Skip to main content

After Session Zero: reflections

I've watched games online before. In particular, I enjoy Critical Role, but I've watched several other streams. Despite the fact that these games are available on Twitch, I just never sit down and watch a game as it streams. I actually tend to catch up on play VOD while at work (a dangerous admission for most of us).
But I wanted to stream. For one thing, my good friend Scooter was super excited about the idea. For another thing, I like to push myself in game creation and play. I think that I can run a game well and I feel comfortable as a GM/DM.
So that's why I thought I could do run the game. Despite being really excited about the game and having a fun concept, I really didn't want to see myself on video or hear myself over a mic- I sound like Kermit the Frog.

After running the game and watching the video (still watching), I loved it. It was awesome. I want to do it again. A lot.

Benefits of streaming:
1. I have the chance to replay my game. I can use it for notes, remember things I said, and I can generally appreciate the way that the session flowed. One of the great things about an RPG is the social interaction - the fun at the table - that takes place during play. It was super cool to relive that and see what players really enjoyed.
2. I needed to keep things rolling. Minimal down time, minimal review, just focus on running the game. Not bad at 1st level with one scene; I am sure this will get harder as things go. I don't use a DM screen when I run, so I have t know what my table space is like and be ready to move.

I am really glad that I don't have to do character creation every session. Inspired by the fact that Twitch has a 'Creative' set of channels, I thought that character creation could be a good addition to our first session. I wanted to pair that with a short adventure scene that would set the stage and get the players playing. For one of our players, Will, this was his first session of 5th Edition D&D. I wanted something that would help him play the game and spice up our initial stream.

Planning for a Session Zero let me embrace failure. The things that were not perfect have a reason not to be perfect. We got to set up our video and audio and get things going. It also helped me to get the nerves out. I was pretty scattered an hour before game. By the time it was rolling, things were good. Thanks Adam Koebel (@skinnyghost) for good advice there!

Scooter (@discopreacha) was our producer. He did an amazing job! He knew where the cameras needed to be placed, got the mic set up and the audio balanced, had scenes ready for the mixer and generally just kicked butt. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten started, let alone played the game. After, he also got the video posted online! Just too cool.

One big hiccup was we only had 2 of 4 players. Because of that, we will have a session 0.1. So I'm looking forward to that and getting things ready!

Comments