Eternity RPC Board
10-02-2017, 02:41 AM
(This post was last modified: 10-02-2017, 02:46 AM by Alvino Castillon.)
Before I begin this, let me say that if the primary reason for this is to kickstart recruitment, that isn't a good idea. I think this change should only be considered if people are in favor of this being a way to kickstart activity. Otherwise this risks running into becoming a chore.
That being said... the rest of this is gonna be half stream of consciousness half thought out ahead of time. Nents also covered a major point though so... I guess that covers the first major point. So lemme start there.
Adulthood sucks. Looking for jobs or working, paying bills, trying to have a social life of some sort and shit like that. That all gets in the way. We're just fairly busy overall nowadays and that plays a major role. Actually, it's always been a major problem for Siora and to some extent back in Oracia, although we were younger then and that... well I'll get to all that in a sec.
The fact is we are busy. We don't start RPs because we can't keep ourselves committed to them for various reasons, chief among them the fact that time is ever ticking forward and there is only so much time we have to do all the things we want to. Alternatively you could be me and literally have little time AND ADHD which has always been a huge damned problem because I have the attention span/emotional attachment of a squirrel sometimes.
That actually rolls into the enthusiasm aspect. I think it's safe to say that the lack of continued activity can have a drain on morale at times. Not wanting to start something new because inevitably people fall out of responding has always been a bit of a problem to say the least. Even in Oracia, this was a problem; I was probably the worst offender because again, attention span/emotional attachment of a squirrel sometimes.
You may be noting I keep bringing up Oracia. Yes yes. Hiss, boo. Can it for a second because I'll be looping back to that in a moment.
So we're inactive overall, older, busy, and demoralized and not willing to start up something new. So the proposal now is "Hey, let's bring in a new SuperNPC ™ to serve as an antagonist of sorts and to balance out Nyland." The idea would then be that we would have two competing superpowers that develop global alliances to lead the future in the way they feel would be best. Democracy versus Totalitarianism. Egalitarianism versus Social Darwinism. Democratic Union versus Trilateral Alliance. Batman versus Superman (Batman all the way)-
"HEY WAIT A SECOND," You say, your eyes bulging and your finger pointing accusingly towards me. "YOU JUST MENTIONED AN ORACIA THING. HOW DARE YOU MENTION AN ORACIA THING." Why yes Cathy I did, thank you for noticing that. Have a cookie. Anyways, I mentioned it because IT IS LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING.
"BUT WAIT" You say again, sure you have me against a corner. "THE TRILATERAL ALLIANCE WAS A BUNCH OF DAMN COMMIES! HOW COULD THEY BE THE SAME AS DICTATORS?" Because Jimmy it's called hyperbole. When I say the exact same thing I mean that it's a very similar setup. Because it is. And before you interrupt again... here's the setup essentially being proposed for Siora.
Sounds about right? Maybe not exactly envisioned but I'd assume that's where this idea is going. Okay, so let's look at what Oracia's setup was.
I took the liberty of highlighting the major differences. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong about the setup for Oracia. That all being said, here comes the most offensive thing I could say in the history of this community. Ready? Okay.
Oracia was not all bad. "BUT WAIT!" You say, about to screech a thousand screeches of misery and oh my god just let me finish.
Yes yes I know, it's easy for me to say that. But the scenario that was proposed actually really worked out nicely. Yes we all had a lot more free time (because we were young and stupid) and yes we fought a lot but there was serious passion in people's RPing. There was a palpability to it. Nations were more than really to gamble with the fate of the world in a great chess game and there was a give and take. And yes, that passion and chess play boiled over from IC into OOC to the point that it hurt.
What I've noticed is that we aren't willing to take those risks anymore. Partially because we are older and don't have the time, partially because we are concerned that others won't be around to play all the time, but especially because we got burned in Oracia. I do believe that how that ended plays a role into how we deal with one another. We prefer to talk out how things will play out rather than just... doing it.
And that hits a point I've noticed in myself. I hate deciding how things will go beforehand because it isn't RP anymore. It becomes writing. RP is supposed to be open-ended; the story isn't decided so we can change the fate of it. Now to avoid miscommunication we usually decide how things will go beforehand so to me it becomes less a fun thing to do and more a chore. I believe part of it is because we grew up with Oracia; we grew up with that chaos and on a subconscious level we seek to avoid what happened.
