I'm stuck at the drawbridge, it's not a quick process and I shut the car off get out and stretch my legs. A carpenter friend I rarely see this time of year beeps, he is two vehicles back. We catch up for a few minutes and it's a pleasure to socialize during an unexpected break in our routine.
Is there any examples you all can think of that would allow a pause in play that would lead to socialization?
The boat dock, awaiting a departure?
A lava flow that blocks a narrow pass?
A swarm of acidic bugs that cloud the path forward for 30 minutes?
We could be hanging out and doing some lite trading or showing off cool spells and outfits we just made.
"Hey you going up to Faerthale? Mind if I tag along? I have a speed buff?.
Anyway, it was nice seeing my friend.
Built-in pauses do indeed encourage socialization but they can also discourage it.
Having to wait at the docks can be annoying if you are in a hurry to get to something or have limited time - but if you want or need to go wherever the ship is going you do not really have a choice. So that can work well.
A built-in pause in a dungeon or other group content may have more downside than upside. If I only have an hour for the dungeon (plus whatever time it takes for a group to form and get there) and we artifically extend the minimum time to finish a useful chunk of it to 90 minutes I simply won't do that dungeon. Maybe I won't group at all until I have more time. But if most of my play sessions only give me an hour inside a dungeon and we make each segment 90 minutes maybe I'll just look for another game.
So I tend to support more slowing down the pace of the world - but I tend to disagree with extending the amount of time a player needs to get anything useful done in one adventure session.
StoneFish said:Is there any examples you all can think of that would allow a pause in play that would lead to socialization?
There are a number of situations that would cause a natural pause in gameplay which would allow socialization.
1. During the time when a group is being formed.
2. During the travel time it takes your party to reach the location.
3. During the med time between fights.
4. Right before a boss pull to discuss a strategy for taking it down.
5. During a wipe recovery.
6. When the group is picking up a quest.
7. When you are personally trying to sell your goods.
8. Being part of an active guild
9. As you mentioned in your post waiting for a mode of transportation.
The thing with pauses though is that they need to feel natural. Any pause that feels extremely forced, tedious, or overbearing runs the risk of breaking a player's engagement with the game, and that runs the risk of driving them off.