Gameplay Magazine

[Bachtendekuppen]

Great interview with a great interviewee.

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Issue 3
March 9, 2019

In this third issue of the magazine, we sit down with three NationStates personalities. First we interviewed whistle blower and dog aficionado Arkadia Universalis. Next we met up with Kyrusia, Senior Game Moderator and Roleplay mentor, and one of the best writers I've seen on NS! Finally we had an interview with Miss Madeline, a vibrant and highly creative and capable player who it is always a pleasure to Voice Chat with!

For this month's Happenings which highlights GP community events and projects we looked at The West Pacific's transition to an Imperial Chinese based theme, the continued success of The Rejected Realms's weekly PopMaster event, and a tantalizing preview into The North Pacific's Card Giveaway event that is soon to be launched.

For this month's art and culture study we looked at five games that NSers are playing now and recommend that you check out to!

Contents
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Ark
Forum | Dispatch

Happenings: Highlights from the Gameplay World
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Kyrusia
Forum | Dispatch

Arts and Culture: What We're Playing
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Maddiefayee
Forum | Dispatch


Special thanks to all my interviewees as well as to Bran, Halo Rahl, Ghost, and Altmoras

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Ark

Our guest today is Arkadia Universalis, an NSer who caused quite some drama and controversy in the game play world through whistle blowing. Others, like myself, might better know Ark for his great ideas for culture and regional projects.

This interview took place in February 2019 over Discord.

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
I actually learned about NationStates by pure accident. I had been researching obscure government types for a school project in September/October of 2016 and one of them happened to be a nation’s pretitle. I don’t remember what it was.

What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?
I change my flag very often, but they are usually meaningful. The meanings just tend to change. Ever since of been able to design my own flags I’ve done so. Usually my flag reflects my mood, or my alignment, or my change in circumstance. For example, I've made flags for things like promotions or getting citizenship in a new region.

A flag Ark created which connects to the retheming of The West Pacific

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and how you got to where you are today?

My early career wasn't all that interesting, but I learned a lot of valuable lessons. I started in a small UCR and within a couple months decided to join the Grey Wardens to learn how to Raid and Defend. Not too long after that I joined the Pacific and became a member of the NPO’s military and later Diplomatic Corps. I learned a lot of valuable lessons about how GP as a community works and made some good friends during that time.

I also made some pretty huge mistakes, the 2017 events in Lazarus being the largest that I can recall. I also learned from that, and when I finally left the NPO, my eyes were opened to just how unhealthy the place had become for me. I moved to TWP and started working and the rest is history, really! The most important thing you should take away from my career is that I let other people dictate most of it, and when that stopped, things were better. So if you’re reading this and you can relate at all, I urge you to consider whether you’re doing what you’re doing for your enjoyment, or someone else’s.

Let’s talk about the NPO leaks and how that happened. Walk us through from the beginning when you first joined NPO to what led you to decide to become a whistle blower.

It's my firm position that the leaks were 100% justified. NPO made huge mistakes and they were covered up just enough to save face. By my account, the publishing of evidence of their subversion was simply a matter of balancing things out. When you have an unruly child, sometimes you need to punish them. NPO was very, very unruly, and deserved what they got. Do some of them hate me because they think I made friends of theirs resign? Sure, and I don't blame them. I'd be angry if I were them too.

Most NPOers don't actually know what their government has been up to outside the region the last few years. Therefore, it's hard to blame them for being angry when their respected leaders resign and very specifically demand vengeance on those responsible. After all, what child hasn't blamed their parents for them being in time-out? That said, if the reform is genuine and the NPO really is becoming a positive force in NationStates, I would be happy to welcome them back into the fold. It's not happening anytime soon, though.

What was your involvement in the leaking of logs?

I actually wasn't the one who leaked the TFL logs, I only leaked some stuff later that made Perg resign. I don't know who did the TFL logs but there are at least a few other people in that chat that could have.

So this is still an unsolved mystery...hmm....

What are your thoughts on the various game play venues (forums, Discord, game side\RMB)?
I feel kind of torn between two camps when it comes to game play venues. I understand the older players being disappointed by the siphoning of forum activity with the advent of discord. Forums are really good ways to hold valuable information and have organized discussions.

