Traitor or Trendsetter?

Day 1,981, 14:05 • Published in USA USA • by Derphoof


Many articles have been written about Romania in the past few days. Plenty of players in EDEN and around the world have called Romania’s defection traitorous and despicable. For on one day, they were at the side of their allies, and on the next day, they are at the side of their mortal enemy. Even to those who knew this day would come eventually, it was still disheartening. Frustration, anger, and a sense of betrayal were the expected emotions and they showed across shout feeds and articles.

Yet, that is not how people should look back on it in the future. Instead, it will be seen as an event that pushed the game forward. Romania knows what they are doing. They know the risk, the reactions and the wounds it would cause. Yet, they saw the opportunity and took it.

I care not for the petty nostalgia and misplaced sense of honor in this game. For if we clung to those feelings and decided to never let go, the game would remain the same. The same nations would be in conflict. The same regions would be fought over.

Stagnation and complacency would become perpetual as boredom reigns supreme.

When it comes to me, I prefer to be shrewd, cold, and calculating when it comes to game strategy. One nation certainly does not have to be friends with a certain set of nations until the game ceases to exist. Friends can be made and bonds can be forged with most any country. The USA left its Pro-EDEN stance, found new friends, and forged bonds over time; leading to where it is now. I was of the same mindset when I proposed that Canada should join CoT back in November and was more than ready to force it onto the populace, as we had no congress.

Romania knows the state of its own alliance. People have known that EDEN has been on a steady decline for months, even years. Iain Keers said in his article that “EDEN in effect ceased to exist as a functioning body six months ago. Realistically speaking, it’s been dead for a year.” Its formal dissolution has been predicted by many and long awaited by others who have watched its slow demise. The Romanians looked around and decided that they want out. As a founding member of the alliance, and a member for three and a half years, the MPP with Serbia and Romania’s eventual acceptance into TWO is a huge symbolic blow.

Yet, it is these defections that keep the game evolving. If you were to look at EDEN as it is now, and look at it during its first couple of years, much has changed. The country roster has changed as members defect back and forth. It is those defections that have kept the game interesting. Without them, the game would have plunged into stagnation and likely died (with only nationalist Balkan citizens fighting on for pixelated supremacy).

Since its inception, 20 nations have joined, with one opting to re-join after leaving. In that same span of time, 16 nations have left. There has been a lot of turnover. Nations like Poland, Spain, Sweden, and Bulgaria have left in order to eventually fight against EDEN. Other nations like Argentina, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France have defected to join EDEN or a pro-EDEN alliance at one point or another.

While the alliances (namely EDEN) may stay the same, the nations in them certainly do not. That is what keeps the game interesting. New alliances form and new friendships are made each year, resulting in new enemies to fight. If Phoenix stayed the same and never broke up, then the USA would still be fighting France, Portugal, UK and Russia on a consistent basis. Considering we don’t have ultra-nationalist feuds with those nations, akin to the Balkans, we would likely be bored out of our minds. Defections are part of the reason we have tolerated and enjoyed 3+ years of (Insert Alliance Here) vs. EDEN.

Romania has forged new bonds with old enemies and have been labeled traitors for doing so. However, they are not traitors but merely trendsetters. They have set the dominoes in motion for EDEN to finally dissolve. They will not stick by EDEN and old friends due to a misplaced sense of honor and nostalgia in a simple browser game. As I write this, they have decided to formally leave EDEN. They are the first of the major Eastern European countries to leave, and surely more will follow suit in due time.

Due to the USA’s relatively recent defection to CoT and Romania’s immediate defection to TWO, we stand at the cusp of a new and exciting World War. The Polish government has already stated in an article that a Romanian airstrike is imminent upon our country.

The defections make this game fun and exciting. They spur the action of this game.

Don’t hate on the ones who leave their former allies, thank them for keeping the game interesting.