But I feel instead we've swung to the opposite end of the pendulum and have the opposite problem. Many of our RPs are already predetermined and the fate of a nation is already decided. What's the fun in that though?
I feel that adding a superpower isn't going to cut it as the only measure to increase activity. We need to make a more fundamental shift and swing the pendulum closer to the middle. We have to be willing to take risks and lose because it's life. That's what happens in life and that's what happens in a game. Oracia was challenging to endure yes, but I do believe there was fun to it. And no, it isn't because I became the player that got to run one of the big superpowers, because I also ran Almaniania, that small obnoxious upstart minor that was in Ilryiiad (or whatever we called it) that was making loud noises whenever anyone considered colonizing in the region. And frankly, I enjoyed that a lot as well. It was fun because it felt like everything wasn't always tied in a nice neat bow. People weren't always happy with the result and that's not a bad thing; losing is part of the game after all.
So when I say swing the pendulum again closer to the middle, I mean that as shifting in a way that brings that the uneven distribution of power in a global system. Upstarts trying to buck the system and shove it to the superpowers. Political chess games to block off communism/capitalism/whatever from a region or a power. Trying not to bring the world to nuclear war. It was fun and I think that we have matured enough to consider it.
Even more obnoxiously, I think a UN should be considered. Because many of the battles of the RL Cold War played out there and I think it adds a new dynamic with an international organization split between two international alliances (and probably a non-aligned movement) trying to just bring some damn peace and quiet to this rock of grass and water for once.
Just adding a superpower won't do much unless we look at a fundamental shift. Additionally, I don't know if having it be community run is actually a good idea for the simple purpose of it's just another thing everyone has to deal with then. Player nations can be superpowers; we did fine with only one Noberia essentially being Oracia's hyperpower (to the point that Nysans almost murdered me after suggesting a second one) and the fact is we technically have player nations as great powers (Lanlania, Severyane, etc.) already.
In addition, the aspect of nukes is a problem if only one nation has them. And I mean a big problem. I broke out the bold for that, that's how much of a problem it is! Without being too wordy, giving only one superpower nukes and not the other does not work as a deterrent. In reality, the Soviets raced to produce the atomic bomb to ensure that the United States wouldn't be the only one to have one. Cuba became a major crisis because the Soviets could be nuked from Turkey (until ICBMs and nuclear subs came into the picture) to ensure that the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) would hold up and prevent the Americans from having a strategic advantage over them.
Here's the thing. MAD only works if both sides have the bomb though. In this scenario, they wouldn't. That opens a major Pandora's Box in terms of realism right there, especially when we start talking about how long nuclear proliferation has been a thing. If it has been some time then I have no doubt that other major powers (and a few minor ones) would have cracked the secret to a nuclear bomb by now.
But if it's fairly recent, that's actually worse. Realistically, the bomb might be used then. It was almost used in the Korean War after all because the world didn't have an idea of the sheer brutality and horror that it could bring; had it been used for what was essentially a proxy war (which I remind everyone it almost was), the bomb would not be viewed as Death, Destroyer of Worlds but instead just another weapon to be used in war.
Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about... nuclear weapons actually could be a thing and could make things more interesting. Brinksmanship, proxy wars, the political chess game that was the Cold War... we saw a lot of that because of the MAD Theory. Because both superpowers knew that if they went to war the end would come. And actually, that is exactly the sort of scenario we had in Oracia. The thing is, more than one nation would have to have them. If only one nation has them, it means we're just suspending realism in a way I am so not comfortable with or the bomb was developed for the first time recently (which, read the previous paragraph on why that would end badly).
So yeah. This has been a long string of consciousness but in summary:
Edit: By the way, these are generally raw thoughts. So yeah, just take that into account.
Extra Edit: By the way, if you're interested in learning more about how the US nearly nuked China during the Korean War, totally consider watching this video cause it's actually pretty spot on.
That being said... the rest of this is gonna be half stream of consciousness half thought out ahead of time. Nents also covered a major point though so... I guess that covers the first major point. So lemme start there.
Adulthood sucks. Looking for jobs or working, paying bills, trying to have a social life of some sort and shit like that. That all gets in the way. We're just fairly busy overall nowadays and that plays a major role. Actually, it's always been a major problem for Siora and to some extent back in Oracia, although we were younger then and that... well I'll get to all that in a sec.