I also, however, see the point of younger players who argue that Discord is replacing forums simply because it's more efficient, and in many ways, just plain better. That said, I think game side is way too undervalued in the scope of NS. game side/RMB activity is so much more conducive to recruitment and overall regional mood than most people realize. I hope people will get more active game side in the future.

What has been your favorite historical moment in NS?
My favorite historical moment in NS so far has to be the NPO reforms. Suffice it to say that I did things while in NPO that I am not proud of, and there really was no way to atone for them until now, with everything out in the open. I am glad to see that the Order is finally being forced to change for the better, and I think the entire ordeal has given me some much-needed closure from my time there.

The Bunion is a new project you've been working on, tell us what inspired it and a day in the life of:
The Bunion is inspired by an RL satirical newspaper called The Onion. I started reading it recently and I thought that the formula would translate well into NS. Luckily it seems that people are enjoying it which is awesome. As far as how I write the issues, it's not terribly complicated. I start brainstorming articles for the next issue usually the same night as I publish the current one.

Then, typically a day or two before I publish the next issue, I start actually writing it. Then the day of publishing I check it over and make any last-minute changes I want to make, then I publish it. The part I really don't have down is advertising it. Sometimes I wonder if people are annoyed when I advertise it so I end up linking it in only a few places where I feel like it won't inconvenience anyone. Suffice it to say it's not at all consistent issue to issue, haha.

The Bunion is looking for writers and artists, check it out! I'd love to get some cross-creativity going between GP Magazine and the Bunion


So, if you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?
If I were Max for a day, I would publicly state that the NS team would begin coding Koth's faction system immediately, and then hope that the social pressure would prompt admins to actually do it.

What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?
When I'm not on NS, I usually spend time with friends. Sometimes we watch movies, or have lunch together, or something else relaxing. I love reading, too, which is usually a more solitary activity.

What is your favorite movie and\or TV show?
I don't think I have a favorite movie. I do enjoy superhero movies, and the horror genre. I also really love superhero shows, so pretty much any show in the "Arrowverse" could be considered one of my favorites. The Flash is probably my favorite of DC, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. for Marvel.

Favorite book?
I really have too many favorite books to name any single one. I love horror, dystopia, and fantasy genres, though. That's about as specific as I can get.

What are some games (outside of NS) that you are playing or really recommend?
The Witcher 3, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Rainbow Six Siege

So you wake up one morning and a receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?
I would take the delegacy of the Pacific. if it was a one-day thing I would make the entire region huggling-themed because come on, who wouldn't? If it were to be a long-term delegacy I would reform the region and make sure those reforms last.

Ark's reign of terror begins with the hug-apalyse

Thank you to Arkadia Universalis for this interview! Check out The Bunion for great satirical NS comedy!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Happenings: Highlights from the Gameplay World
~
~
~

The Festival of the Three Perfections and Retheming in The West Pacific

There are a finite number of Game Created Regions (GCRs). Of these the feeders come with cardinal directions (North, West, East, South) and an ocean (Pacific) with not much else in terms of an origin story. Unlike the sinkers which have some pre-built themes (although recently Lazarus, under Imki, has played with a corporate theme for example), the feeders make their own way. So it's very exciting that The West Pacific led a retheming effort.

Themes can give a region unity and a fun and imaginative way to build a creative world around the same old same old trappings of politics. What themes would you like to see more of in NationStates? Tell us in the comments below!

In the case of The West Pacific they vetted several possible themes (Russia, Japan, China) before selecting a Chinese based theme (centering on the Imperial era). In honor of the theme they held a festival celebrating the three perfections - that is Poetry (limerick, haiku, free verse), Art (photography, graphic design, sketches and paintings), and Writing (essay, short story, handwriting). The festival was very successful with truly excellent and high quality submissions across the board with Art being absolutely stunning in terms of quality and quantity.

Awards for the Festival were designed by Fujai and showcased a clean aesthetic. A few highlights include:

Lynxi won the award for Best Free Verse for her poem Organ Donor.

Phantasus won The Best in Show, Art Category for his Image of a Face in Green.

