Same As it Ever Was...
J.A. Lake
Hello, Comrades:
After a brief back-and-forth with one of the CP hopefuls, the question came up:
What do you want to see that is different?
What a good question. Is there a clear answer?
There is a lot of talk about eschewing what the people want in favor of what is good for the "country" these days. If one tried, they could find several such statements from everyone from the PotUS down to Congressmen.
Notice, though, that the ones not saying that are the people themselves. Clearly the people don't want to be ignored in favor of the government.
Who elects the government, though? The people do.
So when we try to trace the source of the problem of our system down, we find that it's a circle. The Government thinks it has the right to trample the people in the interest of the state, however they only think they have that right because the people elect them, thus giving them some semblance of the people's approval.
This leads one to a sort of hopeless malaise. How can a problem everyone contributes to be solved?
Truth be told, it cannot be solved by anything short of society-wide action. There must be a true action of the people to stop what we have created.
What exactly can we change, though? The game gives us a very bare-bones model of a country to work with. We're given a marketplace, a world map, a fight button, a congress, a president, military units, political parties, and votes every month.
Everything else, we add. The eUS Government as we know it is all our creation, given credence by our voting to maintain it monthly. We acknowledge the metagame as a necessary evil to "keep the game interesting." Interesting for who, really? A lot of people don't frequent the forums. It's a silly place, anyway. The same thirty or forty people go there to laugh at each others' jokes and practice groupthink.
Perhaps the metagame is important, but it raises a valid question. Why would anyone play a game that so closely mirrors the mundane bureaucracy of life in the United States? What insane person likes playing make-believe pencil pusher to escape being a real-life pencil pusher?
Scott, I filled out those TPS reports you wanted for the eDepartment of State. The real ones are forthcoming.
Maybe that's why the eUSA is declining like it is. People are disillusioned that this game provides no escape from reality. Games are supposed to do that, you know. In Monopoly you get to play a rich property baron-- how many times do you think Donald Trump plays that? In LIFE you get to do a lot of things, but how many times are actual doctors overjoyed to be the doctor? What escape does playing a game that mirrors reality provide?
The best quote to pull out of this discussion is as follows:
"I think the problem is 'progress' in the eUSA is solely defined by treading water."
Pompous as it may be to quote oneself, mull that statement over.
If only a virtual recreation of the US Government could be so exciting.
Keep in mind this article is not written with a political purpose. The person I conversed with said (and this is a paraphrase): "I'll keep our bonuses. I'll maintain our standing. I'll keep our Departments running smoothly."
What is that but treading water, disguised with the rhetoric of a progressive title?
Again, it should be stressed that no one person, especially not who I talked to, is at fault for this. This is the clearest symptom of the problems plaguing the game at large and the eUSA in particular. The only solution can be a radical change enacted by everyone.
In the final analysis, we shouldn't be confused or concerned that role-playing a body as exclusionary as the US Government should yield anything short of an exclusionary e-government. Furthermore, we should also not be surprised that our population is in decline. In a game where the metagame is centered around governing and the government is exclusionary, why wouldn't people leave in droves? We're taking the game away from them.
You're not good enough to be in our pretend Government!
Reality has several advantages over the game: first, there are other things to do. You can go ride a bike or throw horseshoes or go fishing in reality. In short, the government is not all you have in reality. You've got life to distract you.
Here you only have the government, your party, and your MU. When the whole game is trying to be exclusive, there's no bike riding or fishing to distract you. There is literally no point in playing.
That is why our population shrinks. We role-play reality because it's all we know. We've got to stop to save ourselves from returning to reality because eRepublik goes defunct.
Think outside the box. Think on a way to improve upon reality, not to better copy it. We don't need a mini US Government metagame, that's stupid. We need something better.
Consider this part 1 of a series. Part two is going to be about "Something Better", at least as well as it can be defined by one person, theoretically.
Comments
Informe del MoFA
http://www.erepublik.com/es/article/2439588/1/20
Gracias!
Something Different
Thoughtful and well-said. Me likey.
I agree with PQ. I like the way you think.
Up you go.
Good thoughts, but what do you suggest specifically be done to get this beast movin?
I'll try to put together an answer to that question over the weekend 😃
I look forward to this! 😃
Such a big question. Haha I'm still working on it now 😛
Not quite sure what you are getting at here... The metagame is available for anyone who wishes to use it, and honestly, erep sucks so much as a game, that the meta is the ONLY reason to stick around.
I don't think I did good enough elaborating that I don't think the concept of a metagame is bad. My point is to say that our execution of the metagame is bad, and that copying reality is not the way to go.
Okay, i think get what you're saying now. I dont necessarily agree with you, but I see where you're coming from. Good article
Great stuff!
Honestly I think this explains the disconnect. My ultimate goal is to get more players involved in the meta. I want more people to part or ownership in the government. If someone has no desire to get into the meta then yes there's little I can do "differently".
As a rebuttal you say the meta is exclusionary yet anyone who demonstrates a willingness to take part, reliability, and competence is given a chance. Valiant Thor went from a near universally reviled troll to a Congressman, SecMed, and PP. Unfortunately he frittered all of his hard won goodwill away when he chose to abuse the trust of his party and engage in a game of chicken with his self declared enemies. If VT can climb in the meta after his ignominious start anyone not named Ajay can.
The meta exists not to make a poor game worse, but to supplement the game. To add community, interaction, and depth to an otherwise shallow game. Just food for thought. I appreciate your candor.
I'll grant that the meta is an important component of the game. Maybe my problem is more with our execution of the meta, as a copy of reality. I should've made that clearer.
I tried xD
That should have read take part or ownership in the government.
It was a good article. We need more like them. Thank you for writing it.
Any time! I'll try to keep them coming. The fact that reasonable conversation is occurring here is cause enough to keep on keepin' on. It's so rare on the Internet.
The main problem that I have with the meta-game is that it's administrated by politicians.
; )
Good article
Excellent article with excellent points. I have long agreed that it is our own self-imposed bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo that chases players out. When a group of people that care not of alternative ideas and restrict the game mechanics using the meta game for what they perceive as the way the game should be played hold all the cards, people are going to fold and quit.
I'm looking forward to the second part.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98AJUj-qxHI
10/10 yes!
NEEDS MORE GREELING!
I agree with RainySunday.
I like the way PQ thinks you think.
(;,,😉
Here is another article to comments. Thank you.
http://www.erepublik.com/en/article/senior-journalist-second-article-2nd-25-different-comments--2438870/1/20
Interesting article; looking forward to the next one.
Nice article. Couldn't agree more.
Well thought out. I wish we had more time. But go to the mats, never give up!