It’s my experience that you can identify the type of roleplayer or group by the type of pronoun they use while in-game; “I” or “Bob” (ie. “My Character”). Depending on the type of pronoun the player uses is often a good indication of what they want to get out a gaming. In order to help build a game that caters to the goals and desires of your group, a little reflection on what type of gamers you play with my be useful.
(…and before I get too far into this, please understand that this is a gross, but useful, generalization. This isn’t a set of rules, just guidelines to help a GM think about who they are playing with. See the final paragraph before you send me hate mail.)
To help identify the goals of my players I usually characterize them in to two broad categories; “I” roleplayers and “Bob” roleplayers.
Process-oriented players, aka “I” roleplayers, often broadcast their intentions in the game by using the first person pronouns “I” or “We” when describing what their character is doing. Process-oriented players like to play RPGs for the joy of sitting down with other people and telling the same story. They are not so much interested in XP or accumulating wealth, what they want is to tell a good story and enjoy a night with some friends. When you over-analyze the term “roleplaying,” these guys dig on the “role” part of roleplaying moreso than the “game.” (and goal-oriented players like the “game” part a bit more). Because they enjoy getting into character, its easier for them to leave the rules behind and end up referring to their character with the more intimate “I.”
Goal-oriented gamers, aka “Bob” roleplayers, will usually avoid getting too far into their character’s heads (for various reasons) and prefer to stay distanced by using pronouns that specifically refer to the character, usually in third-person. They say “Bob is doing this,” rather than “I am doing this.” Goal-oriented players call their characters by name and describe what “they” are doing. For these players, the game is a game, and there are often very tangible goals that they hope to attain; defeat a dragon, amass considerable wealth, become a badass. These are the players that enjoy building their character over time and see them grow. Its not some much they seek to “win” the roleplaying game, but that they do want to see development in their characters (sometimes mechanical, sometimes from pure roleplaying).
There is no style that is intrinsically better than the other- just different. However, it’s a good idea for the GM to figure out what type of players they have sitting at the table and use that knowledge to create tailor-made games to the group and to the individual players. I also do not believe “I” gamers or “Bob” gamers are any harder or easier to design campaigns for, just being aware of what a player wants and how they have a good time is enough to make subtle changes to your approach to a game. A little emphasis here or a little spotlight there should do the trick.
For “Bob” players I like to focus on xp. I like to give them the tools so they can see their character grow and develop. I also make sure to take notes of events in-game that could yield results for the character. For example, a “Bob” character that scores critical successes on social roles may gain an ally or access to resources that they do not have to purchase with xp. I look for opportunities to give the player more “stuff.”
For “I” roleplayers its all about the game itself. Making sure the character has time to shine and participate in the game is the best thing I can do for the player. Allowing the character to be marginalized or left behind while the rest of the group has a grand adventure is about the worst thing I can do to these players.
In my experience I have seen many players able to move back and forth between styles, especially when entering different (real world) settings. I normally consider myself a “Bob” roleplayer, I usually refer to my characters in the third person and I like getting stuff (truth be told). Yet, when I go to a convention and play in games I usually find myself using the first person pronoun. When at a convention I am looking for something out of my gaming experience that is different than what I look for when I sit at the kitchen table with my buddies. I know that long-term character building is not an option, so I am looking forward to the raw experience of the event. At cons, I see people enjoying roleplaying for the process, not the goals, and I tend to see those groups buy into the “I” style of gaming much easier and faster.
It should be noted that these broad generalizations aren’t always accurate even in the same setting. I can recall a player I had a in a Call of Cthulhu group not too long ago that really loved playing the game but is also someone I would call a powergamer. Normally, powergamers would fall into the “Bob” group as they are interested in the goals of their character and abilities in how to achieve those goals- but he used the first person pronouns for his characters. He liked the goals, but also really enjoyed getting into the character’s head.
Rather than thinking my CoC gamer automatically destroyed my classifications, I just reminded myself that not everyone fits into a nice box. I took elements of games that I would use for both process- and goals- oriented players to make sure he had a good time. In fact, because he straddled the lines of the type of gamers I identify, it was remarkably easy to develop plotlines for him.
It’s interesting to note that a group mentality will often bring all the players to use the same pronouns when playing. I’ve had a number of players that will revert to different pronouns when not playing with their group, and I believe that is very telling. When with the group, these players remain flexible enough to use different pronouns, but when one-on-one with the GM they revert to the pronouns they are comfortable with. This can tell a GM that the player has different goals than the rest of the group- and while they may be having a good deal of fun, may also want to see something different in terms of gameplay. Use your intuition and play your hunches, if you think a player wants something different from the rest of the group from a session, ask them.
Whether you agree with the above broad generalizations or disagree, I strongly suggest you take some time to think about the types of players you have in your group. Come up with your own categories (or not) and work on building campaigns and sessions that cater to what they hope to get out of the game. Go so far as to ask them what they like best out of roleplaying and see if you can incorporate those desires into your next session. Chances are you can’t get all their goals into one session, but if you work methodically and take good notes, you probably can nail most of them over the lifetime of a campaign.
In Summary:
- Identify if your players are goal- or process-oriented.
- Use “I” vs. “Bob” as a general guideline to build sessions to cater to your players’ desires.
- Catering to the desires of your players is usually a good thing.