Art, and particularly photography had such a great showing! So many NSers shared beautiful photos of the different parts of the world we live in and the experiences we've had. Aynia won in the category for Best Photo for her photo of House in Snow. Of course Imki also took a prize for Best Sketches and Paintings!

These are just a few highlights, check out TWP's Discord for more on the winners and their beautiful works. On the rethemeing, Minister of Internal Affairs and festival organizer, Bran said, "The cultural evolution of The West Pacific that started with Badger and The Manners has reached a new level of development with the adoption of an Imperial Chinese theme under Halo. It's a time in which the advancement of regional identity and culture is being championed by the entirety of the government and not left to one or two individuals.

We are thankful for and feeling energized by the positive responses received from the region and game at-large."

Check out the enthronement of the Dragon Emperor, Halo Rahl, on the TWP forums here as well as the honors and ceremonies that use the theme to create a cohesive identity.

The Rejected Realm's PopMaster Game

Deja vu! Yes, The Rejected Realms has turned PopMaster (created\organized by Jack, Wop and Fratt) into a regular weekly event and it's delightful fun!

Host Hakketomat today played songs in three categories and introduced us to the Ronettes and Pink Floyd amongst other fun artists. Former and future host Souls has also promised some intriguing and eclectic categories. I myself hope to host with categories such as "Breakup Songs," "2000s Pop" and "The Bad Girls Club." Check out the The Rejected Realms Discord for more on the weekly event!

~
~
~

The North Pacific Great Card Giveaway

There are a few more cards I'd like to have...

The North Pacific is launching a fun new initiative which helps TNPers get the card(s) they always wanted! Ever since this diabolical card game was unleashed upon NSers, some have been sucked into the "hoarding, collecting, farming" lifestyle.

In a game where there aren't many ways to reward players for their loyalty, dedication, and effort - cards can help create a sense of competition and genuine rewards! Kudos to the TNP Delegate, Ghost, and his staff for designing an awesome new system that I hope to see other regions adapt!


~
~
~

Want to advertise a cool event or happening in Gameplay Magazine? Contact Escade with detailed information including links to dispatches\forum posts\Discords and why your event or occurrence should be highlighted!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Kyrusia

Our guest today is Kyrusia, an NSer who I first met when researching more about roleplay and it feels like I've known him forever. Kyrusia is one of the most intelligent (he knows everything), people I've met in this game who has had many exciting life experiences. One of the handful of NSers I can talk to all night and still want to know more! He's also my NS in-game son - my mergoat hybrid.

This interview took place on Discord in February 2019.

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
I originally learned about NationStates through a couple of roleplaying friends, years ago, now. I doubt the site where I originally learned about it even exists anymore. That said, I’ve been active on my primary account (Kyrusia) since 2007; I have some long-ago CTE’d puppets from 2004, however. Though I didn’t really get back into NationStates until around 2010, if I remember correctly.


What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?
For my flag, originally it was actually a “dragonfly” - actually a syringa, a fictional sort of dragonfly used by the band Coheed and Cambria in their comics and songs - but when I became a Mod, I decided I needed a change. Originally it was going to be a bull, actually; it came out as a goat, however. Around that time, several friends of mine - notably Santheres, another Mentor - were playing a game called “Fallen London.” The idea of my persona being that of the “Overgoat” sort of stuck after the flag change.

As for my nation name, it arises from a parsing of “Kievan Rus’” using the Ukrainian spelling of Kiev (“Kyiv”). “Kyiv” + “Rus” + “-ia” = “Kyrusia”.

A syringa from Coheed and Cambria

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and how things were before you became a Senior Moderator and a Roleplay Mentor?
My earliest time on NS was fairly short-lived and noobish. When I came back around 2010, I was primarily involved in Modern Tech and Post-Modern Tech roleplaying. I spent time in regions such as Tetrakon, Pardes, and Gholgoth, but eventually started to transition to Future Technology. That would have been relatively close to around the time I was initially made a Mentor - within that year, I think…? Give or take some time.

How did you join the Moderator team? How did you become Roleplay mentor? What is the best and worst part of the both jobs?
As for Roleplay Mentor, I joined the same way most do: I got noticed for helping other players - primarily the FT Advice & Assistance Thread (though, in actual fact, I just happened to be the one who posted it; several different players contributed to its authorship originally). That lead to me being nominated by another Mentor at the time, and a vote being held for me to be accepted or not.

