Shattered Kingdoms

Edit: due to people whining that it's too long, I did some chopping and formatting. I think I have Lei Kung syndrome.

Imagine SK like a garden. It's a very diverse garden - there are vegetables (I think we can all agree that GL is a potato), there are flowers, and, hey, we've even got some weeds. We all grow out of the same ground, as provided by our generous gardener, Dulrik. Yet our gardener isn't a full-time gardener, and he doesn't live off this garden. So, how he invests in this garden is a tricky business, as time and money are a limited resource.. Despite all this the garden does pretty well. No, we're not much compared to the big gardens attached to fancy estates, but we're not trying to compare to them in the first place. They're a different kind of garden. But we knew that already.

When the garden isn't progressing in a way we like, we can blame the gardener and his helpers all we like, but if it's not one thing, it's always another. If you want them to focus on pulling the weeds, we're going to see a lot less growth in other areas. Ideally, the focus should be on whatever is going to make SK more fun, in the most efficient way possible. It gets a lot harder to see what exactly that is, when you're the gardener, so that's where we come in. We, being the plants, know something about what we need to grow, but being down in the garden, we have a harder time seeing the whole picture. Thus, we have to work together to come to decisions and solutions to the latest problems the garden faces.

With the deletion of another of Peso's controversial characters, his afterlife thread is filled with a lot of interesting thoughts about what we define as acceptable RP in SK. It's not the first (or the last) time, either - one can look at any of Mitch's characters, and find much of the same discussion. RP is what makes our garden different than the mostly anonymous nature of MMOs - you aren't PKing everything in sight for a rating or a rank, but for some real, character motivation. The point of PK in SK is that it means something. It's why death sucks, it's why we don't keep our loot when we die, it's why we can kill whoever, whenever. RP is inexorably bound to PK, however, and it serves as the boundary to make sure that death means more than loot and experience, but also to keep the game fun for both sides. As the helpfile for diabolics notes, there is a line at which one may be within IC boundaries of the game, but outside what is considered OOCly acceptable.

We'll always disagree on what's acceptable, sometimes more strongly than others. Once in a while, I think it's healthy to step back and examine what exactly we're not satisfied with, what we want for the game in the long term, and how we can get there. Some questions to consider:

- Is there something wrong with the way SK, on the whole, is RPing right now? How can we improve?

- Where is the line between OOC and IC? How do we properly separate the two, and how do they appropriately come together? Why is there a sentiment that the line has completely faded? Is that sentiment correct, or even healthy?

- What about guys like Mitch? Do they deserve to be exiled from the game, or do they have something to offer in the middle of all this?

It's too easy to blame the IMMs, or specific players/groups for the lack of positive change in the game - we're all a part of SK, and we all carry an influence. Contributing to discussion and providing input are a part of that.

This is what I thought when I was reading this:

Haha, hey, i'm a potato! Mm. Potato. BAKED potato. Wait, wtf? Dulrik BETTER not try and eat me. Oh. Okay. Wait..wtf is he talking about? Mumble mumble, mumble, rp, mumble mumble. Whiskey...tango..foxtrot does that have to do with potatoes?

damnit to hell you better not make this into a thread about which vegetable or flower everyone should be

I perused it and saw this...



...then I laughed.

I'll read the rest of it thoroughly some time when I actually have the time.

Salandarin is a tomato. Cause no one knows whether he's a vegetable or a fruit.

I know, and he's a fruit.

i hate all of you with every fiber of my being, and let me tell you, i've got a lot of fiber.

ON TOPIC DAMNIT

Peso is some sort of nut.

I've done a fair share of world PvP, as well as Arena with a rating of 2065 highest in 3v3. Both SK and WoW PvP have their own perks. SK could definitely use some more customizations; two human swashbucklers could come out roughly the same.

The true differences are, in my opinion, in WoW when you see the opposing faction or "red colored" unitframes, you kill. In SK, you couldn't easily determine whether if this gray aura or that dark aura may gank you, or may not. This is where roleplay comes in. Some people prefer it simple, some complex.

The other distinguishing difference is the fact there may potentially be OOC agendas and use of information in a game such as SK. Many players cover up pretty well, and if they don't like certain players they will most definitely find perfectly 'legitimate' IC reasons to kill their player characters -- with logs to prove too.

Just look at how quickly Afterlife threads these days turn into flame wars and dirty laundry air-time. Then again, maybe it's all just speculation and conspiracy theories.

-

SK is definitely no longer the 'same' game when somewhere on the web the cabal powers are listed, as well as explained, riddles with answers are given, players requesting logs immediately after important incidents take place, and subsequently spending more time doing the out of character hating than actually take action in character.

There is no more in character secrecy, because everything is already told faster than the actual game elsewhere. Thus it puts an impact on those who still strive for secrecy. In fact, it drives more players towards the know-it-all mindset so they can be with the 'in' group.

How to enjoy the game more?
- Play the game as is. Understand there is roleplay in SK, with or without you seeing it. If someone doesn't talk, assume they are silent. There is no foul if someone wants your shoes and killed you for it.
- Disattach from any out of character medium completely. Don't talk to nobody outside the game about the game, don't read logs which would in turn reveal in character incdients, characters and so on.

Of course, doing the above means you are playing in denial. Sooner or later someone is going to private message or email you an URL to a log posted somewhere, showing how your killer got your identity, where you hang around, and managed to kill you for it.

This is the SK we play and love.

I shortened and altered the original post a bit.


Perception is everything. Many characters are indeed misunderstood and the players accused of not playing the game correctly (abusing OOC info, usually). But that's precisely what I'm hoping to see here - is there are incorrect way to play SK? Is it fine for a character to consistently and constantly kill others for equipment, if alignment allows? If everyone were to do that, this would be a VERY boring game, even if we all understood that it makes IC sense. There's a conflict between what makes sense in the game and what's fun out of the game, which is why some players get frustrated at a character like Divalni. Divalni wasn't fun for them, because all they ever saw was a batch of arrows. Others had great experiences probably because they didn't have to face that side of him.


Another conflict between what's fun OOC and what's good for you IC. There are certain aspects to the game that aren't fun to know nothing about. How and where to level, for example. That's what a lot of people are looking for. Some people feel that cabal skills and religious spells are required knowledge for them to fully enjoy the game - but it reduces the necessity for IC communication and, as you noted, ruins secrecy. Our own minds betray us in that regard. An experienced player knows all of these things already, and thus must learn how to separate his/her knowledge ICly, and OOCly. With time, this gets to be a drag - it's not an enjoyable aspect of playing, to continually pretend you don't know about a relatively minor feature of the game. Thus, people do away with it by freeing up that information.

Talking to other players is a huge part of the game, for me. I enjoy the community as much as I enjoy the game, and for a smaller game like this, it's completely necessary for long-term survival. Anonymity is a double-edged blade. You're less likely to bend the rules, to stay IC, but the OOC enjoyment can be reduced by the simple virtue of not chatting with people. Hell, how many people have gotten married through SK, now? Guys like Sinnoch may decry that aspect to the game, but it's a positive thing, even if it has its downsides - such as favoritism, abuse of information, mechanics, and so on.