Playing to win

Day 2,721, 18:04 • Published in USA USA • by MaryamQ
Are you winning yet? How do you know?

Long ago, when the eWorld was newer, I knew people who actively debated about game mechanics vs. role play. Each side had some good points. The game mechanics people were right that you can’t really get things done without understanding the rules of the game and using that knowledge effectively. A well-liked role player I knew in eBE lost control of his own party not just once but several times because he forgot to run for PP in time, and he also lost the opportunity to run for re-election as CP because he failed to get a party to endorse him in time. He really needed to pay more attention to game mechanics to meet his goals. On the other hand, the role play enthusiasts understood that there was no way to an ultimate victory in the game, making role play just as valid a way to play as strict game mechanics. I respected the knowledge of the game mechanics set, although I sometimes felt a bit intimidated by them, but it was to the role players that I felt most drawn, and they were often the most compelling writers, as well.



Since then, the game has changed in many ways, and if anything, the path to “winning” is even more obscure. Older players who concentrated on media, economy, or politics found these modules essentially gutted, while younger players zoomed past them in the military module, not having been handicapped by months and years of building experience without building strength. This is one of the reasons some older players have chosen to start over with a new account or drop out altogether, but this also means that what has been built is lost, and if you want to become a top player, it requires long months of patiently building strength, while watching other players, who are always going to be bigger and stronger, do what you only dream of doing.



The one aspect of the game that seems to keep the most people playing is community, and that community is best built outside the game itself, on fora, IRC and sometimes even such media as Skype. Ironically, the role play people are often the ones who are most opposed to using off-site meeting places. What, then, is the “right” way to play this game?



Recently seen in our MU shout fee😛 “Curious question: What is the recommended strength to get a decent amount of BHs in D1 and D2?” Do you know the answer? I’ve been playing 5-1/2 years, sometimes more actively than others, but never completely out. I am an elite citizen, Titan** with nearly 100k strength and over 750 medals, and I don’t know. Maybe you know the “right” number and types of companies and employees to turn a profit. What is the best way to write articles so you get the most possible votes/readers/comments/endorsements/subscriptions? What is the quickest path to political success? If you know the answer today, will it be the same answer tomorrow? Who is better to lead you in the right direction – an older player with loads of experience but entrenched ideas, or a younger player who has little knowledge of the game but is full of energy and has a fresh perspective?



Do you want to know the truth? Nobody can answer those questions for you but you. You can, and probably should, take advice and help from people who have been around a while. You can read tutorials, go through training programs, crunch the numbers, but the path you choose through this game is yours, and yours alone. It is true the game is loaded to favor certain ways of doing things, but there are many people who do things differently and lead happy and even productive eLives. You may have come here with experience in other games. If you are smart, you will have learned certain skills and principles that can help you here, but there is no walkthrough, and no single path to glory here. There is not even a single way to be remembered. Ask any random half-dozen players who are their heroes in this game, and you will get at least half a dozen different answers. [Note: I tried this once in the past. Some of the answers I got can be found here: Need a hero? ] The people cited by me and others in this article were soldiers, politicians, employers, writers, philanthropists, and/or simply good friends.



This game is what you make it. You can play yourself or a character you imagine it would be fun to be. You can work your way up in the establishment or be a career oppositionist. You can write creatively or analytically or not at all. You can build a business empire or a political one. You can be a hero on the battlefield or off it. You can join the meta-game create an eFamily, join a community of any size based on your interests, or be a 2-clicker. The game you play will not be identical to the game played by anyone else, even your closest friend. You have choices in every aspect of your eLife, but you must remember that every choice also has consequences that may limit your subsequent opportunities, so if it matters to you, be sure you choose wisely.



And this leads to an important choice that we are all facing this week – who will be our next CP? I’ve thought long and hard about this, and I am choosing not to endorse any candidate publicly. Both Trekker and Wooky have many good points. Each is well known in the community. Each has a clear view of how he wants to see the next month go for the eUS. Each has a lot of good people backing him, and many of the people involved on both sides are my friends. What I am going to tell you to do is to read the platforms and the statements of support carefully. Also take a close look at the comments on campaign/endorsement articles. They can tell you a lot. Evaluate what you see. Do the goals seem to align with your own? What exactly is the candidate bringing to the table? Can he make good on his promises? Is it in the best interest of the country that he do so? If you can answer these questions, choose the candidate who seems best to you, and may you be the winner!