As for the Mod Team, that’s a bit different. At the time, I was a Mentor, a Channel Operator (moderator, essentially) of a couple of offsite IRC channels, and an IIwiki Administrator (a strictly In-Character “Wikipedia” some roleplayers utilize). You could say I was fairly “well known” at the time, and had a decent public presence; the fact I had administrative experience, also, probably helped. The rest is history, really.

I was made a Mentor in 2014. On or around March 9, 2016, I was made a Forum Moderator; I say “or around” because I seem to recall actually having my masking for around 12 hours before the actual announcement thread went up, but I could be mistaken. I was made a Game Moderator on September 14, 2016, and subsequently a Senior Game Moderator on September 1, 2017, a little under a year later.

As for the best and worst parts? For Mentoring, that’s easy: when someone legitimately is curious and wants to learn or know more, being able to provide some level of insight in a manner that brings them benefit. The worst part is when someone asks for advice, then criticizes every advice you provide, and ultimately demonstrates they have no actual desire to receive advice, but instead want validation. I’m not here to give anyone a proverbial “pat on the back” and say “You’re doin’ a good job” just to satisfy their Ego.

For moderating? The best part is the shi*posting about being a Mod, while simultaneously being an ass. (I kid! ...Sorta!) But no; I wouldn’t really say there is a “best part”; it’s just a “job,” even though it’s a volunteer position. It’s like any other position involving enforcement of some rules: it’s just something that’s got to be done, and I’m willing to do it. The “worst” part is when you run across things you need brain-bleach for - like the hilarious “moth nipp***” I’ve mentioned numerous times.

What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?
I’m a forum-and-Discord sorta guy; never hugely been a fan of using the RMB as the primary means of correspondence - or even telegrams, for that matter. I have little patience for some things, and much prefer immediate gratification when it comes to communicating with people in an Out-of-Character capacity; Discord accomplishes that nicely.

I will say that I think venues - like Discord - can allow for greater community growth and inter-community cooperation. As I’ve said for quite some time now: communities, in the appropriate venue, can be united through shi*posting. Shi*posting, at its most basic level, is comedy; comedy is a useful tool for bringing different groups together.

This is also one reason why I hang-out on the NSGP server, and encourage GPers interested in roleplaying to venture over to my side of the fence, and vice versa for roleplayers. We’re all shi*posters at some level, and I say that as a compliment.

What has been your favorite historical moment in NS?
Oof. That’d depend on how you defined “historical moments.” Let’s go with the time Mall and I had a baby. Yeah. That’s nice and neutral and not going to offend anyone.

That is a long and hilarious tale of comedy, tragedy, and adorableness <3 So, If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?

Promptly install myself as delegate of every region in the game and declare the Cult of the Overgoat as the one true faith in-game. Obviously? Obviously.

XD. What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?
Fun? What is this… “fun”? Also: things exist outside of NS? HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN A THING?!

Spending time with the lady, family, and friends are the highlights. I also occasionally game, though I wouldn’t call myself a “gamer,” per se. My favorite franchises are the S.T.AL.K.E.R. series and The Elder Scrolls, and anyone who has known me for any period of time will be able to verify that I am able, and willing, to rant about both in excess. Kenshi has also gotten under my skin as of late.

What is your favorite movie and\or TV and\or anime show(s)?
Favorite film? That’ a tough one… I’m a huge fan of the Alien and Predator franchises, for one; I also have a soft spot for Lynch’s rendition of Dune, no matter how atrocious that film is objectively. My favorite TV show is Breaking Bad, and my favorite animes are split between Cowboy Bebop, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, with Bebop probably in the lead by a hair.

Favorite book?
The Dark Tower series, by Stephen King (particularly The Gunslinger [Book I] and Wolves of the Calla [Book V]), followed by Frank Herbert’s Dune.

Favorite music?
As of late? Anything remotely close to synthwave, but I enjoy industrial, aggrotech, house, EBM, and a variety of music in the electronic and/or industrial umbrellas.

What is a game (outside of NS) that everyone should play?
All three of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, then modding the third (Call of Pripyat) out the a**.

