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.
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Cheers,
GM T