Join the new world

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Headline Image: William Blake's "Newton"

He tried thrills.
He said, “I gave myself to enjoy pleasure.”
And that's about the way it is in the merry-go-round.
You get on, you go around, standing in the saddle.

Man is born, man lives, and man dies
And it's all vanity.
--Thrills
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In the beginning…eRep was just about clicking for some CAD and reading the latest articles as a way to wind down before calling it a night. It turned out to be a lot more than expected. The media module became a minor passion of mine, and soon I found myself involved in the CAF, then the Writers’ Guild of Canada, and, most significantly, the Supreme Court of Canada. I see there is much more to be done in each of these roles, so it is with great regret to announce that the end is nigh for Plugson

It’s been a pretty good run of just over a year, seeing some exciting things happen, such as the most recent election. What I thought would just be a computer game became a way to see life’s lessons played out in the many facets of the New World. I saw friendship grow and break apart, our country go from a peaceably dull Hobbit-shire to the scene a most major conflict, a new social-military structure take shape, some talented new players become amazing contributors, and some mad capers of the mischievous raise the roof. There are the soaring, plummeting, and resurging trajectories of people’s careers and reputations that may be retold long from now, probably misinterpreted but still a part of an eCanadian heritage that is our never-ending story.

There’s a lot to learn here, whether it be political/economic systems, war dynamics, or the social mechanisms that bring it all together. So, before I give the final heave ho, here are some of the things I’ve learned from eRep. What follows is purely “meta” so if it’s not in your taste please kindly follow the corridor to the end of the article where you can leave flowers or gift basket of fruit, signing the guestbook as you leave.


People help each other; people fight each other.

People help each other in so many ways that I’d say it’s the founding principle of eRep. We show new players the ropes, take deputies under our wing to ready new Ministers, and work like mad to support allies in all corners of the New World. Charities, new citizen guides, military organizations, and mentor programs are the more obvious examples, but there’s so much going on behind the scenes to keep things on track. Congressmen, Ministers, Presidents, and military leaders maintain the system and enforce the policies that keep us competitive with our adversaries. Business managers keep the economy running with wages, sales, and resource purchases – the lifeblood that keeps our ranks growing. The exchange of PMs and IRC chats, or article comments and forum replies, not to mention the solitary work of the writer prepping an article for circulation. Altogether it’s a massive donation of time and effort that could probably fuel the economy of a small nation in RL.

People fight each other in ways that make this game worth watching. Whether it’s a petty rivalry, a battle of political platforms, or a clash of characters, what brings out the worst in us also makes eRep the lively show of human spirit. Sure, there are a handful of cases that crossed the line from game play to personal attack. But the in-fighting or trash-talking that goes on each day is, for the most part, all about getting an agenda accomplished. We all have goals that we need to push for, and maybe push others around in the process. What keeps this game energized is the friction of competing ideas, opinions, economies, and armies. “Why can’t we all just get along?” is a plea better left out there in RL, because in here we are meant to duke it out, just as much as we need to cooperate with our allies toward winning an election, a battle, or maybe just a spirited debate.


People come; people go.

People come into this game every day, yet only a small number make it past the two-week window (maybe longer) of feeling lost and wanting more to do. You never know when some crazy newb posting the most irrational comment might turn out to lead a surging party or charging army. I’m betting plenty of us had doubts that there would be a place for us in this tangled web of modules. What would I ever write about? How the heck do I find a good job, let alone run a business? What am I voting for and how just how many elections do we have each month?! Okay, fighting seems easy, though I don’t really get these walls and long-distance wars. Sometimes a PM from some guy in some party, company, or militia is just enough to keep them hanging on beyond the first few weeks of blind wandering.

People go, even when they want to stay. Keeping the new ones around is a challenge, but so is holding on to our talent and our soldiers, workers, GMs, former PMs, our statisticians and our trolls. The biggest casualty RL pressures, though some might point a finger at the quirky game mechanics that turn world wars into click-from-your-house wall making/breaking. It’s amazing to see some new talent make his or her way up from the obscurity; it’s unfortunate to see some of our companions go back into it. Though I wrote in the last paragraph that in-fighting is part of the eRep experience, it has a limit. The greatest eSin I can imagine would be causing a citizen to quit the game. We all go for our own reasons. Getting pushed out by alienation or harassment is where the line should be drawn. So in the end we find there are the same two constants: death and taxes. Yup, the two are true in here, too?


