Author Topic: Using Visual Aids  (Read 2940 times)

Offline Darkshore

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Using Visual Aids
« on: September 29, 2011, 12:12:03 PM »
Hey there all. I've been stalking this forum with anticipation ever since I decided that I was gonna blow money on these great looking books. I was just wondering, does anyone use visual aids during their campaigns? My gf and my buddy will prolly be the only two that would be interested in playing so I'm 99.9% positive that I'd be the GM. I was thinking it would be cool to use pictures from the net of things in the campaign to help them visualize more of where they are or what they're fighting. Anyone else do this?

Offline The Mighty Buzzard

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2011, 12:20:41 PM »
Nah, I don't need glasses yet.

Seriously though, I use them when I can't be arsed to describe something or when it's something difficult to describe but easy to understand by looking at.  Not really all that often though because it's rarely important enough to use up ink that costs more per ounce than gold.
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Offline Quasispike

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2011, 01:27:19 PM »
I set up an http://www.obsidianportal.com/ site for my Boston game and all the faces are cast, and most of the locations that we came up with during city creation have some sort of picture to give the PCs a feel for it. Others may argue that visual aids dampen imagination but I find that any sort of sensory stimulus, visual or otherwise, helps with immersion; heck in the first session the PCs ended up in a WC industrial metal club and I blared Rob Zombie's 'Superbeast' we actually had to shout to be heard, really gave the feeling of a nightclub.

In previous games I've taken the time to make scrolls and maps and artificially aged the paper to give the handout a authentic relic feel to it, recently picked up some corked vials and will probably use those as potions, fill them with different kool-aids.

Back to Obsidian Portal, I cannot recommend that site enough for campaign organization, and management. It's just superb, 'nuff said.

Offline Todjaeger

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2011, 02:52:49 AM »
Actually visual aids can come in very handy for a Dresden game or campaign.  I'm in a campaign set in the nearby city of New Haven, CT and because it's nearby, a number of the more interesting sites in and around the city have been photographed.  This is useful as it can help the GM describe what it is the players see, since the GM can look at some of the pictures, other times the players a just shown some of the photographs.

If you live close enough to where your game is taking place, then having pictures of some of the more unique 'real' locations can help, unless it is already some place where you and/or the players are intimately familiar with.

Having props can also help some times, as does having things like wet erase roll out mats, or dry erase white boards.

Also depending on the number of people involved and how regularly the games are run, then having a campaign site can also help since pictures and information can be uploaded to the site.  Our campaign is hosted on www.epicwords.com, but the site used is really a matter of preference and for just three people (GM and 2 players) might not make much difference, or you might just use a cloud computing shared drive to share campaign information.  I actually do both.

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Offline Ghsdkgb

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2011, 03:24:34 AM »
Since mine's an online campaign, I'm constantly linking to GoogleMaps for satellite and streetview images of wherever we happen to be adventuring that week.
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Offline Rubycon

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2011, 10:53:02 AM »
I have found some internet picture of the more important parts of my city which I can show my players. Also handy is a tourist guide...

Offline Haru

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2011, 11:19:25 AM »
To model conflicts, I have found this a while back, that I think is a great idea:

http://worldwithoutsyn.com/2010/06/gaming-on-the-cheap-part-1-paper-miniatures/
http://worldwithoutsyn.com/2010/06/gaming-on-the-cheap-part-ii-paper-mini-construction/
http://worldwithoutsyn.com/2010/06/gaming-on-the-cheap-part-3-fate-zones-with-index-cards/

And as others said, Google Streetview is a great source for pictures of places you haven't been to.
There is a great number of pictures from all kinds of places on http://www.flickr.com/ that you might want to check out as well.
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Offline chelatek

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2011, 03:39:41 PM »
In the other RPGs I play, we use a fair bit of visual aids.  Not only the DM, but also the players to show who they are, what they're carrying, etc.

Maps are REALLY, REALLY useful.  Like mind-blowingly helpful, especially if the game is trying to keep track of multiple people/enemies. 

My recommendation is to get a big grid of paper (big boxes of grid if possible), then everyone bring a small item to represent their player, and get a ton of legos so you can build out areas if the need arises.  When people are throwing around fireballs, it's nice to know at-a-glance if they're going to hit a friendly or possibly wing a wall.

Offline Magickal_Grenadier

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Re: Using Visual Aids
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2011, 04:22:57 PM »
My group plays at out local gaming center so we've been fortunate enough to have a large dry erase board to lay out a model of the surroundings.
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