The fact is we are busy. We don't start RPs because we can't keep ourselves committed to them for various reasons, chief among them the fact that time is ever ticking forward and there is only so much time we have to do all the things we want to. Alternatively you could be me and literally have little time AND ADHD which has always been a huge damned problem because I have the attention span/emotional attachment of a squirrel sometimes.
That actually rolls into the enthusiasm aspect. I think it's safe to say that the lack of continued activity can have a drain on morale at times. Not wanting to start something new because inevitably people fall out of responding has always been a bit of a problem to say the least. Even in Oracia, this was a problem; I was probably the worst offender because again, attention span/emotional attachment of a squirrel sometimes.
You may be noting I keep bringing up Oracia. Yes yes. Hiss, boo. Can it for a second because I'll be looping back to that in a moment.
So we're inactive overall, older, busy, and demoralized and not willing to start up something new. So the proposal now is "Hey, let's bring in a new SuperNPC ™ to serve as an antagonist of sorts and to balance out Nyland." The idea would then be that we would have two competing superpowers that develop global alliances to lead the future in the way they feel would be best. Democracy versus Totalitarianism. Egalitarianism versus Social Darwinism. Democratic Union versus Trilateral Alliance. Batman versus Superman (Batman all the way)-
"HEY WAIT A SECOND," You say, your eyes bulging and your finger pointing accusingly towards me. "YOU JUST MENTIONED AN ORACIA THING. HOW DARE YOU MENTION AN ORACIA THING." Why yes Cathy I did, thank you for noticing that. Have a cookie. Anyways, I mentioned it because IT IS LITERALLY THE EXACT SAME THING.
"BUT WAIT" You say again, sure you have me against a corner. "THE TRILATERAL ALLIANCE WAS A BUNCH OF DAMN COMMIES! HOW COULD THEY BE THE SAME AS DICTATORS?" Because Jimmy it's called hyperbole. When I say the exact same thing I mean that it's a very similar setup. Because it is. And before you interrupt again... here's the setup essentially being proposed for Siora.
Quote:Two superpowers are battling for influence around the globe in a Cold War-esque scenario. These superpowers are backed by two alliances sharing their ideologies, one being democratic and the other being authoritarian, in an attempt to shape the very future of the human race and fight in a number of economic, political, social, and even military battles. But this state of unannounced war dare not explode into all out war between the superpowers because they would both end up collapsing and bringing the rest of the world with them into hell-fire.
Sounds about right? Maybe not exactly envisioned but I'd assume that's where this idea is going. Okay, so let's look at what Oracia's setup was.
Quote:Multiple superpowers are battling for influence around the globe in a Cold War-esque scenario. These superpowers are backed by two alliances sharing their ideologies, one being democratic and the other being communist, in an attempt to shape the very future of the human race and fight in a number of economic, political, social, and even military battles. But this state of unannounced war dare not explode into all out war between the superpowers because they would both end up collapsing and bringing the rest of the world with them into hell-fire. Also there's cat people and other weeb shit.
I took the liberty of highlighting the major differences. I dare you to tell me I'm wrong about the setup for Oracia. That all being said, here comes the most offensive thing I could say in the history of this community. Ready? Okay.
Oracia was not all bad. "BUT WAIT!" You say, about to screech a thousand screeches of misery and oh my god just let me finish.
Yes yes I know, it's easy for me to say that. But the scenario that was proposed actually really worked out nicely. Yes we all had a lot more free time (because we were young and stupid) and yes we fought a lot but there was serious passion in people's RPing. There was a palpability to it. Nations were more than really to gamble with the fate of the world in a great chess game and there was a give and take. And yes, that passion and chess play boiled over from IC into OOC to the point that it hurt.
What I've noticed is that we aren't willing to take those risks anymore. Partially because we are older and don't have the time, partially because we are concerned that others won't be around to play all the time, but especially because we got burned in Oracia. I do believe that how that ended plays a role into how we deal with one another. We prefer to talk out how things will play out rather than just... doing it.
And that hits a point I've noticed in myself. I hate deciding how things will go beforehand because it isn't RP anymore. It becomes writing. RP is supposed to be open-ended; the story isn't decided so we can change the fate of it. Now to avoid miscommunication we usually decide how things will go beforehand so to me it becomes less a fun thing to do and more a chore. I believe part of it is because we grew up with Oracia; we grew up with that chaos and on a subconscious level we seek to avoid what happened.
