build off of their curiosity and their motivation, so I built each of them a replica of the box — including a secret opening mechanism. Having a physical reminder of their mission kept the game focused, and their curiosity piqued.
Closing Thoughts
You don’t need props to run a tabletop game. They help though. Some players will form a connection to tangible versions of storytelling, and the thought and care that goes into these add-ons may spark fresh ideas for the one running the game.
I’ve loved making these items. Each one was an experiment to find out what would foster investment in the game. I think mine added a little extra spark.