[repost] immersion and off-topic banter in RPGs

But when I play with my friends I feel like every other word is some off-topic shit. I completely lose my immersion in the game. And on the occasions we play with a subset of the group and get into the roleplaying, we REALLY get into it. Like, I forget where I am, like a good movie, it really sucks me in. But this is becoming more and more the exception. I've considered a "no phones" rule because players will be showing us memes in the middle of me trying to talk and shit. And will be talking about random animes or star wars shit, or will mention something and all the sudden it's "OMG you haven't seen that youtube video? he needs to see it right now!"

Is this my fault? They love the campaign and love my GMing, they shower me with adulation even though I have many flaws I am aware of. Is there a way to get them more immersed? I've been running games for years, I foreshadow and cliffhanger without even being aware of it until later, I run the combats when they happen like a well-oiled machine. yet it's still not enough? Am I alone in this issue? Is there a solution?

Also sorry for literally copy pasting a thread I made last night but it kinda died before I got many replies.

Different groups find different things satisfying. For some, that deep immersion and a few hours of heated roleplay is ideal. For others, the game is a setting for socialization. Ask your groups which they prefer; if they want the deep shit, put that much extra effort in and make them relish it. If they just want a beer and pretzels night, that opens up other things as well; besides the different atmosphere and humor you could try running some different board games every once in a while, or trick them into roleplaying with Everyone is John or something.

Fuck immersion.

Some people play rpgs not to be the epiphany of storytelling but to have fun with friends. Stop trying to force a group out of badwrongfun reasons.

The only thing that is real at the table are the player. Immersion can be cool, but in the end you are still playing a game and not everyone wants to act as a fictional character in the same way.

Ask the group if they want to be immersed or if they feel comfortable with the fun they have. You are the problem if you want others to be immersed without their buy in.

>>53192621
This has been a topic that video games designers have been discussing lately too. One thing that came up that I liked was that "immersion" is kind of a misnomer. Engagement is the term we should be using.

Like you said, it's a range for different people. Partially based on what they want. Most people play games for "fun," but that word doesn't mean the same thing to everyone.

So, my group is always getting derailed, and the group hates it. I'm one of the key offenders (I came off my ADHD medication about 8 years ago, and though I've come on in leaps and bounds in other ways, my attention span is still shot to hell and I can't keep things on track as the DM that easily), but theres a couple others in the group who derail things a lot. One guy doesn't derail initially, but he'll extend things and insist on finishing what he's saying before we get back on track, by which point people will reply to him and it'll turn into a half an hour long thing. The other guy talks loudly and over anybody telling him to shut up because we want to get on with it (resistance is futile).

What can I do to make the others stay on topic, and what can I do to help myself focus on the game and not talk out of character and continue a joke or a meme or something? My main issue is that I get excitable and join in with anything funny being said, and I often go off topic talking about what would be funny or if I linked the game to something funny.

The problem is that half of the group hates this so much, and the other side causes it continually.

>>53192621
Different strokes for different folks. I have enjoyed various games with different approaches to immersion.

I've enjoyed Only War games where nobody has a character, just a mini with stats on it. The battles where engaging and the banter added to the fun.
I've enjoyed games where there is some semblance of story, but we stop every now and again to tell a thing we remembered and have a laugh.
I've also enjoyed hardcore immersion-centric games where you aren't even allowed to talk if your character isn't the room.

In the end of the day, it falls down to pre-game expectations, execution and personal taste. There is no "right" way to play a game, only the mutually agreed one.

>>53192621
sauce?

>>53197220
No thanks, I drop my spaghetti raw.

File: JewelStaitePhotoshoot2003113.jpg (1MB, 1024x1539px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 1024x1539px

>>53192621
I wanna cum on that top and her itty bitty titties

>>53192621
Immersion is really cool and fun if it's done right and everyone is into it.

If the group doesn't want to do it that way, that's fine too.

Whatever you want to do really. You just need to make sure the whole group is on board with whichever route you take. My Dark Heresy group plays with atmospheric background music or sound effects, we get pretty into it and real emotions start coming out. It's not necessary, but we enjoy it. I guess it works particularly well for Dark Heresy which is all about the dark atmosphere.

