Posted by D Grisham in Proposal: An Alternate to Completing the GM Exam

Posted by James Sinclair in Proposal: An Alternate to Completing the GM Exam

Posted by Nathan Miller in Proposal: An Alternate to Completing the GM Exam
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻
So Matt came up with an interesting idea that we have fleshed out. We’re going to run it past the club so we can work out any issues and then our plan is to test it out with a person first, tweak the proposal as needed and then submit this as part of OGRE. It would go through the usual bylaw amendment process at that time. Please note that this only replaces the exam. Each potential GM must still read through the course, meet the requirements to be a GM, and go on to complete a GMT.

We’ll leave this discussion up for 2 weeks (until Oct. 30th) and if there is general consensus that this is a good option to have, we’ll move forward with the trial run.

~Lindsay, GM Director

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Pathways to Becoming a Gamemaster
A:
Read through the course and exam and submit the exam to the tutor for marking. Upon a pass, the player is now a Prospective Gamemaster and can be set-up to do a training sim on a ship. This works best for those who like to work at their own pace and are self-directed.

B:
Player also reads through the course but opts to do a sim planning workshop with a Sim Trainer. This is a more hands-on method designed to be completed in a short period of time so the player can then continue with the standard GMT process. The Sim Trainer would be responsible for ensuring a Trainee has a sim idea written out. The Trainer would need to insure the feasibility of the sim plan, answer any questions and concerns the prospective GMT may have, as well as guide on possible responses to the plan.

If a player wants to do the workshop method, they first need to let the GMD know. Then if the Trainer is free, the GMD will set this up formally and the pair will get started as soon as possible.

The plan writing process should ideally take less than three weeks. This may be extended given the Trainer’s schedule and time available, but must not go longer than six weeks in total. The Trainer will only train one Trainee at a time and is allowed a two week break between trainees. They may waive the break and proceed with the next training if they so choose.

Pass or Fail

The written plan must be submitted to the GMD before the Trainee will be allowed to continue with the rest of the GMT process. If the GMDir is the Trainer then the AGMDir will receive the written sim plan and pass or reject it. If it’s a Pass, the player is now considered a Prospective GM. If it’s a Fail, the player may wait for the next opportunity to try again, or opt to do the exam.

I think some clarity in this section would be useful - there’s no actual assignment of who grades the plan if the GMDir is not the Trainer. Perhaps something as simple as

A member of the GMD who is not the Trainer will receive the written sim plan and pass or reject it.

If a Trainee is unable to get through the workshop in the allotted time, and there are others in the queue waiting their turn, the Trainee will need to stop wherever they are at and rejoin the queue, waiting for their turn again. If there is no one else waiting, the Trainer may agree to an extension of no more than 3 weeks.

If the Trainee shows a lack of time or commitment to the process, the Trainer may suggest to the GMD that the workshop be ended. The Trainee is free to try again later, though depending on the circumstances a cooling off period (six weeks) may be imposed.

The Trainer

Like Gamemaster Mentors, the Trainer must be a minimum rank of Full GM and will be appointed by the Gamemaster Director as a member of the department staff.

GM Trainer will have a term which coincides with the Presidential Elections, so that they do not burn out and others can help share the burden. The last Trainee must be taken on no later than six weeks before the end of the term. If at any point the Trainer cannot complete the term then the GMD will find a replacement. Ideally though experienced GMs are encouraged to cycle through this position to benefit the new generation of GMs with their rich experience. The next trainer should be decided prior to the end of term so there is no delay in offering the training to hopeful GMs and the program is not negatively impacted by term turnovers and the appointment of a new cabinet.

I think this proposal has merit. I will read over it again later and may have more thoughts then.

Nathan

I like this idea. It will help generate both intrest and minimize the hesitation many have expressed.

My only suggestion would be to perhaps consider making the Trainer the GMM for the Trainee’s first Sim? The Trainer would already be familiar with the Sim and have an established working relationship with the GMT. So maybe have a que of trainers as well as trainees. When one gets matched, the next is line is ready to go. I don’t know if that would be necessary, but it was a thought that popped in my head.

James

I really like this idea. I have wanted to GM for many years but have been intimidated by the current process. I learn best by actually doing a job instead of having it explained to me, so not having a visual sample of how to set up a sim is what has stopped me. I have plenty of ideas, but I don’t know how to set them up so they will work as a sim. I would be the first in line to be taught how to do it. In my head, it feels like it would look something like an outline with bullet points, but I’m sure there is more to it than that. Last week I even printed out the GM course to read through again to see if I could get myself psyched up to try and pass it in its current form. I’ll be following this thread to see how it all shakes out.

D Grisham…

Hi. I like this. There’s no one writing style, there’s no one roleplay style and there’s no one-size fit all GM style. I think having an option for people who either don’t need or whose creative process does not fit into the traditional GM exam path can really benefit from this. Are there people who would really like the traditional GM path? Yeah, but having another option for people is also really nice. I’ve been tempted by the idea of being a GM but I know that the original exam path just does not fit with my schedule nor my creative writing style. I also think I’d be happiest being what I guess I would call a substitute gm lol. Where I can hop in, run a small-scale sim in between a ship’s main sims. I think I’d also like to run some player-focused sims that utilize the backgrounds and histories of the ship’s cast, again on a smaller B-plot style scale. I think that kind of thing would suit me best.

Abigail G