How do you keep Armageddon fun?

[Fnord]

After many years of gaming, one of my personal requirements is that anything I play must have been more entertainment than work at the end of the day. For example, I quit playing WoW because in a competitive end-game guild it began to feel like a full-time job. So if you're hardcore or casual, a leader or a unknown desert rat, what is your advice for keeping our favorite game FUN. There's no right answer, I'm hoping for a wide range of ideas from different types of players.

I'll throw a few suggestions out to get the ball rolling:

1) Gravitating toward strong roleplayers because they challenge me

2) Helping n00bs by taking them aside for a little well needed OOC when it's obviously needed

3) Not putting myself in a position, such as an RPT, where it's not cool to quit out in the middle of it, unless I really have enough time to see it through

[Marauder Moe]

Identify and reduce/remove the aspects of your play that are not fun.

For me, I realized that tavern idling was having a detrimental impact on my free time.  So, I stopped doing it.  If my character can't find anything to do but sit in an empty tavern (or one without characters to reasonably interact with), I log out and go do something fun or productive.

If you don't like certain aspects of leadership, tell your minions that you only want to handle that business at certain times (set up OOC "office hours" once or twice a week) and the rest of the time you don't want to be bothered by it.

If you're a minion and there's a particular duty you really hate to the point where you're considering retirement, talk to your clan immortals and eventually your clan leader's player.  Maybe you can work out a more entertaining (OOCly) alternative.

[Is Friday]

Biographies! Lots of biographies.

[NoteworthyFellow]

Biographies! Lots of biographies.

This.

[Gimfalisette]

Play in a clan with a supportive, active imm. I can do really, really a lot (and have a lot of fun) with no imm support at all, but my ability to make fun for myself and other players is at least tripled when I'm getting what I need from my imm.

Constantly ask myself how I can make the game more fun for other players and myself, and then do whatever that is.

Add new interaction tricks to my repertoire: Small, fun things that can be done in a tavern setting to make playing there not just another boring string of "Hey Amos, how about that weather" conversations. Playing Kruth, impromptu drinking games, joke-telling, darts contests, etc etc.

Pursue plots/goals that are interesting to me OOCly, and important for my character ICly. For myself, these are generally "creative" types of plots (versus destructive), because that's just more of what I'm interested in.

Throw RPTs. I really love putting on a good RPT. It's a rush of awesome to know that I've made happy fun time (and/or happy gore time) for a group of other players.

Make sure that I have 2 to 5 characters around me who can handle the intensity and frequency of the interaction that I need for fun. These are usually the PCs of players who are pretty skilled at character portrayal, participating in plots, and so on; skilled RPers who will keep me on my toes.

Try to fill all my "relational slots" by acquiring the one or more of each of the following: Boss, minion, best friend, lover, enemy. Each of those relationships will provide storyline to my character. And usually these characters are part of my cadre (see above) who can handle the intensity I need.

In dealing with enemies, hold off on killing them, but rather attempt to turn the relationship into a slow simmer of mutual hatred and non-fatal backstabbing.

Send kudos. OK, well, this one doesn't really make the game more fun for -me-...but if everyone sent more kudos, surely I'd get some, and I do love feeling appreciated In all seriousness, it's a wonderful thing to feel like one's play matters to other players, so everyone should send kudos more often.

[tortall]

Send kudos. OK, well, this one doesn't really make the game more fun for -me-...but if everyone sent more kudos, surely I'd get some, and I do love feeling appreciated  In all seriousness, it's a wonderful thing to feel like one's play matters to other players, so everyone should send kudos more often.

Yes! I got a kudo recently and I was giddy for like 3 hours. After that I sent a few myself. It's fun, and if more people send them, then everyone will have more fun!!!

[Kronibas]

I think taking periodic breaks is an awesome way to keep the game fun.

[mansa]

kill n00bs?

