The Top 5 Myths About Game Masters

June 22, 2007 · Filed Under General, Musings, Online

More often than not, a lot of players have misconceptions on what a Game Master (GM) is. What do we do? What are our jobs? Are we like gods on Mount Olympus hurling thunderbolts and banning players on a whim?

The most common assumption is that GMs’ are all-powerful beings that have complete and utter control over the game and its denizens. How I wish it were true. Quite the opposite. In order to avoid corruption, bias and favoritism within the ranks, a GMs powers are limited. He or she is given powers and tools to do specific tasks according to the job description.

Another funny thing to note is that some younger players think that ALL employees of a gaming company (like ours) are GMs. If this were the case, there would be utter chaos in the office and no true work will be done.

Read more as I venture into the myths about GMs…

TOP 5 MYTHS ABOUT GMS

MYTH NO. 1 - GMs have complete control of the game and have godlike powers - Duh? We only have powers such as becoming invisible, free teleport, not dying, summoning players, silencing and checking on conversations (sometimes). As to complete control of the game, that privilege rests on more powerful beings called “developers”. Yup, game publishers (like Level Up) rely on the developers (in this case, Koreans) to fix bugs and exploits in the game. Sometimes I get SMS or YM messages like “GM this map is bugged! Fix it now”. Sorry, we can’t do that just by snapping our fingers. We have to course that through proper channels and this takes time and resources.

MYTH NO. 2 - GMs can generate any item they want - the GMs of illegal private servers can. But not us. Like I said, in order to protect the integrity of the game and our company, item generation is limited to a few select individuals (even I don’t have such an authority). This protocol is to ensure that no items are generated out of the normal “drop ratio” and that game balance is maintained. And even for in-game item prizes for events, we GMs have to do mundane tasks such as filling out forms, getting signatures and going to the proper departments for processing.

MYTH NO. 3 - GMs just play all day! - If this were true, we’d be firing GMs every day *snicker*. A GMs day is a busy one and it’s not all playing. Let me give you an example… when a GM goes in for work, he or she checks with his supervisor and gets the tasks for the day. It can be one of many things: investigation, restoration, checking the boards, helping on tickets, filing reports, attending meetings, doing in-game events or even assisting the Community Manager or our events team do real-life events in malls, cafes or schools. It’s a fun job, yes… but playing is just part of it. And it’s not playing the game just for the sake of it… more often than not, enforcement duties are to be done. There will be bad dudes that need banning and/or silencing.

MYTH NO. 4 - When there is lag or you get disconnected it’s the GMs fault - bandwith interminnet connections and latency/lag are the result of many factors such as your local connection, telco problems, server stress, even the weather. The GMs are probably the last on that list. And we don’t use that bandwith to download torrents or videos… hehehe. Those lines are reserved for the game and the servers are not computers that we use in the office. They are huge and expensive rigs housed in a secret location guarded by highly trained ninjas with vorpal weapons and lasers (okay…. that part is not true). But it’s NOT OUR FAULT - (load off my chest. whew!)

MYTH NO. 5 - I was hacked! A GM can return my items if only he willed it to be so - I get this a lot. Sadly, there are processes to be followed. First and foremost is investigating if the incident was really a “hack”. Sadly, around 80-90% of these cases are due to negligience…. such as a player sharing a password or having someone “pilot” the account. For check and balance, the investigator GM and the one who will give the items back (assuming that everything was followed and the account is now valid for restoration) are different. We can’t just give back items by sheer will or “mind power”. I’d be challenging David Blaine if I had that power.

I hope that this post will open up the minds of some players that GMs are also human, with a job to do and have to report to a boss too. GMs follow strict processes - these are in place so that “check and balance” and that these powers can be regulated so that abusive individuals can easily be identified (and reprimanded).

It’s a cliche, I know, but I like to end this article with this quote; “With great power comes great responsibility”

Now you know what GMs can and can do… let’s give them a break.

Oh, if you liked this post, do me a favor and “digg” this with the Digg button below. Thanks!

Cheers,

GM T

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Comments

19 Responses to “The Top 5 Myths About Game Masters”

pogiski on June 23rd, 2007 1:00 am

finally, lets hope everyone reads this. im bustin my brains out laughing everytime i see pubs like:

waaaah lag sa server ko! potah kyo mga gm!!!

waaaah nawala zeny ko! taena nyo gm!!

pak yu gm! ayusin nyo baldur!!!

@all

guys… give em a break, give em a kitkat…
peps on June 23rd, 2007 1:57 am

“With great power comes great responsibility”

Well, I hope the COMMUNITY MANAGER of ROSE Online-PH understands this statement.

Oh, nice article btw…
Dj_BB on June 23rd, 2007 2:11 am

Can this be also posted in the Midgard Congress section of the Ragnaboards?

Perhaps, ask GM T for permission for me or anyone to create a thread in there and link this.

Its pretty dang crucial for everyone to read this. I believe this will help in makin` some if not most (or all for that matter) UNDERSTAND that somehow we do not need to put blame in the spur of the moment without ascertaining the veracity of our/their grievances and claims through proper protocol.

Im dang sick and tired of seeing the post of those mindless, barbaric and unscrupulous characters who uses nothing but extreme profanity and colorful metaphors in the conveyance of their message.

Tis like being drowned in an endless see of paperworx while everyone around you shouting in the top of their lungs “Hurry up you Nincompoof! Nitwit! Neanderthal!”
Of course, that wont induce anything good, it’ll only impede more! Argh! Why is it that most rather be part of the problem than of the solution! Aaaaaaaarrrr

Give em a break!!!
GM T on June 23rd, 2007 2:16 am

go ahead and post it. You have my permission.
GM T on June 23rd, 2007 2:16 am

but create a link here to the original post k?