So you wake up one morning and a receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?
Which one would I choose? Silly Mermum. I’d choose them all, of course. It’s only beneficial to me if no one is outside of the scope of the Overgoat.

Thank you to Kyrusia for the interview <3. Check out an earlier piece from Gameplay Magazine on Synthwave, inspired by Kyrusia and look forward to more pieces inspired by him in future issues!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Arts and Culture: What We're Playing

NationStates is a great place to find new interests or hobbies and playing games is definitely one of them. Several NSers play games on a regular basis. In this issue we'll highlight some of the different games NSers are currently playing or love to talk about!

Need a break from NationStates, that paper you're writing, or just want to immerse yourself in beautiful, intricate or silly world that is not this mundane one? Check out the following games!

#1

Recommended by: Kyrusia
Kenshi is an open world immersive role playing game set in a fantasy swordpunk desert world. Your first goal is simply survive the various factions and then to assemble your squad and change your world. If you liked The Elder Scrolls series, Fallout series, or the Witcher series then you should check out Kenshi! Please note there are some seriously scary things that can happen in this game!

#2

Recommended by: Hakketomat
Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery is a mystery role playing game set in the magically delightful world created by J.K Rowling. You play a character who has to solve the mystery of what happened to their sibling while dealing with bullies, making friends, and learning how to be a witch or a wizard! A nice feature is the game is playable on phone so you can take it to go!

#3

Recommended by: Altmoras
Overwatch is a competitive team-based multiplayer shooter with some really excellent character art. You might even recognize some of the characters because NSers use them as avatars. You pick a hero, one of these characters, to play and there's a large fan community around the characters. I first encountered D. Va because of an NSer and the game has also inspired some seriously breathtaking cosplay.

Check out some of the fine character art below:

#4

Recommended by: Miss Madeline
The Kingdom Hearts series consists of action roleplaying games that are a crossover lovers dream. The series follows Sora, and two AI characters (Donald Duck and Goofy) as he interacts with multiple Disney worlds and characters and fights in a hack and slash style. Character such as Elsa appear in this interesting mixture of elements. Those familiar with the Final Fantasy game series will notice a similar gameplay style as well.

#5

Recommended by: Escade
Matchington Mansion is a puzzle, mystery, and interior decorating game all wrapped up in one. You inherit a decrepit mansion from a long lost relative and work to repair and beautify the mansion as well as find out more about your relative. You gain access to the mystery (and interior decoration) by earning stars after playing matching games. It's a fun and cute game and some of the matching puzzles can get tricky.


~

Did we miss your favorite game Have some awesome recommendations? Tell us in the comments below!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Maddiefayee

Our guest today is Miss Madeline, an NSer who I first met through Discord Voice Chat and who is pretty cool. I have had a lot of fun talking to Maddiefaye in VS and DMs and enjoy her honest, blunt, beautiful, and funny personality

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
I learned about NS through my friend later turned boyfriend, Kronos/Alastair McIntyre, a little over 3 years ago. It was my freshman year of college and he was answering issues on his nation. Me trying to be cool decided to join too and I made my first ever nation. I later got involved in my first region actually because of Palliath aka Ghost ( current delegate of The North Pacific. Ghost and Kronos we’re friends from back when they played Together in a clan called CnR and invited Kronos to get involved in a UCR, The Versutian Federation. I followed mostly cause I didn’t know what I was doing, and man I had no idea I’d be where I am today.

Wow! The Versutian Federation is a UCR I remember from my early days on NS. What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?
So my first nation is actually the Queendom of Marrigoldria. I don’t actually remember where the nation is right now, mostly because I just have too many nations lol.

Marrigoldria actually comes from Marrigold, which is the name of my first World of Warcraft character. Not very original but I used to go by just Marrigold for awhile before switching to Maddiefayee and ultimately just being called Maddie.

My flag is actually a picture I took my senior year of high school. It was from my senior trip to Washington DC during spring break. That was a fun time, and I’ve always loved flowers. While the picture isn’t actually of marigolds, I don’t particularly think it matters.

Marigolds are a gorgeous flower!

