Join the new world

Prima data am vrut sa denumesc acest articol Interviu cu un mahăr. Sau Interviu cu un bazat. Sau in orice caz, nu imi gaseam titlul potrivit, precum Eminescu nu gasea floarea campului inainte sa scrie celebrul vers o prea frumoasa fata. Asa ca m-am hotarat sa-l denumesc simplu si sugestiv Interviu cu ThomasRed. Caci pe el am vrut sa-l intervievez prima data. Intrebarile erau stabilite doar ca dinozaurul belgian cu nenumarate mandate de presedinte fugise de sub escorta calaului. Deh, nu mai erau reflexele ca-n tinerete. Asa ca am fost nevoit sa caut o alta victima pentru interogatoriul de aceasta data.

We've built a nation with our hands
The toil of people from a dozen lands

Si am gasit-o in persoana vechiului meu prieten din Singapore, Atracurium. Si el ambassador erepublik, eternul imparat al Chinei nu a raspuns insa provocarii. Unde mai pui ca eu ii acceptasem invitatia la nunta lui cu FlorenciaC.

Dar cautarile n-au sfarsit. Si am gasit un suspect in persoana lui Dio Vigon. Si el de multiple ori presedinte, nu era ambasador dar a fost dictator, brazilianul este urmatorul chemat la

The hangman's interogator

English version.
Pentru limba romana scroll mai jos.

Hi, Dio Vigon, and welcome to the hangman’s interrogator! (the section of my newspaper where I interview players in this game)
I’m glad you accepted the interview and took some time to answer my questions. Let’s begin, are you ready?

1. What can you tell us about yourself? eR and RL
Nothing exciting about my life, actually. I´m a 29 years old brazilian, live in Campinas and currently work at the courtyard, but I´ll be a lawyer in a year.

In game, I´ve been playing since 02, march 2010 and have been a active player most of my time here, despite the periods I had to be away due to RL issues.

2. How did you start playing this game?
2010 was an active year for Brazil, with many babybooms. I joined the game during one of them.

3. I saw you call yourself ‘the black sheep’. Where does this nickname come from?
In the beginning, it was only a way to set my political point of view. I was born during a time we had no opposition parties in Brazil and I founded a successfull one, be the different guy, the one that sees things differently was a important thing back then. Since people still know me as the black sheep and call me that, I kept the identity.


4. You have also changed your name previously. Your former name being Vigoncalves86, what can you tell us about this change and when did it happen?
I changed my nickname when it became available, to avoid mix game and RL. Vigoncalves86 its me on many different social medias and due to professional and personal decisions, I chosed to change it here. Since people already called me Vigon and considering the fact I´m a dioist player, I renamed myself Dio Vigon.

5. The first time we met, we were both representatives of our nations which then had a beef because of a Romanian MU called Nemesis. Regarding the fact that almost one year before that we were good allies, and we are now too, what do you think to be the decissive factor of two nations becoming from nemesis’ to strong allies?
I remember. In september, 2011, many Nemesis players joined Brazil for bonus and due to the brazilian way of protecting the country, they were told not to get involved into politics, but they ignored the request and started to demand a slice of political representativity. Obviously, as most of alliance crisis in game, the issue escalated from a national to an international level and we became enemies for a while. Also, there´s the fact that Brazil was close to Croatia when the famous Cromanian relationship ended.

However, after a pathetic year with poor political and diplomatic decision from Brazil in 2013, the country recovered its sanity and started to patch things up again. A good thing is that Brazil, in RL, has no real enemies or historical issues and this makes us an easy country to deal with when it comes to restore relations. That being said, the good relation between both countries now is a natural movement reinforced by our alliance needs and interests.


6. You were multiple times President. Regarding the great number of terms you held, I bet you had the chance to mark some successful ones, too. What is, in your opinion, the key to be a successful president in erepublik?
I had good times and bad times as President, that´s a fact, but there´s 3 things I keep in mind when it comes to take decisions for your country: 1. be calm. There´s no need to get angry, nervours ou mad during your term. After all, it´s just a game and the world wont end. Make decisions without getting affected by people´s opinions or by how bad the situation is. 2. be organized. I´m not saying you need to make a huge spreadsheet as a To Do List or anything like that, but if you know how to play this game and you can look at the whole picture, you can see what to do next days before you do it. Try to be ahead of any surprises. If you´re the President, you´re the one who has to bring surprises, not the other way around.

