Join the new world

One of the oldest debates in eRepublik, perhaps older than Dio, is the question of how we play the game. Do we focus on role play or game mechanics? Should the game mirror the real world or be a totally new creation? Is there a middle ground? Can the game be “won”? Should it be? Sometimes it seems we forget that there are real people with real lives and real feelings on the other side of that screen.



This week, eBelgium suffered a loss that should bring that home to all of us. A beloved and respected citizen and our recently elected CP, LeValeureuxLiegeois, suffered a real-life crisis, such that he is, for the time being at least, inactive, and came under public fire from many of us and private criticism from many more of us before we knew about what had happened, because he had neglected his role in the game. It is true that our country was in turmoil. We were under imminent attack by eFrance, who were trying to block eSerbia on their way to a land swap with eUK, because PANAM was concerned that this would give eSerbia easier access to eUS and eCanada. It is also true that communication among the government, Congress and our citizens was less than optimal. Nevertheless, when we learned what had happened to LvL, many of us looked back at things we had said in the heat of the moment and were ashamed and sorry.

This is not a unique situation in the eWorld, either. The president of the eUS lost his mother at the beginning of his term. Who knows how many others have left, temporarily or permanently, because of their own RL crises? When - if - we find out, how often are we embarrassed by things we have thought and said about those other players and their perceived lack of commitment?



One of the things I have learned in RL, and believe me it was not learned easily, is that we rarely know how much other people around us may be suffering in silence. I learned this by living for well over a year with a secret that eventually ended my vision of what my life was supposed to be and what the future held for me. When the secret became public knowledge, as such secrets often do, people who thought they knew me well were shocked. They had thought my life was perfect, or at least much closer to it than theirs, and there I stood with shattered dreams knee deep around me and in the deepest depression of my life, one that caused me, for the first time, to have thoughts of suicide.

I am not telling you this to gain sympathy. These events are long past, and I have moved on. I am telling you this because I learned that I, too, had no idea what was going on in the hearts and minds of others, even those who were closest to me and frequently confided in me. And if this can happen in RL, it is magnified many, many times in a computer game environment.



So what is my message in this wall of text? It is a plea for all of us to be more thoughtful, less harsh and judgmental, less quick with the insults and sharp words, and overall more kind to one another. Yes, it is just a game, but we don't know what is really going on beyond that screen, which words might hit home just a little too closely, or how fragile the other person may be. How do I think you should play the game? More kindly, more compassionately, and more mindfully. I may not know everything about you, my game community, but I know you have it in you to think before you write. Remember, words do matter.