I have an ongoing game of Mage: the Ascension. While everything is going quite OK and I am pretty happy about what is going on around the table, I noticed that one of my players is a bit quiet and prefers to observe discussion and chip in when relevant.
The player is active when his PC is doing something or talking to an NPC, so it's not a problem of complete disengagement. However, especially if there is more players around, he would let others "drive" the game, while himself staying out of the limelight most of the time. I am not saying that other players completely overshadow him, but that he is not seizing opportunities to get more "face time" in the game.
The players is new to the genre and inexperienced in tabletop RPing in general. Since the game is quite heavy on in-game knowledge that the characters slowly explore, I understand that sometimes a feeling of inadequacy might creep from the PC to the player.
I would like to see an answer, regarding these circumstances to the following question:
How to ensure the quieter player has equal amount of fun?
I tried to talk to him, but because of his personality he just says that he's fine and chill about it and the game is OK, going in the right direction. I'm not personally sure if that's the case, but ultimately I worry that he gets the short end of the stick, which is not fine to me.
Best Answer
You've already covered it, let him contribute the level he wants to, even if that's less than other players.
Different players want different things out of a game. Don't drive your player away by forcing him to RP if he isn't up for it in every scene. I myself love to roleplay, but this is not a constant from session to session and my energy and emotional investment can vary largely from scene to scene. I may take the limelight for a session while I try to lead the party with a plan I've come up with as a player, but I also frequently take a back seat if there's nothing pressing to my character and I am okay with the general progression of events and party decisions being made. Ultimately your player having a good time is something only they can gauge, if he/she says they are having fun and are okay with things then respect their self-knowledge and let things be.