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and how you got to where you are today?
Oh man, I started in The Versutian Federation. Shortly after joining the Discord I was asked to be VP, for really no other reason beyond I’m new and it would be a good way for me to learn how NS works. As VP I basically had a free ticket to call people out for being dumb and argue with boys of various ages on the Internet.

Shortly after a falling out with the, in my own opinion and my own personal experience, toxic community, me and I think 5 or 6 of us decided one night to up and make our own region, we had a group chat on discord where we would blow off steam and talk about people in TVF. It was our place to blow off steam and it soon turned into a planning area for Alvaris Confederation.

Alvaris was… different. When we left TVF I think December of 2016, or was after one particularly annoying individual finally got what was coming to him after conspiring to rig an election, getting caught, and being tried for being a toxic individual. That case ended with the person being banned for I think 6 months and having a permanent office ban, shortly after that, I and others left the server, and the region, and tried to get Alvaris off the ground. It didn’t work out lol. It takes more than 2 people to build a region and for awhile it worked and we were a strictly role play region. It fell apart after some fellow role play council members had to handle IRL.

Meanwhile, I was fresh off helping Tawks/Scottie/whatever’s he’s calling himself now “save” the Order of the Sword, a raider region and my first taste of what the heck raiding was. Order of the Sword then merged into what would be known as The Galactic Order which after I finally became a citizen in November of…. whenever it was 2017 I think, Scott had left because reasons and left Bunny in charge. Bunny had her own stuff going on so Bunny went on leave in December leaving Rachael, the good one, in charge.

Bunny was only suppose to be gone a few weeks, it turned into longer and eventually we decided Bunny abdicated to Rachael. When Rachael became empress, she appointed Smith as her Heir, and Smith appointed me as temporary Grand Moff for the remainder of his term, which was a couple weeks. After that, I served as Grand Moff until April or May.

Grand Moff was head of executive. So basically I ran the show and made sure people felt welcome and included and all that jazz on top of other stuff.

After an extremely dramatic and personally painful falling out with The Galactic Order, I left and officially joined and became the Grand Councillor, which was the head of executive of The Ragerian Imperium, Vult appointed me and finally got me to agree to become Grand Councillor after everything that happened. So once again I was at home doing what I did best, reviving and bringing structure to the executive branch. This was particularly annoying due to certain dramatic people making my job extremely difficult, fighting me on literally every choice I made, with little support or help from the person who put me in that position. Honestly my first few months was just me being burnt out. I took an unhealthy term in TGO, and things there turned personal all the time and honestly could have been handled so much better than it did. That was simply the result of immaturity in both myself and especially those I disagreed with. They were suppose to be the support and enablers of greatness, and it really felt like it was the opposite.

That sounds similar to some experiences I've had of my own. I feel like there's people who get things done and those who get in the way of things getting done. It can be highly frustrating. How would you define toxicity? Especially in the NS community?

For me, toxic kinda depends on the context of the community. How one person behaves in one community can be seen as toxic in another. In my own communities that I’ve tried to get involved in, I have lately been looking for a level of maturity, by maturity I mean more age than anything else. I’m 22 years old so just like how it’s weird to hang out with 16 year olds in real life, it feels weird hanging around 16 year olds in NS. I don’t always know the ages of people, but you can kind of tell what ages people are by their behaviors such as responses to critiques, arguments, as well as fun situations.

So to me, someone is toxic because they’re acting in a way that is below what is expected of the community. This can be anything from excessive cursing, to attacking people, to gossiping or starting drama with people either because of grudges or for the fun of it. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been a toxic person, it’s why I was banned from TRI and why I’ve had to move around a lot when it came to finding a region to call home. I’m just over 3 years into NS now, and my first two years were literally me trying to learn where my place in the communities I was in really was. I’ve learned that I don’t mesh well with people significantly younger than me who aren’t willing to talk out what’s going on. I mesh great with most of the older NS age players, I think it’s a mindset thing more than anything else.

I appreciate your honesty on this matter. I think it's really hard sometimes to define something especially in a game where people use anything to their advantage. How did your own career in NS continue after that?