[Shiroi Tsuki]

My main thing for staying interested is to create characters with the most interesting concepts I can think of at the time.  If I can't think up an interesting character and I make something up (this tends to happen after I lose a really awesome character), they don't tend to last.  Fortunately on my last break I got to fantasize about a lot of awesome concepts, so I should be in good characters up to my elbows for a while.

The second thing that keeps my characters fun and interesting is making sure I end up with an interesting, supportive network of family, friends, minions, clannies, or whathaveyou.  I've only made one semi-isolated character, and he was awesome, but not always that interesting and so I didn't play very much at the time.  I guess my characters need to be as much of social animals as I am.

The third thing tends to be my personal sadism towards my characters.  What can I say?  I like to screw up their lives in various ways.  If they don't have any large external conflict they're dealing with, or a conflict with friends or relatives, then they have to have to have something go wrong in their life.  It's a must.

The fourth and perhaps most important thing I've learned to keep the game fun and interesting is that if I don't feel like playing, I need to not play.  Logging in out of habit tends to just make me even more disgruntled, so if that means I take a four-day break, then I take a four day break.  And come back when I really want to play again.

Kudos make me wriggle like a happy puppy.  I try to keep the volume of kudos I send above the volume I receive, just to share the love.

[jhunter]

I like to twink out my magickers and go around randomly pk'ing people.

Then I make a merchant and spamcraft until I'm rich enough to buy my own personal templar.

And pk them.

I kill for fun.

[FantasyWriter]

A really good torture session will keep you fired up about the game for a long time!  And give you nice stories to share to get other people fired up about the game.
Torture sessions rock!

[NoteworthyFellow]

A really good torture session will keep you fired up about the game for a long time!  And give you nice stories to share to get other people fired up about the game.
Torture sessions rock!

I always find that a spectacular death (or spectacularly stupid death) energizes me like you wouldn't believe.  I've never been one of those players who has to take a break after losing a beloved character.  I'm usually disappointed, but simultaneously re-energized.

[Zoltan]

I always find that a spectacular death (or spectacularly stupid death) energizes me like you wouldn't believe.  I've never been one of those players who has to take a break after losing a beloved character.  I'm usually disappointed, but simultaneously re-energized.

Same here. And on topic, I seem to be having fun whenever I log on, lately. Something that's really helped that is fleshing out my character's history and always keeping it in mind while I play. If you ever find yourself creating a middle-aged character, you find there's lots of virtual time in their past that was filled up by -something-. When you think about it, it can be almost anything so long as it isn't too outlandish. Past jobs, friends, enemies, lovers, family members... Deciding on those things usually gets me pumped up to play my character.

[Archbaron]

Camp out n00b spawn points in Allanak and Tuluk and slay them immediately upon entering with my maxxed out warrior and his uber magick sword.

[FantasyWriter]

Camp out n00b spawn points in Allanak and Tuluk and slay them immediately upon entering with my maxxed out warrior and his uber magick sword.

But raiding at the sid mines is soooooooo much more fun.  Especially when you rob the same guy for the third or fourth time.

[Shiroi Tsuki]

Wait... the 'sid mines AREN'T a noob spawn point in the south?   

[FantasyWriter]

Wait... the 'sid mines AREN'T a noob spawn point in the south?   

That WOULD explain why there are so many people walking around out there in the sames clothes... hmmm... and to think I always get stuck starting in the Gaj. 

[Shiroi Tsuki]

There is more than one way to skin a cat.  Or collect noobie boots.

[FantasyWriter]

I had a contract once (over a year ago) to take out this solo raider that was harassing an indy merchant from another city... so I go to the city and buy some cheap clothes put both my weapons in my pack and do my best to act like this little indy merchant that needed an escort from point A to point B.  Well about half way there, low and behold, he decides that he is going to rob me. BWAHAHAHA! I didn't PK him, but I did do my best to make sure he would make it back to civilization alive...  my PC wore his boots until he died.    Sorry if you are reading this:(... I had a great time though.