It is not without a fair degree of reluctance that I’m writing this, yet nevertheless I decided to give it a shot: in lieu of the recent changes which have been made to the game (stats & greater pace of issues) this is a ploy for the expansion of nationstates into a more interactive game.
What do I mean by that? First of all, before I elaborate, if anyone accuses me of wanting Nationstates 2 back, I have never played that game in my life as I wasn’t even aware of its existence in the first place so the accusation is baseless in the sense that I cannot be accused of wanting something to return when I don’t even know what it entails.
I also don’t intend to plea for extending the game into the realm of something like say, World of Warcraft, Skyrim or any other similar game which involves quests, slaying dragons and what not. So in case of anyone accusing me of merely wanting this game to become a clone of the aforementioned games is also untrue, as I don’t know what those games entail either. As a matter of fact, I’m not much of a gamer in the first place. To put it even more precise: I’m not a gamer at all.
But when someone goes: ,,You’re not a gamer, so why do you plead for this game to expand then?” My response is simple: this isn’t about me or my tastes, but acknowledging and exploiting the potential Nationstates has.
Although slightly redundant, I would like to start by taking a brief overview at the current state of the game. Statistics are a little difficult to come by, but since there are roughly 192000 nations in the entire game, it would be a safe bet to say that the number of actual players is about half that. (Assuming that several players have multiple nations/puppets.) This number might at first glance seem impressive, but in the larger scheme of the internet one quickly realises that it is a mere drop in the well, a rather insignificant number which is so small that one can even doubt if the existence of the game itself is justified if its ultimate goal is to generate awareness for Mr. Barry and his books. Therefore my plea is not merely based on wishing to create a wider awareness of Mr. Barry’s books. (And yes, I have read them and although he may not be a George Orwell, the fruits of his labour are certainly enjoyable.)
The first thing the game relies on are the issues which every nation/player faces on a daily bases. Regardless if one chooses to opt for 1 or 4 issues, they will pop up every 6, 12 or 24 hours depending on one’s settings. There are roughly 500 issues in the game, of which the vast majority was written by players themselves, but no nation qualifies for them all, so if one qualifies for say, 300 issues, it doesn’t take a lot of time for anyone to learn to choose the desired outcome or when there is no desired outcome to be found, simply dismiss the issue.
If one moves on, one can observe the game’s greatest asset, the forums: these have always been the place where players/nations can post the things which are on their minds. Their roleplaying, help with writing issues, discussing all sorts of things. Here is the factor which I would like to focus on a little bit later.
The final aspect of the game is the statistics which every come with every nation and go up or down depending on which choices a player makes. Also, a bit more on those later.
Now here is the idea which I have: to dismiss the concept of making Nationstates a “Simple Game” as this statement is indeed true, but it is being falsely used as an argument instead of a mere statement. You can’t go to war or trade with other nations because Nationstates is a simple game is not a reason, but an empty statement without arguments as to exactly why it is a simple game.
Hence, I plead for the actual option on going to war or trading with other players. Although with that said, I don’t plead for making it a mandatory thing. Indeed, large, militaristic nations could and would be favoured over smaller ones, particularly if they form alliances but one the other hand: many smaller nations might also be able to overcome a large one.
This entire actual trading/politics/going to war would subsequently have a genuine effect on the statistics, which would make them more interactive as well, making the latter something to genuinely care about, rather than just state: ,,I don’t care about statistics.” on any players signature on the forums. On a sidenote: this also begs the question: if no one cares about statistics, why have them in the first place? In any case, to repeat myself but merely to make myself clear: it doesn’t nor should it be a mandatory thing to join in, players could and should be allowed to hop in or out of the interactive part of the forum at any time but they should have to bear in mind that their presence or absence might also have consequences on this part of the forum.
Ultimately, it would not only make the forum livelier, but it would also make players care more about their statistics than is currently generally the case. Moreover, it could potentially attract more players and thus generate more awareness for Mr. Barry’s books. There is no technical reason why such a thing cannot be achieved. In an era where games such as Warthunder or Assassin’s Creed exist the simple expedient of creating a section of a forum which is more interactive should be an easy feat to accomplish. Moreover and again: it should be done, as it would be the best way possible to garner more attention in the wider world. Standing still isn’t an option, as people begin to get bored and disappear which would keep this game and the attention it creates perpetually small and insignificant. Finally, should anyone be willing to accept my plea, it should go without saying that I am of course more than willing to help in whatever way possible.
Yours Faithfully,
Siep Kooijman
(Yes, this is the first and probably the only time that I sign with my real, actual name, merely to show the weight that I attach to my plea.)