People build things up; people break things apart

People build up the most amazing projects in this text and icon New World. I’m continually impressed by the talent displayed by the citizens we fight beside and fight against. I swear some platforms put out by candidates show dedication on a professional level. The business managers who take a Q1 company to Q5 heights amaze me. Writers who research, imagine, and explain the elements of this reality inspire me. The war strategists who coordinate troops and sort out battle plans through this maze of MPPs greatly impress me. There are so many things that are built up from nothing that flourish, into great parties or potent militias or a newspaper that hundreds follow. Just the same, even with so much effort invested, some well laid plans never get off the ground in they way they deserve. It’s no small task to name the many great nation builders out there, dedicating themselves to bringing the foundations of eCanada together. If anyone deserves my final salute, it’s all of you who keep adding to eCanada, brick by brick.

People break apart what was built up before them-- it’s the nature of the war game-- it’s just our human nature. Part of the game is tearing down the walls that others try so hard to keep up. Not just in battles but in the businesses and governments that rise and fall. Hospitals and Defense Systems get razed, maybe after someone worked hard and long to collect the funds and lobby for the placement. Someone gets shot down at the polls or taken apart in an article, not because it’s a cruel New World out there, but because it’s just part of the engine that keeps us chugging along. Call it the cycle of renewal that makes us want something new when we’ve had enough of something old, or that makes us want to create a new posse of Greasers to rumble against the old-school gang of Socs. Everyone likes stability and security out there in the real world where there are real accidents, real disasters, real crises, and real problems. But in here, we’re exploring the boundaries of what can be done in the limited game mechanics of eRep. Most of that involves taking apart what some people work hard to put together. Taking someone down doesn’t mean it’s personal; it’s part of the rules of the game, in this one and in many others.

Releasing the e-Go
My name is Plugson and I am an eRepaholic. We share an addiction, and it’s not just eRep. We’re approval junkies. We’re all in it for the slap on the back. The hip-hip-hoorah of winning the election, getting that new rank, that new badge. Polish that monument and shine on. We’re builders and destroyers, the winners – the losers. We’re the attention seekers and the rapt audience. We’re all big players in the game gives as much as it takes. Letting go isn’t easy when you know you can do more, be more, and get more. You’ve come this far and built so much that leaving it for another to play with just doesn’t feel right. The bigger the builder you are, the harder it is.

I give my final salute to all of you who build this nation bigger or those who find ways take eRep to new heights. You’ve given so much that it seems not too much to ask to be on top a little longer. So go on, climb that corporate e-ladder, but just be sure to make room for those that want to follow in your steps. I’ll take a page from Jack of all Trades’ Word From on High and recommend that our Master Builders take a look at Ecclesiastes 2:4-11. Now I’ll admit I’ve done some foolish things in my time in eRep. I’ve laid plans that ended in folly, but I’ve also done work on the part of wisdom, so I hope you don’t mind when I say the same of you. Make your mistakes, stir up some trouble, and then do your good deeds, because we’re here for the thrills as much as to help build this imagined community into something bigger.

Wisdom and Folly Are Meaningless

Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom,
and also madness and folly.
What more can the king's successor do
than what has already been done?

I saw that wisdom is better than folly,
just as light is better than darkness.

The wise man has eyes in his head,
while the fool walks in the darkness;
but I came to realize
that the same fate overtakes them both.

Then I thought in my heart,
"The fate of the fool will overtake me also.
What then do I gain by being wise?"
I said in my heart,
"This too is meaningless."

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered;
in days to come both will be forgotten.
Like the fool, the wise man too must die.
Ecc 2:12-16

…but maybe that is just the envy talking, because you’ll all still be here having a good time while I read bedtime stories to Plug’s son (also fun in it’s own way).
That concludes the eRep Imagined series, a limited edition that, somehow, might all fit together 😉

Take care all--build it bigger and share it wider.

Plugson

A Member of the Writers' Guild of Canada