Commitment Issues

Now, I've been larping for "some time" and I've worked more often than not in my life, earned an alright wage and rented.

I can afford may be one game a month if I'm lucky.

Every other person, with the exception of my partner, that I know seems to fill every Friday through Sunday at a larp. Some even go from Thursday instead of Friday.
Every weekend.

A couple of things confuse me.

Firstly, the Cost.
These other folks I know are in national minimum wage jobs just like me, or on a selection of govt benefits.
I've got a loan repayment also going out of my wages every month, and I have a kid.

Even when I didn't have those things I couldn't afford to larp every weekend, travelling from one end of the country to the other, usually by public transport and not cadging a lift, even then I wouldn't be able to afford it.
Seriously people where does this money come from?

Am I missing some trick here or something?
Just what the hell.

The other thing.
The commitment required.

Maybe it's the style of games that they attend that make the difference, the "big event" games with triple digit numbers of players.

Now, I run a small game, thirty or so active players.
The behind the scenes stuff is a second job for me.
One I don't get paid for either.
I make no money from the game at all.
It's not run as a business.
But as a ref I'm on all of my players social media profiles.
I know all of them pretty well, same as I know their characters pretty well.
Indeed it's been shown a number of times in the past that I knew their characters better than they did. Go figure.

I wandered off track there for a moment. For good reason.

See in my game when players start to drift from the characters goals, methods and such I notice it pretty quickly.
Often I'm able to steer them back to where they wanted to be.

They got lost due to what I see as Commitment Issues.
They've got a half dozen or more other larp systems on the go at the same time that they're losing track of what each system is and who each character is.

All the plots start to get jumbled up.
I've had it happen at my game.
A player convinced that I ok'd an action.
I didn't.
They got confused with the other system.

How many systems do you play, perhaps even run.
Ever had that problem?

As a ref in a small system I also notice the lethargy and, well let's call it what it is, the laziness.
Big systems take up a lot of people's time, understandably so.
But when you start turning up to other systems not bothering with the physical requirements, the right kit and costume and even the right mind set.
That right there is not on.

You're not only doing the players who turn up as they should a disservice but you're also telling the gm's that you don't really care about the thing you're at.
And that right there is well out of order.

I've seen a lot of games fold over the years because of the mental rot that sets in when players start to over commit to many systems.

When you start to commit to a few systems at first it might be fine, different settings and rules to learn, maybe even a few players from those other games you attend so that's all cool too.

But have you noticed that you tend to hang out with mostly the same people regardless of the system, that over time a lot of all your different characters start getting the same mannerisms because it's what you're comfortable with.
And besides you're surrounded by mates and they all do it to right?

Your characters in all the systems start to blur together.
You start to lose track of plot.
Plot that other people are involved in.
Plot that others are working hard for and on.
Plot that you can't really be bothered with, because you're thinking about that thing from the other game that was pure bants and well cool cos all the gang was there..

Ever noticed that?

Maybe there are times you can't be bothered because you're shattered from that thing you was doing last week, and hey its not like any one will notice if you're not there.
I mean it's not as if you're part of plot or anything right? Others can coast along with you not there right?

Seriously people.
Stop being such dicks to the rest of the player base.

Ever single thing that you play requires 100%.
If you can't do that then maybe step back from it.
There's a huge chance that your greedy playing style is holding others back from having a better game.