The eRep Political Compass

Day 554, 15:08 • Published in USA USA • by AndraX2000

Although politics are an important part of eRepublik, there isn't actually all that much that politicians can do in the game. Real life politics offers a much wider field of debate than is available as a citizen of the New World. Many of the choices have been already made by the game. Are you a Real Life advocate of States' rights? Too bad; regions can't pass their own laws. Is there a pressing social issue that gets you picketing? Too bad; there are no clinics or marriages to protest in eRep. Want to live in a monarchy, a dictatorship, a commune, or even a straight democracy? Sorry; all governments are representational democracies in eRep.

So what is there left to debate about? Taxes mostly. You can raise them or lower them. Very exciting. There's also some hot debate going on in the eUSA about printing money. And by hot debate, I mean one guy who is very strongly against it. Out of game participation programs -- like the military, or the cabinet -- get some lip service in the halls of debate. And we can not forget the never-ending dialog about war.

So how do you decode these debates when so little of it corresponds to Real Life? Presenting the eRep Political Compass:


Click for larger image

As you can see, there are 2 major Axis to the compass. The X-axis ( which we will call the Decision axis ) plots how a person makes decisions. On the left side of the Decision axis are people who base choices on Statistics while those on the right make snap decisions based on Gut Instinct. The Y-axis ( or the Moral axis ) plots what type of decisions one makes. On the lower side are people who believe that this is a game, and make decisions based on what Game Mechanics will give them the most advantage. The upper side takes Real Life Ideology and attempts to apply it to the game world.

I have labeled each of the four quadrants with a stereotype. Much like the word "Republican" or "Democrat" bring up a stereotypical set of beliefs in our mind, these word are also shortcuts for the 4 main views you will encounter in the media and forums.

Statisticians believe that eRep is a game, and the best way to achieve a goal is to study all available data. Perhaps they find a trick to make soldiers do 2 more points of damage per day -- Statisticians will announce it, make a calculator, PM all the Military Generals, and then complain when their strategy is inevitably ignored. The Statisticians weakness is that no one else knows what the hell they are talking about, and even if they did, no one would care. Ubergeeks fall into this category, as does the Author.

Reallificans have strong beliefs and the data to back them up! They can be dangerous debaters, but their fatal flaw is that real life statistics often fail when applied to simplified game systems. Economic Preachers who ignore game mechanics fall into this category. Another subset of Reallificans are those who try to assert Real Life laws (like freedom of speech) into a game where these things can not be enforced.

Justdoitarians are mad and they demand action! They know what is right and everyone else is ignoring them. Some are Pacifists who refuse to even fight in War Games. Some are Warmongers who want us to attack because they hate certain people in Real Life. Many are just citizens who ignore the forums, IRC, media, and welcome message, and start complaining the moment they can buy a newspaper. If you want to attack Mexico because you believe the eUSA is a mighty invincible force, you are a Justdoitarian. Deliberate and unintentional Trolls fall into this category, and they are quite frequently ignored. However, a very passionate Justdoitarian can gain traction with the masses through inspirational speech.

Mechanicrats are a very diverse group. Many new players with a gaming background start out here. These players know that Canada has diamonds, so they are a good target. However, they have not yet learned enough about the game to see why attacking Canada is a bad idea. As these players gain more experience they may move to other parts of the political compass. Senior Mechanicrats have decided that this is a game, but they just want to have fun. They believe that the Statisticians are taking things too seriously, or that their methods are too slow. They are prone to rash decisions and make frequent mistakes, however, through trial and error, they can become quite successful. They support Tanking over mass movement (pointing out that mass movement may do more damage but needs more coordination), conquest over PTO, and lulz over srs bsns. I believe that our current president, Scrabman, is a Mechanicrat.

So where are you on the eRep Political Compass? Confess in the comments.