>>53199303
...am I the only one?

okay

File: 1468164409256.gif (1MB, 250x250px) Image search: [Google]

1MB, 250x250px

>>53192630
>players will be showing us memes in the middle of me trying to talk and shit

>>53193310
wisdom
>>53194913
Why have a game if you just gonna share memes

>>53203196
>Why have a game if you just gonna share memesq
Because we're friends and we love hanging out with one another?

>>53192621
Nothing involving the term memes is serious, dude.

>>53203115
Did she ever fix her teeth after she made it big

>>53203196
>some people want immersion some people want memes
>>wisdom
>my group wants memes
>>why would you want memes

>>53203257
A lot of /tg/ seems to game with people who are not their friends.
Which is weird as fuck to me.

>>53199303
I like how this picture is what she actually looks like, and not/minimally shooped. I mean they left in the armpit stubble. We need more photos like this in mainstream media.

>captcha VIEW DETROIT
It has become aware. It knows where I live.

>>53192621
It bothers me to this day that the first time Mal met kaylee she was taking a dick.

>>53192621
>[repost]
The fuck? Fuck off.

>>53207536
Why does that bother you? She knew she'd steal that dude's job, and Kaylee is a bit of a horndog, so... she decided to get laid and get hired all at the same time. How is that a problem?

>>53206170
Internet games are a hell of a drug anon.

>>53207719
Yeah, not a fan of games where people can hide behind the internet and be shitty players as a result. Not saying everyone that plays on the net is like this, but aside from missing that "group at a table having fun and joking around while gaming" dynamic, I just would never want to deal with all the fucking weirdos who have carte blanche to act up knowing there is no risk. It's like /pol/tards who'd never say the shit they say there in public.

File: Nina Is Thinking.png (57KB, 268x272px) Image search: [Google]

57KB, 268x272px

>>53207771
>/pol/tards who'd never say the shit they say there in public

I've been gone from /tg/ for a good while and I've recently started hanging out here again and I've noticed on more than a few occasions people talking about /pol/ on /tg/ far more often that I remember.

Is my memory shoddy? For the record I don't have a stake either way, I'm just curious.

>>53203115
As long as she kept the top on. That tramp stamp she got is hideous.

>>53206022
Did she ever make it big? Firefly/Serenity was an ensemble thing and she probably had the least character development. On Atlantis she was a blander replacement for a frankly better written character portrayed by a somewhat better actor. And both those shows were canceled.

>>53206528
I'm pretty sure the pic isn't shopped at all - otherwise they'd have fixed that gnarly armpit and those freckles/moles. Proof that she is naturally attractive without needing to be shooped.

>VIEW DETROIT
Not Even Once

>>53208170
Good lord, it's like an ironic parody of a tramp tamp. It's like a character from a sitcom got a bad tattoo as the plot of an episode. It's the kind of tattoo a 13-year-old girl THINKS she wants because she's a dumb child. She can keep the top.

>>53207965
After the recent election, 4chan was left with a lot of newfags who came over here through /pol/ and have since spread to other boards, but instead of getting a quick education via /b/ like most newfags used to, they don't understand how to keep /pol/ in /pol/.

>>53208481
>Did she ever make it big?
Never mind, I was thinking of a different Jewel.

Immersion isn't a meme, but "verisimilitude" is. Nobody uses that word outside of the tradgame community, and even within that it's only the insufferable ones.

>>53192621
I like her.
Shes cute.

>>53192621
Nut up, OP.

Pick your best players, reschedule and don't tell anyone else when game is.

Or you can grow a pair and tell someone they are not invited.

Up to you if you want to be a whiny little bitch or get things done.

>>53209098
I don't quite get your complaint? Verisimilitude is an useful word describing what you're looking for in a game or how you intend to run it.

>>53192621
I hate posts like this.

Its like your asking for advice but what you are really looking for is an excuse to bitch. I feel like everytime I respond to one of these I'm just feeding you attention.

You KNOW the answer already. Stop bothering people.

>>53199303
If I was a girl, that is the type of girl I would like to be. But I don't think I'd ever be able to stay that skinny.

>>53199303
I want to rub her belly and watch her smile while carrying my baby.

>>53192621
>[repost]

>>>/reddit/

>>53209252
I want to do the same except replace the smile with a grimace because it wasn't consentual.

I'm kind of fucked up.

File: Kaylee tattoo.jpg (63KB, 450x600px) Image search: [Google]

63KB, 450x600px

>>53199303
I've a crush on her since Flash Forward. But this does make me sad.