Transmissions: August 2002
What Does the Staff Want Out of Living Force?

By Jae Walker
Living Force Campaign Director

Every once in a while, someone asks me one of Those Questions. You know the ones - the kind that really make you sit back and think about why you do what you do. Recently, there was some upheaval, and someone asked me one of Those Questions. "Jae," he said, "what is it that you want out of Living Force?"

You know, for all that I've talked about the staff, I don't think that's something that any of us have ever explicitly addressed. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I speak for most, if not all, of the staff in what I'm about to write.

One way to answer this question is to start out at a broad level. "We want to support the Star Wars Roleplaying Game line successfully by bringing players into the game."

I guess that's a true statement. Without the Star Wars Roleplaying Game, there is no Living Force, so it's certainly in our best interests to support it. And, working for the RPGA, we're kind of in the product support business to begin with. But is that our primary motivation? Nah. Not even close.

Our primary motivation is to help people have fun -- and to have some fun ourselves.

Sounds simple, huh? Sometimes it is, and sometimes it isn't.

"Man, I wish I were Luke Skywalker!"
One of the things that the staff - and here I'm including myself, Morrie, Colleen, Lee, August, and all of our wonderful meta-campaign volunteers - has in common is that we love Star Wars. If you're reading this, you probably have that in common with us. It's a wonderful universe, an exciting place to play, and a wonderful breeding ground for imaginations of all ages. It's fun. Almost every one of us - player, judge, and staffer - has said, at some point, "Man, I wish I were Luke Skywalker," or, "Princess Leia rules!" or, "Wow, Han Solo is cool!"

Star Wars is one of the ultimate fantasy realms, and it's a great thrill to be a part of it. Certainly, we're inspired by the opportunity to create and tell an ongoing story in George Lucas' universe.

When you volunteer to run a Living Force game at a convention, you don't have any idea who your audience is going to be. From talking to Morrie and Lee, I know that they work hard to figure out how to make something that will be the most fun for the most people. They've long since given up trying to figure out the single best way to make Living Force feel like Star Wars - and that's because "feeling like Star Wars" means something different to almost everyone. But they strive to make every event feel as grand, cinematic and "Star Wars-ian" as possible. They do this so that people can have fun playing the game and because they enjoy the writing and creative action that goes into shaping the campaign. They want to continue having fun.

Beyond the Table
Colleen and her amazing legion of meta volunteers work to expand things beyond module play. If the modules are good (or, the Great Maker forbid, if they aren't!), there is still more that the characters can learn and do. Life doesn't take place in four-hour chunks for us, nor should it stop and start just because modules stop and start for the characters.

By making ships, droids, and other things available, Colleen and crew are trying to make things more enjoyable for everyone. They have fun interacting with players and watching them make use of the benefits the meta-campaign offers. It's like watching someone rip into a birthday present you agonized over -- and loving it!

As for me, my fun comes from keeping things on track and watching the campaign grow. It's like Hannibal Smith used to say: "I love it when a plan comes together." I'm in this because I want people to enjoy themselves, and the more we do, the more we put out there, the more potential there is for people to have fun.

Suggestion Box
Probably the hardest thing for any of us to deal with is that some people, for whatever reason, don't have fun. Whether you had a bad experience with a module, had a bad judge, or caught one of us on a bad day (we're human -- it happens), these things bother us. Some days, though, that's all we hear about, and on those days, it's hard to remember that this is fun. We're volunteers, and it's a challenge to keep doing something like this - which takes up 20 to 40 hours per week for most of us - when you only hear the negative. (Let me add here our fervent thanks to those of you who have gone out of your way to tell us what you enjoy.)

When it starts to feel like that, we just have to step back. Morrie, the psychologist, likes to remind me (and I like to remind him, when the need arises!) that the people who are having fun don't necessarily say anything because they don't feel the need to. The folks we're most likely to hear from are the ones who want something changed - it's just human nature. Many of us fill out restaurant comment cards when a waiter or waitress is lousy, but we don't bother when we get really good service. It's the same principle.

In gaming, I've found that it's necessary for everyone involved to have fun. The judge should have fun, the players should have fun, and the staff should have fun. I think that's all any of us want. So, if you have any suggestions on how we can make Living Force more fun - for you or for us - don't hesitate to let us know! We may not be able to fulfill every wish, but we are listening.

And Now For Something Completely Different
With that out of the way, it's back to finishing up the rules for converting Living Force to the revised Star Wars Roleplaying Game. By the time you read this, our efforts should be nearing completion.

Speaking of conversion: There's always a disconnect between the time new rules come out and the time we can implement them. Judges - if someone sits down at your table with a character created under the new rules, just relax and work around any differences. We're still running under the original d20 rules until August 12th (the day after the U.S. GenCon Game Fair), but the differences are relatively small, and we have confidence that our judges are creative and flexible enough to manage for a short time.

May the Force Be With You!