Gaming to me is more than a hobby; its a creative outlet, its a form of escapism, and its a social gathering of friends. It started with Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd in high school. Since than I've played and ran a number of systems, genres, and characters.
My favorite role to play is the game master. Creating the world, building a story, helping characters develop are all some of the most rewarding benefits to role-playing. And as long as I've been running games (1998), I've been creating stories, plots, adventures, drama, and conflict; but usually not really taking into account the players and their characters unless the character involves themselves in overall story.
Recently - past two years or so - my preferred systems have grown in options and complexity. This added complexity can make the game more immersing or can bog the game down with rules. With advise form other game masters, I've discovered a tool I've been using all along to a new application, "concept".
When running a game you always have a "concept" of how the story will go but apply that to the characters and your "concept" sets the kind of characters and their roles in the story. This makes the game easier on all fronts. Game masters have a clear idea of who the characters are and how they deal with their environment. Players have an understanding of what characters are useful and appropriate. And characters became part of the world with ties to its story; instead of cut and paste heroes.
"Concept" has become my biggest tool recently but its a tool that everyone involved must embrace to get the full potential. A well knit concept between the game master, the setting, the players, and the characters creates a magnificent story to behold.