7. You were also President in Pakistan. What can you tell us about that period of yours? What did you felt?
As I said, I´m a dioist and for people like me, loyal to the ancient roleplay of this game, Pakistan is a second home. It was a good experience, considering I had the opportunity to make new friends and expand my known community in this game. Be kind and respectful to people, despite where they´re from and what do they believe and you´re welcome everywhere. That´s a fact.


8. What about a great Dictator, as you were multiple months one? What is the difference between being a Dictator and a President in this game?
In Brazil, we are rulling from dictatorships, but with a presidential roleplay, so we don´t disrespect anyone, but there are interesting changes. This is my personal opinion, after being president/dictator/congressman a few times: congress is full with noobs/newbies. Some of them have ideas and actions that cause huge problems to game dinamics. Some times we need fast decisions or obvious decisions and congressmen start endless or pointless discussions. That being said, I have to be honest, not having 100% interference on national polls was excellent. Obviously, I´m saying that from the perspective of me working for my country and not for me as dictator. If the ruler is an idiot or if he has bad intentions towards the country, it´s a big problem, but if the dictator has good intentions, not having 40 to slow things up is great.

9. Let’s continue to a question more about the present times. Regarding Plato’s last contest, the Regiment Rumble, what was your implication in this event?
I think those events are terrible, at least the one´s nowadays. 98% of the players wasting resources to receive some scraps and overpowered players (a.k.a. the one´s wasting real money) getting even more overpowered. I don´t waste my time on events.

10. The next question, making them 10 now, is dedicated to my readers: What are your advices to other (younger) players, readers of the Guillotine?
Know the history. After 5 years in this game, I´ve seen the same mistakes been made over and over by different generations of players. The same great economical ideas, the same incredible strategies, the same diplomatic mistakes, the same party bullshits for winning elections and destroying reputations. Avoid that. Be different, be usefull, do something people will remember you for. Despite being a pay to win game, I see eRepublik as a playable social media. Embrace the community concept and work hard to be part of it, not to destroy it.

Yes, there will be people offending people, pissing us off, doing stupid things, cheating, lying, but so is life. Use the game to understand people and, maybe, to learn something about people and about yourself.

11. We were born in pretty much the same period of erepublik. What period did you like the most? The original version of the game or V1? V2 or eRepublik Rising? The current version of the game? Tell us more about it, please.
Today we have a more dinamic game, but I miss the old days. I don´t say this as an offense to young players, but the level of economical, political and social discussions was higher in the past. I miss the opportunities we had to discuss many historical concepts in a game, despite the fact it was boring as hell to fight only during game change, with no weapons, trying not to lose to many health.

V1 was a balanced game, I liked that. V2 (or Rising) tried too many new things at once, they didn´t work together and eRep Labs got scared and never listened to players opinion. Yeah, on a marketing level, eRepublik is the cow of the company, a money maker, but the level of complexity is gone and we have to be blind to even consider pushing buttons and buy gold a simulation. But let´s not talk much about it. It makes me (and many old players) sad.


12. From your wiki profile we can see you are a Dioist. What can you tell us about religion in this game? Do you think it could be appropriate to have a confessional module too?
Meh, the wiki is completely out of date, I think 😛

But yes, I´m a dioist. DIO BRANDO GOD EMPEROR.

13. What are your future plans in the game, if you can tell us?
To be honest, I have none. I recently left ASTERIA and I´m solving some RL issues, I´ll probably start low profile for a while, playing it cool.

14. Bonus question for Romanians: What can you tell us about Romania and Romanians in this game, as you have seen or interacted in all those years of playing eRepublik?
I can´t say about the whole community, but the picture we have from romanians is that you´re a very passionate nation, with a strong culture that appears almost as a need to spread worldwide. It´s a difficult practice to deal with if you´re an rival. Despite our roman origin, Brazil and Romania don´t share many things in a cultural level and it has been a difficult difference to deal with all these years, but I enjoy your game style, is aggressive and interesting to learn from.

