I'm not sure what they're expecting to see, but it definitely sounds like they think of themselves as Dian Fossey, and we're the apes ...
In any case, having observers there has messed up our environment. It's hard for an observer to just sit there.
The Mead is running a game that I'm not a part of, and I was home when everyone came to play one day, and it was hard for me to just sit there and not butt in when I saw an opportunity for a joke. One player wasn't able to make it, so I was allowed to step in and play for the day. I'm certain that I probably messed up what they had going on because I was playing a pretty different character from the player I was replacing.
The same thing happened in our game - one of our players has had scheduling conflicts and has not been able to attend our games or to play for the entirety of the session. So the first time we had observers, this one girl jumped in and played the character - and she did such an amazing job, that we've asked her to be a part of it and to write up her own character. She'll be joining us in our April session in a couple weeks.
The second time we had observers, a girl observer came in not intending to be an observer at all! She had a character ready and everything! The GM ruled that she should play the character that was missing, and the player was horribly frustrated with the character she'd been given. We, in turn, were frustrated with her.
So now this same character has been played by 4 or 5 people, and the character has completely morphed each time. It makes me think of roles in plays and how the same role with the same lines can be performed in extremely different ways given the direction of a certain Director or the interpretation of a certain Actor.
It also made me realize that I haven't really developed much a voice for each of my two characters. I realized this because I tried to think about other ways my characters would or could be played if I missed a session and someone stepped in to play Ni Hao or Suheyl. It hit me that they could be played completely differently 'cause I haven't really developed a distinct voice or personality for each.
Sometimes, my interests as a player are at odds with the interests of my character. And then my character "sounds" more like me, or I don't end up doing an action that I wish I could do because my character wouldn't do it.
This is probably something all seasoned gamers know, but it something that I'm only just starting to experience.
Having the opportunity to have observers and to be an observer has really helped me see that I need to "get into character" better - whether I dress up or not :)
