Click here for Part 1
Now that your equipment is set up and your gaming studio is presentable, it’s time to test things out before going live.
An Ounce of Prevention
Well before your online game start time comes along, spend some time preparing yourself and your computer. This preparation reduces the chance of being “that person” on the call that slows things down at the beginning and killing the excitement before the GM has even set the scene.
One thing to stress here is that this responsibility falls on each person involved. Do not wait for your GM to ask you to do it--they have enough things to work on.
Pre-game test call
Arrange a time with your GM or another player to do a practice call. This provides a low-pressure situation to test your equipment, learn the basics of the tools being used, and make adjustments to video angles and audio levels. You can confirm all your tools and preparations from our last article are working properly.
Explore your tools
I also call this “play with your toys.” During or between calls, explore your computer's settings for your A/V equipment as well as the applications that you use during the game. Some video chat software doesn’t give many options to change. Others give so many it’s easy to get lost when you’re just trying to get the call going. Again, doing this work beforehand removes the pressure, and prepares you for any unexpected issues that arise.
Discord is a very popular chat app right now, mainly because it was originally built for gamers. While the menu has many settings to personalize, it is straightforward and has helpful notes to explain what effects a change has.
Whatever VTT you’re playing on has a lot of tools as well. While most of these tools are for the GM to use, the PCs also have plenty to play with. Some of them are obvious, clickable menu items, others are obscure keystroke shortcut commands. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve amazed people by measuring the distance my token moved, including moving around corners. Watch some tutorial videos and do some testing in your spare time.
Don’t forget to check for updates and changes to your apps over time.
Update your character
Did you gain a level last game? Did you have a chance to go shopping with your hard-earned loot? Did you have a rules question about a new power? This is the time to get all those questions answered and dealt with. Taking up game time with these issues wastes time for everyone else on the call.
This leads to one of the disadvantages of using Roll20. Most of the character sheets available do not do character creation math for you. In order for you to gain the benefits of the full functionality of the site, you need to build your character somewhere else, then copy the details over into Roll20. This takes time and attention to detail, which is best done between sessions. New users often think that the Roll20 table is only available during the game. In truth, players can log in whenever they like and make adjustments to their characters to keep them up to date, add notes, or confirm things are entered properly.
The best solution I’ve seen to this chore is the website D&D Beyond and its web browser extension, Beyond 20. D&D Beyond is a great character-building website for Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition. It’s free to use for creating up to six characters. GMs may create campaigns and share their purchased material to all the PC’s created on the site. Beyond 20 installs into Google Chrome or Firefox and allows you to use the D&D Beyond character sheet as a dice roller on both Roll20 and Foundry VTTs. This saves so much time and eliminates lots of potential user error while copying data from the creator to the VTT. The only disadvantage is requiring two browser windows to be open at once, which can take up a lot of visual space. The second monitor we mentioned last time helps with this situation.
Set a reminder
While reasons vary, online games are easier for people to forget about, especially if the game doesn't run every week. I strongly recommend setting up an online calendar to share among your group. Use it to schedule sessions, and have it send a reminder before the session begins. I recommend one the day before, to remind players to do all the preparations we just explained. Then send another one 30 minutes before to begin…
The Final Countdown
At this point, your room is ready, your computer is updated, and your character is ready for adventure. Game time is less than an hour away. What do you do, hotshot?
Quiet on the set
Inform those you live with what you’re doing ahead of time. This helps prevent interruptions and accidental guest stars in the video call. Turn off other sources of noise, unless you’re the GM trying to set a tone with music, the only thing you should be broadcasting is your voice. Try to keep your microphone away from the fan of your computer, and any heat or air conditioning fans.
Take care of the necessities
Finish your meal. Go to the bathroom. Grab your snacks and drinks for the game. If you need a rulebook, notebook, dice, or pencils make sure they’re nearby. These ideas may seem silly, but the COVID shutdown has filled the Internet with stories and images of people doing crazy things during video calls.
Silence other devices and close unnecessary apps
In part, this avoids distracting noises going over your microphone. Notifications on your computer can also interrupt you at the worst time, possibly causing an error on the other apps you’re running. This step is key if you can’t do the following step.
Confirm push to talk
If this option is available to you, take it. This eliminates background noise when you’re not talking, allowing others to be heard clearly. This avoids the sounds of eating, drinking, or… other bodily functions. It often has the added benefit of toggling a light to let people know that you’re trying to speak.
Prep time is over. Next time, it’s time to play.
We have the Power, Gamers.