15. You were recently the head of an important alliance in this game, Asteria. From my point of view, the head of an alliance is the top most position a player can have in this game. What can you tell us about this and your term as head of Asteria?
It started pretty well, we kicked Chile out of France and showed who runs this game. I personally had some RL issues, as I said earlier, so I wasn´t 100% during the last days, but it was a good opportunity to restore the sinergy of members and I know Bogi will keep it up.

16. And the final question, the 16th: How do you see the future of eBrazil in the game? Knowing that you lack damage in lower divisions, where now Chile it seems to have the upper hand, what can you tell us about the military future of your region, the South Americas?
I honestly don´t know. Let´s face it, the game is not easy for newborns and the recent implementation of the Infantry Kit turned countries with good lower divisions into real juggenauts. It seems there wont be huge changes in the next months, but South America is an active region nowadays and we never know what to expect...

Thanks again, Vigon, for your time and good luck on your (e)future plans! You’re free to go now from the interrogator 🙂
Thank you. Good luck and say a hello for your readers.

DIO IS GLORIOUS

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Interogatoriul calaului

Varianta in romana.
Scroll up for the English version.

Salut, Dio Vigon, si bun venit la interogatoriul calaului! (sectiunea ziarului meu unde intevievez alti jucatori)
Ma bucur ca ai acceptat acest interviu si ai alocat putin timp sa-mi raspunzi la intrebari. Sa incepem, esti pregatit?

1. Ce ne poti spune despre tine? eR si RL?
Nimic senzational, de fapt. Sunt un brazilian de 29 de ani, traiesc in Campinas si voi fi avocat intr-un an.
In joc, joc din 2 Martie 2010 si am fost un jucator activ in marea majoritate a timpului, desi am avut perioade cand a trebuit sa fiu inactiv datorita RL.

2. Cum ai inceput acest joc?
2010 a fost un an activ pentru Brazilia, cu multe babyboomuri. M-am alaturat jocului intr-unul din ele.

3. Am vazut ca iti spui 'oaia neagra'. De unde vine acest pseudonim?
La inceput, exista doar un mod pentru a vedea punctul meu politic de vedere. M-am nascut intr-o perioada cand nu aveam partide de opozitie in Brazilia si am fondat unul de succes, eram tipul diferit, sa fii cel care vedea lucrurile diferit era un lucru important atunci. De atunci oamenii ma stiu ca oaia neagra si asa ma apeleaza, mi-am pastrat aceasta identitate.

4. De asemenea, ti-ai schimbat numele in trecut. Pe vechiul tau nume Vigoncalves86, ce ne poti spune despre aceasta schimbare si cand s-a intamplat?
Mi-am schimbat numele cand a devenit posibil, pentru a evita legatura dintre joc si RL. Vigoncalves86 sunt eu in mai multe medii sociale si datorita profesiei si deciziilor personale, am ales sa-l schimb aici. De curand ce lumea ma stie ca Vigon, si luand in considerare ca sunt un dioist, m-am redenumit Dio Vigon.

5. Prima data cand ne-am intalnit, era ambii reprezentanti pentru natiunile noastre care aveau o disputa, din cauza unei UM romanesti denumite Nemesis. Tinand cont ca cu aproape un an inainte eram aliati buni, si acum suntem la fel, care crezi ca este factorul decisiv pentru ca doua tari sa devina din inamice in aliati puternici?
Tin minte. In septembrie 2011, multi jucatori Nemesis au intrat in Brazilia pentru bonusuri si datorita modalitatilor noastre de a proteja tara, au fost instiintati sa nu se implice in politica, dar ei au ignorat cererea si au inceput sa ceara o bucata din reprezentanta politica. Desigur, ca orice criza de alianta din joc, lucrurile au escaladat de la un nivel national la unul international si am devenit inamic pentru o vreme. De asemenea, este de mentionat ca Brazilia era apropiata Croatiei cand renumita relatie Cromana s-a incheiat.

In orice caz, dupa un an patetic cu decizii politice si dipomatice slabe ale Braziliei in 2013, tara si-a recapatat luciditatea si a inceput sa construiasca iar. Un lucru bun este ca Brazilia, in RL, nu are inamici sau tare istorice si asta ne face o tara usor de gestionat cand vine vorba de relatii. Acestea fiind zise, relatia buna dintre cele doua tari este o miscare naturala intarita de nevoile si interesele aliantei noastre.