/thx
Dj_BB on June 23rd, 2007 2:33 am

Thanks for the permission, Sir Mon.

http://ragnaboards.levelupgames.ph/index.php?showtopic=42201
EvilAsh on June 23rd, 2007 7:43 am

RE: Myth # 3
Isn’t the primary job of a GM/Vanguard to guard the actual GAME itself? I mean they are GAMEmasters. Shouldn’t they sped more time in-game? They don’t have to be on 24/7 I mean they could log in every 30 minutes or so and check players pubbing downed maps so they can escalated it or whatever to IT? How many GM’s do you guys have PER shift? And are your GM’s 24/7? You’re a service oriented company and you should have at the very least 24/7 support.
Ryan on June 23rd, 2007 1:21 pm

If only all players would read. Some players play the game directly without anymore following instructions. Just like in the terms of service thingies on websites, they just click on the “I Agree” button without even reading on what’s really on that agreement. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.

They also find all the blame to GMs because some players do not actually know who to blame, lack of information on their part.
Chiyo on June 23rd, 2007 3:59 pm

Misconceptions like that happen because you’re the first names connected to LU that appear in the game. Everyone will think that you’re the ones responsible for everything that happens in-game. ^_^

More on pointing fingers, since it’s human nature that we need something to blame whenever bad happens.

Being a GM sure do need a lot of patience… And somewhere to put off everything in mind and every burden that you guys have. ^___^

Good luck, Sir T. ^_^
DeSquallie on June 23rd, 2007 10:00 pm

GameMasters differ from game to game. Not all games have the same roles for them so maybe they’re misled to think that GMs, or should I say, Vanguards have the godlike powers over players.

Great post for people awareness. ^_^ Now they’ll try to find someone else to blame. X_x
Moonstalk on June 24th, 2007 6:21 am

Sorry, can’t help but question this.

Isn’t LU! doing anything to -at least- increase manpower? Sure, GMs have their own tasks to finish, if that’s the case LU! should -at least- put two or three people who would really monitor in game activities, not just the GMs. Things like duping and hacking would prolly be prevented if someone monitored these game activities overall and not just the GMs. You can’t expect the players to cooperate anymore since most likely, 70%-80% of them are in bot mode. We need peeps who will closely look at the in-game things, not just the events but the overall activities happening.

Just my PoV. -_-
Doggburner on June 24th, 2007 6:34 am

I would agree with Moonstalk.

Since GM Tristan said that GMs are busy ingame and in IRL, why not get employees that will only focus on ingame activities? This is the main reason why players are leaving the game since they feel that Ragnarok ingame has not been given much attention. Specially in Thor.

Get around a team of 2-5 that will be roaming around the server. Knowing that a GM/Vanguard is around will simply attract players.

It is like living in a village that you know you have the best security.

My 2 cents.
dodge113 on June 25th, 2007 4:04 pm

I agree with Dogg, Moonstalk and EvilAsh.

If GMs are busy, then there should be other people doing the in-game functions of a GM. Also, since it is a service oriented company, there should be a shifting schedule for GMs. The game goes on 24/7, and there should be no reason for it not to have a Vanguard in the wee hours of the day.

However, I do hope a lot of the idiots get to read this post, as very few understand how a GM is supposed to be like, and how not all employees are GMs.
GM T on June 25th, 2007 7:15 pm

we have… it’s called Vanguards for RF and the Midgard Police for pRO. They are players na parang assistant GMs. More on this in a separate post
Empowering Players | gmtristan.com on June 25th, 2007 7:32 pm

[…] was inspired by the comments on my latest post about the Top 5 Myths about GMs. Some really agree that there are a lot of players who feel that all employees are GMs. Also, I got […]
Espadang Isda on June 25th, 2007 9:33 pm

They are huge and expensive rigs housed in a secret location guarded by highly trained ninjas with vorpal weapons and lasers

LOLS

GM T pede ba paki tagalog para maintindihan ng mga hindi marunong magingles, really good information if only players would read this.
Dj_BB on June 25th, 2007 11:50 pm

There is an age old cliché - “it takes one, to be one… it takes one, to understand one“

I’ll bet you 2.147B zennies that you wont throw any negative comments, once you yourself get to experience working in LU, get a taste of how it feels like & be able to understand how the wheels of the whole company turns in terms of company policies and protocol.

Most of us dwell too much on speculation and draws conclusion long before we have a taste of the facts. Even after tasting the facts, we find it unpalatable and linger still on what we only want to believe, blinded by our own wrong ways of perceiving things.

Heres another cliché, which is far more stereotyped and long overused if I may say so - “do not bite the hands that feed you“

For some who alleges that LU is somehow intentionally causing their own downfall by not doing what they can to the utmost of their ability, you better think twice. Even a Kindergarten pupil will agree to the fact that no company will push to lose their precious customers / clientele.

Unresolved tech issues? Well you have to understand that most technical issues are only within the power of and can only be resolved by r.o.’s developer - Gravity. Patience, its a virtue that gives a certain inner solace - only if you will allow it to emanate from deep within you.

Do I hear somebody sayin` touché ?
No Classes On Thursday Due To Crappy Weather | gmtristan.com on August 8th, 2007 10:00 pm

[…] bring the snorkel! Sheesh… I wish I really had GM powers so I can […]
6 Things MMOs Owe to D&D | gmtristan.com on March 25th, 2008 3:08 pm

[…] Masters - I already told you several myths about MMO Game Masters. But the concept of GMs (Dungeon Masters in the case of D&D) is another Gary Gygax legacy. […]