Today we’ll look at why a recording of your game session’s audio is the perfect game master’s tool. Capturing gameplay has many benefits.
Automated Note Capturing – your audio recording is almost like having a personal assistant to take notes of everything you missed during the game session. Now you don’t have to worry about remembering or writing down that random NPC or that village that party passed through. Your recording may even capture dialog that you didn’t even hear during the live game session.
Raw Feedback for Improvement – hearing your game session played back for the first time is rough. You’ll hear all of your game master faux pas. The audio recording captures mistakes you made with the rules as well as missed story opportunities. The payoff is that if you listen with a critical ear, you will improve your game master skills.
Entertain Yourself – I enjoy listening to old games. It’s like having a nostalgia time capsule radio station in my car. I can hear old friends having grand adventures whenever I miss them.
It’s Free – Almost all phones, tablets and laptops can record audio. I recommend using a separate audio recording device to save your phone battery and to ensure that you have enough space to hold large audio files.
Before you start capturing your game audio, you will need to get your players’ consent. It’s best to cover this during The Campaign Kickoff. Explain why you’re recording the game and what you intend to do with the audio afterward. Some players enjoy having a copy of the audio files too.
Once you have that raw audio file, play it back. When you take notes, you can timestamp important events. Capture any ideas for new story hooks or consequences for player actions.
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