But I feel instead we've swung to the opposite end of the pendulum and have the opposite problem. Many of our RPs are already predetermined and the fate of a nation is already decided. What's the fun in that though?
I feel that adding a superpower isn't going to cut it as the only measure to increase activity. We need to make a more fundamental shift and swing the pendulum closer to the middle. We have to be willing to take risks and lose because it's life. That's what happens in life and that's what happens in a game. Oracia was challenging to endure yes, but I do believe there was fun to it. And no, it isn't because I became the player that got to run one of the big superpowers, because I also ran Almaniania, that small obnoxious upstart minor that was in Ilryiiad (or whatever we called it) that was making loud noises whenever anyone considered colonizing in the region. And frankly, I enjoyed that a lot as well. It was fun because it felt like everything wasn't always tied in a nice neat bow. People weren't always happy with the result and that's not a bad thing; losing is part of the game after all.
So when I say swing the pendulum again closer to the middle, I mean that as shifting in a way that brings that the uneven distribution of power in a global system. Upstarts trying to buck the system and shove it to the superpowers. Political chess games to block off communism/capitalism/whatever from a region or a power. Trying not to bring the world to nuclear war. It was fun and I think that we have matured enough to consider it.
Even more obnoxiously, I think a UN should be considered. Because many of the battles of the RL Cold War played out there and I think it adds a new dynamic with an international organization split between two international alliances (and probably a non-aligned movement) trying to just bring some damn peace and quiet to this rock of grass and water for once.
Just adding a superpower won't do much unless we look at a fundamental shift. Additionally, I don't know if having it be community run is actually a good idea for the simple purpose of it's just another thing everyone has to deal with then. Player nations can be superpowers; we did fine with only one Noberia essentially being Oracia's hyperpower (to the point that Nysans almost murdered me after suggesting a second one) and the fact is we technically have player nations as great powers (Lanlania, Severyane, etc.) already.
In addition, the aspect of nukes is a problem if only one nation has them. And I mean a big problem. I broke out the bold for that, that's how much of a problem it is! Without being too wordy, giving only one superpower nukes and not the other does not work as a deterrent. In reality, the Soviets raced to produce the atomic bomb to ensure that the United States wouldn't be the only one to have one. Cuba became a major crisis because the Soviets could be nuked from Turkey (until ICBMs and nuclear subs came into the picture) to ensure that the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) would hold up and prevent the Americans from having a strategic advantage over them.
Here's the thing. MAD only works if both sides have the bomb though. In this scenario, they wouldn't. That opens a major Pandora's Box in terms of realism right there, especially when we start talking about how long nuclear proliferation has been a thing. If it has been some time then I have no doubt that other major powers (and a few minor ones) would have cracked the secret to a nuclear bomb by now.
But if it's fairly recent, that's actually worse. Realistically, the bomb might be used then. It was almost used in the Korean War after all because the world didn't have an idea of the sheer brutality and horror that it could bring; had it been used for what was essentially a proxy war (which I remind everyone it almost was), the bomb would not be viewed as Death, Destroyer of Worlds but instead just another weapon to be used in war.
Which brings me to the other thing I wanted to talk about... nuclear weapons actually could be a thing and could make things more interesting. Brinksmanship, proxy wars, the political chess game that was the Cold War... we saw a lot of that because of the MAD Theory. Because both superpowers knew that if they went to war the end would come. And actually, that is exactly the sort of scenario we had in Oracia. The thing is, more than one nation would have to have them. If only one nation has them, it means we're just suspending realism in a way I am so not comfortable with or the bomb was developed for the first time recently (which, read the previous paragraph on why that would end badly).
So yeah. This has been a long string of consciousness but in summary:
- We need a fundamental shift in the community's dynamics.
- Let's stop being afraid to take risks and let's not get annoyed if/when we lose (yes this includes me shush).
- Just adding a superpower to be the big bad isn't a great idea.
- Having it be community run has the risk of it becoming a chore.
- If having nukes, number of nations with nuclear weapons must be greater than one.
- Oracia wasn't all bad and we could take a lesson or two from it.
Edit: By the way, these are generally raw thoughts. So yeah, just take that into account.
Extra Edit: By the way, if you're interested in learning more about how the US nearly nuked China during the Korean War, totally consider watching this video cause it's actually pretty spot on.