6. Ai fost de mai multe ori presedinte. Tinand cont de numarul mare de mandate avute, pun pariu ca ai avut ocazia sa bifezi si unele de succes. Care este, in opinia ta, cheia pentru a fi un presedinte de succes in erepublik?
Am avut perioade atat bune cat si proaste ca presedinte, asta e clar, dar sunt 3 lucruri pe care le tin minte cand vine vorba de a lua decizii pentru tara ta: 1. Fii calm. Nu e nevoie sa te infurii sau sa te enervezi in timpul mandatului tau. In fond, e doar un joc si lumea nu se sfarseste aici. Ia decizii fara a te lasa afectat de parerea oamenilor sau cat de proasta este situatia. 2. Fii organizat. Nu zic ca trebuie sa faci un tabel imens cu o lista a lucrurilor de facut sau chestii de genu, dar daca stii cum sa joci acest joc poti privi in ansamblu, poti vedea ce urmeaza a fi de facut ianinte cu cateva zile de a face. Incearca sa preintampini orice surprize. Daca tu esti presedintele, tu esti cel care vine cu surprizele si nu invers.

7. Ai fost, de asemenea, si presedinte in Pakistan. Ce ne poti spune despre acea perioada? Cum te-ai simtit?
Dupa cum am mai spus, sunt un dioist si pentru cei ca mine, loiali vechiului stil de RP(Role-Play) al jocului, Pakistan este a doua casa. A fost o experienta buna, luan in considerare ca am avut ocazia sa imi fac prieteni noi si sa imi imbogatesc cunostintele in acest joc. Fii bun si respectuos cu oamenii, in ciuda locului de unde sunt sau in ce cred, si esti binevenit oriunde. Asta e sigur.

8. Dar despre un mare dictator, caci ai fost de mai multe ori unul? Care este diferenta intre a fi dictator si presedinte in acest joc?
In Brazilia, conducem dupa dictaturi, dar cu un rol prezidential in atributii, asa ca nu ignoram pe nimeni, dar sunt schimbari interesante. Aceasta e parerea mea, dupa ce a fost de cateva ori presedinte/dictator/congresman: congresul e plin de bizoni. Cativa dintre ei au idei si actiuni care cauzeaza mari probleme dinamicii jocului. Uneori ne trebuiesc decizii rapide sau clare ca lumina zilei si congresmenii incep discutii interminabile sau fara sens. Acestea fiind zise, sa fiu sincer, a nu avea 100% interventii in decizii nationale a fost excelent. Desigur, nu spun asta din perspectiva mea muncind pentru tara sau ca sa fiu dictator. Daca conducatorul este un idiot sau are intentii rele pentru tara, este o problema mare, dar daca dictatorul are intentii bune, nefiind incetinit de alti 40 este un lucru grozav.

9. Sa continuam cu o intrebare mai mult despre vremurile actuale. Referitor la ultimul concurs al lui Plato, Regiment Rumble, care au fost implicarile tale in acest eveniment?
Cred ca aceste evenimente sunt groaznice, cel putin zilele acestea. 98% din jucatori cheltuie resurse pentru a primi nimicuri iar jucatori ultra-dezvoltati (cum ar fi cei care irosesc bani reali) se dezvolta si mai mult. Nu imi pierd timpul cu competitii.

10. Urmatoarea intrebare, facandu-le 10 acum, este dedicata cititorilor mei: Ce sfat ai pentru jucatorii (mai tineri), cititori ai Ghilotinei?
Cunoasteti istoria. Dupa 5 ani de joc, am vazut aceleasi greseli repetate de diferite generatii de jucatori. Aceleasi idei bune economice, aceleasi strategii rasunatoare, aceleasi greseli diplomatice, acelasi rahat de partid politic pentru castigarea alegerior si distrugerea reputatiilor. Evitati asta. Fiti diferiti, fiti utili, faceti ceva pentru care oamenii sa isi aminteasca de voi. Desi este un joc unde platesti ca sa castigi, eu vad eRepublik ca pe un mediu social jucabil. Imbratisati conceptul de comunitate si munciti din greu pentru a fi parte din ea, nu pentru a o distruge.

Da, sunt oameni care insulta, care ne bulverseaza, facand chestii stupide, trisand, mintind, dar asa e si viata. Foositi jocul pentru a intelege oamenii si, poate, invatati ceva despre oameni si despre voi insiva.

