What makes conversation enjoyable?

Ik it should be more in "relationships" but i am not talking about love life here. I wanted to ask you what makes the conversation with somebody enjoyable and not feel forced? After 3 years of loneliness yesterday i finally have found my happy place (meetings in my town where people play rpg games and warhammer) I've had interesting and enjoyable conversations with 6 different people that probably will become my friends. This has made me feel that my social skills are not that bad, but when i was trying to have this type of interactions at my university with people who share the same hobby as me, it felt terrible and forced. So here is my title question: What makes conversation enjoyable? I want to know what was the difference between my yesterday's interactions and my overall interactions at the university so i can make friends wherever and whenever i want?

In both of this scenerios:

-i was kind

-open

-I was talking about things we both enjoy

-I was listening to what the people were saying

Ps. Yesterday i also felt like i don't have to guide the conversation and it was much more like 50-50 than 70-30