Pach: Hey there,
Aki, and welcome to Pach's terrible toruturous interview! >:D This will be the first time I've conducted an interview, so my apologies for any weirdness. Anyway! First of all I'd like to say thank you for giving up your time to have this interview/conversation with me! As you know, the topic I picked that I think would make for an interesting discussion and read is about your first GMing experience.
Aki: Hi there Pach! And I don't get interviewed very often, so excuse my own weirdness. We'll be in the same boat.
Pach: Same boat on our first maiden voyage together! Tackling the high seas! Kinda like... your rp, actually! :D
Aki: I see what you did there. Nice.
Pach: So, one thing I think a lot of rpers who haven't GMed before might be wondering/deliberating is how to do it, or what the experience itself is like. For some, it can be daunting and nervewracking, or just confusing, and that's not to mention other unforeseen things that could pop up. So I thought it might be interesting to get the impressions of someone who's started GMing for the first time, and doing a successful job at it as well, like you have with your rp,
The Pirate Age. 
Aki: Well for me, it took a lot of planning. I had an idea that I sat on for awhile until I decided, "Why not? It couldn't hurt to try." So, before I created the interest check I wrote out my ideas and outlined how I pictured the RP would turn out. Basically, I made an outline for the RP. After accomplishing that, which took some time, I then made the Interest Check and OOC. I tried to make them at the same time so there wouldn't be much of a hold up when people showed interest. That's how it started for me: Meticulous planning.
Pach: Meticulous planning? I like it. An important hallmark of a good rp are those with a lot of planning before the actual creation of the rp itself. So you decided to try out and first start GMing because you had an idea you really liked, and there were no other rps at the time that would satisfy that same itch? Or did you want to take a go at trying GMing yourself and also have more creative control?
Aki: Actually, it was a little bit of both. I searched and searched for something like the RP I have, but nothing ever tickled my fancy. There were a few Pirate RPs that I noticed, but it wasn't something I wanted to do. And the only way I could achieve my vision was by becoming a GM. That alone was a tough decision. I had to really make sure I was ready and that it was something I was sure I could do.
Pach: Absolutely. And I think a key and interesting question, because it's something I'd imagine a lot of players might feel like before they embark on trying to GM, is the decision or whether or not they were ready and that it was soemthing they were sure they could do. How were you able to achieve that? I would imagine mostly from your meticulous planning with regards to the rp's details, but what about leading a group? How did you psych yourself up?
Aki: I based my readiness for GMing on time management. I figured out if I had major things to accomplish that would consume my time, and how much free time I would have. The answer to that was a lot of free time by the way. The idea of GMing and leading a group through story is kind of odd, but how I psyched for it was just knowing that these people would be helping to create an amazing adventure based off of my idea. (Influenced by an anime called
One Piece)
Pach: One Piece is one of my favourite anime as well! Great choice. ;D Now about your rp so far- have things gone to plan so far like you hoped it might? Or have things changed in any form?
Aki: Woo, One Piece! Ha, well it started going to plan. Started to. And then it took a turn, surprisingly not for the worst. I give my group some free reign to help build the story, so instead of going with my original plan, we went with theirs and it turned out to be great. I still use my ideas, but now I'm giving them an opportunityto suggest before I use the GM hammer and make things official.
Pach: Oh, I like the sound of this. A good learning experience for all! Have you had any problems arise over the course of the rp so far? And if so, how have you solved them?
Aki: I've had a few problems. Mainly, two people quit in the beginning. Though, since it was still early, I managed to snag a few more players that I'm glad I have. There are occasions when posting may slow down, but I've set up a posting cycle where the group has four days to post until my next move along post. That keeps people aware of when they are falling behind. Shockingly, I don't have many other problems.
Pach: It sounds like you've found a really good group! How many people would you reccomend for a first rp, and if there were more people who wanted to join than you plan to accept, how would you choose?
Aki: I like even numbers. I'd say 6 including yourself. Maybe 8 if you're feeling lucky. Don't try to get too many people on your first try. You will feel overwhelmed and probably cry or something. To join, they had to PM me their CS so I could evaluate it. I used the PM process so I could see how creative they were without a reference of my CS or someone else's. I try not to go over the limit of people. Which I haven't. So yeah.
Pach: And how do you manage to enforce your posting cycle and keep players involved and committed to post?
Aki: Yeah, the stars were aligned near perfect when I got my group haha. The funny thing is, I don't have to enforce it so much because the guys like the RP enough to remember. I may give a notice on like the third day, to push the slow pokes along, but other than that they are self motivated.
Thanks guys, it saves me a lot of work.Pach: Sounds like things are going along well. To have such reliability and commitment from your players definitely shows you're doing a good time of GMing and running a fun rp! Has GMing been how you expected it might be before you started, or different in any way?
Aki: I relly hope so.
No I expected to have to say a lot of rules and such I didn't know how the GMing experience would be. Really, it's just me RPing along side everyone else, just with a bit more freedom and control. It's more laid back than I thought it would be.
Pach: It's nice to hear you say it's laidback. A lot of people presume that GMing an rp would be a lot of really stressful work, which it could be if it's made that way by people. How would you compare GMing your rp to that of being a player in another rp? Any change in difficulty or enjoyment?
Aki: Only stressful if you make it stressful guys. Oh, good question. Let's see... Being a GM versus being a regular player... Honestly, if you play your cards right it's not much difference to me. You basically have the same job, just with a little more say so in the story. Like being in charge of all the crayons of your group. Everyone still gets to use them, you just make sure the group doesn't break them and whatnot. Or...some other terrible analogy that would fit this.
Pach: I love the analogy. |D Do you have any advice for other people who might be or want to start GMing for the first time?
Aki: Advice? Oh dear, um, don't-
Pach: Lol I'm sure the experience hasn't been that bad >:D
Aki: Haha, no no it hasn't. Oh hey that could be the advice. It's actually worth it! You know, even if you don't think it'll work (like I thought for the longest) it's still a learning experience and it is actually kind of fun. Also! Ask a GMing friend. They know things. They can help. I asked for advice (probably too much) but they were willing to help! And use pictures. People like pictures.
Pach: Asking a friend to help is really, really good advice. I would think the majority of good GMs got their first start by having help from a friend. :)
Aki: Yep. I asked two awesome GMs of two very successful RPs and they gave great advice and help.
Pach: And who would those wonderfully awesome
and sexy and outrageously cool GMs be? \(~.~)/
Aki: Pfft, Fox of Spades and you of course. Ha, I was trying to be discreet and you ruined it.
Pach: Who has time for discretion? >:D I'm glad I could help in a small way, and Fox of Spades is wonderful too. <3 Although at the end of the day all the credit and thanks should go to yourself for not only GMing and running The Pirate Age as well as you have, but to have made it as great as it is, and one of the site's most truly fantastic rps. Here's to a long life, much fun and greater things ahead!
Aki: You're too kind. Really. And ha...ha... Funny. Flattery. That gets you everywhere.
Pach: Haha. Thank you for taking the time to help me with this interview, Aki! :D Best of luck to you and your rp! ^_^
Aki: And thank you for taking the time to interview me ^-^