11. Am fost nascuti in aproximativ aceeasi perioada de erepublik. Care perioada ti-a placut mai mult? Versiunea originala sau V1? V2 sau erepublik Rising? Versiunea actuala a jocului? Detaliaza, te rog.
Astazi avem un joc mai dinamic, dar imi e dor de zilele vechi. Nu o spun ca o ofensa adusa jucatorilor mai tineri, dar nivelul economic, politic si al discutiilor sociale era mai ridicat in trecut. Mi-e dor de ocaziile cand discutam de concepte istorice intr-un joc, desi jocul era plictisitor ca naiba sa lupti doar la Day Change, fara arme, ca sa nu pierzi prea multa sanatate.

V1 a fost un joc echilibrat, mi-a placut asta la el. V2 (sau Rising) a incercat prea multe lucruri deodata, n-au mers laolalta si eRep Labs s-au speriat si n-au ascultat opiniile jucatorilor. Da, la nivel de marketing, eRepublik este vaca de muls a companiei, un money maker, dar nivelul complexitatii e pierdut si trebuie sa fii orb sa crezi apasatul butoanelor si cumparatul goldului o simulare. Dar hai sa nu mai vorbim despre asta. Ma intristeaza (pe mine si pe alti vechi jucatori).

12. Din profilul tau de wiki vedem ca esti un dioist. Ce ne poti spune despre religie in joc? Crezi ca ar fi propice sa avem si un modul religios?
Eh, pagina de wiki este expirata de mult, cred 😛

Dar da, sunt un dioist. DIO BRANDO ZEU IMPARAT!

13. Care sunt planurile tale de viitor in joc, daca ne poti spune?
Sa fiu sincer, nu am. Am parasit ASTERIA si acum imi rezolv unele probleme RL si probabil voi sta low profile pentru o vreme, sa joc la o intesitate mai scazuta.

14. Intrebare bonus pentru romani: Ce ne poti spune despre Romania si romani in acest joc, asa cum ai interactionat in toti acesti ani de erepublik?
Nu pot vorbi despre toata comunitatea, dar imaginea pe care o am despre romani este ca sunteti o natiune pasionala, cu o cultura puternica care aproape ca pare ca o nevoie de a se raspandi in intreaga lume. E dificil sa va aiba cineva ca rivali. In ciuda originilor noastre latine, Brazilia si Romania nu impart aceleasi lucruri la nivel cultural si a fost o diferenta dificila de trecut peste in toti acesti ani, dar imi place stilul vostur de joc, agresiv si cu multe de invatat din el.

15. Ai fost recent conducatorul unei aliante importante din acest joc, Asteria. Din punctul meu de vedere, seful unei aliante este cea mai mare pozitie pe care un jucator o poate avea in joc. Ce ne poti spune despre mandatul tau ca sef al Asteriei?
A inceput destul de bine, am gonit Chile din Franta si le-am aratat cine conduce in acest joc. Personal am avut niste probleme RL si, asa cum am spus mai devreme, nu eram 100% din potential in ultimele zile, dar a fost o ocazie buna de a reactualiza sinergia membrilor si stiu ca Bogi va continua la fel.

16. Si intrebarea finala, a 16-a: Cum vezi viitorul eBraziliei in acest joc? Stiind ca aveti lipsuri la damage in diviziile mai mici, unde acum Chile pare ca este superioara, ce ne poti spune despre viitorul militar al reigunii, Americile de Sud?
Sincer, nu stiu. Sa fim sinceri, jocul nu este usor pentru nou veniti si implementarea recenta a Infantry Kit-ului au transformat tarile cu divizii mici superioare in adevarati colosi. Se pare ca nu vor fi schimbari majore in urmatoarele luni, dar America de Sud este o regiune activa zilele acestea si niciodata nu poti sti la ce sa te astepti.

Iti multumesc inca o data, Vigon, pentru timpul acordat si mult noroc in planurile tale (e)viitoar! Esti liber sa pleci de la interogatoriu 🙂
Imi multumesc. Mult noroc si transmite salutari cititorilor tai.
DIO ESTE GLORIOS!


traducerea si adaptarea: Bogdan Armand Sibrand