Anyway TRI lasted a little while, I also held my first position in the Kingdom of Great Britain. Now before I get written off for being in THAT region, I’m going to say this: KoGB has become my home. It has the mature leadership I needed and honestly the maturity in general I needed to actually enjoy the game and do what I do best. I was a rockstar as Home Secretary where, under Jaydee, I shined hella bright and put so much into KoGB. After a messy and stressful election and my first actual loss, I became a member of parliament but lost the Prime Minister election to a more known and trusted member of KoGB and that really stunk.

As someone who is very unaware of what goes on in GP outside of my small circle, I'm surprised to hear so much drama goes on in UCRs as well. I think the healthy drama is fun anywhere of course and that inversely OOC drama often drains a player from enjoying NS. After all we play this game because we enjoy it. How did your NS career progress?

I put in so much, I felt my platform was the best, I was reassured by people privately that I’d make a good PM and I thought I made it, until party politics essentially ruined my dreams. It was a learning experience, mostly that if I want to do something big, I’m going to have to become a big presence. I jumped at every opportunity to help. I became a forum admin in KoGB during the forum move due to my knowledge of Proboards and have continued to be a forum admin to this day. I was Education Secretary and made guides. I was also Culture Secretary in the same term and threw the best festival I could in the time I had. It lasted a week and was successful at first, but would have been better as a shorter celebration.

Wow tangent, meanwhile I was struggling to really get anything out of TRI. There was a lot of infighting and people opposing just to oppose and to watch the region just struggle to succeed. It was a struggle and it really turned into animosity towards Vult, which while a good amount was well placed, it wasn’t necessarily fair to air it all in front of the citizens. Ultimately both I and Kronos were up and banned for our behavior towards Vult and the Crown, despite us not being the only ones viewing it or speaking our views on it. It sucked cause I had hoped to see more out of TRI, but not everything goes as planned.

Anyway I’ve been Prime Minister of KoGB for now my third term to end sometime before mid March. It has been a journey, and probably my favorite journey so far.

I’ve also gotten involved in too many regions and probably hold too many positions, I should just write a dispatch in all honesty.
Right now I’m also DPM in NSUK, where my number one job is to call out the PM when I disagree, my favorite job, and I’m also starting to get my feet wet in a GCR, where I was recently appointed to deputy speaker in TWP, Dali said it’s a low key job so I hope it stays that way lol.

I’m a busy body, and probably will always remain one.

You're very active and capable which is something we need more of in this game, especially when you see places that have stagnated or are stagnating. What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?

Personally, I find usage of forum far better than usage of Discord when having a discussion. For forums, you can’t just write whatever you write in a reaction to everyone else talking, you have to read, think, type, and make sure you’re addressing whatever it is you are addressing. Discord is great for raiding/fending, and also getting to know your community, but the real meat and success of regions really comes out of their use of a forum, either NS or offsite. It holds an easier timeline in my mind to where if I wanted to see when was the last time an issue about purple monkeys was discussed, I could find it there and see the true discussion. Sure it can happen on discord, but it gets buried by everything else that happens on it. As for RMB usage, I never really got into it, I find the RMB awkward, but I think that has more to do with my own experience with it which is little to none.

We’ve talked about how female players face a lot of double standards in this game. Sometimes our source of power, especially if it’s social based, is derided or attributed to the use of “feminity” or otherwise degraded. What are your perspectives on this and why it continues to be a struggle?

Oh lord if only I could remember how many times someone has treated me differently for being an open and actual female. Some have been good experiences, but most have been negative.

One time a friend of mine DMd me in all caps “I DIDNT KNOW YOU WERE A GIRL” and we proceeded to have a long discussion as to why he shouldn’t need to talk to me differently than he has been, because up until this moment he treated me like every other NSer and explained how he is awkward with girls.

Another time I was basically told I was going to be the death of many regions / the reason why x region is going to die, which was funny given my loud mouthed and unapologetic attitude was no different from male counterparts both in those regions and no longer in those regions who were praised for their “speaking of the truth” while also being far more argumentative, confrontational, and downright rude.

I think there is a good chunk of males in NS who are uncomfortable and frankly threatened by females taking charge and calling them out on their bullshit. Maybe it’s a thing against women, maybe it’s a thing against women authorities, maybe it’s mommy issues, maybe they’re just assholes, I honestly couldn’t tell you.

But the other side is that I’ve also been called fake by people claiming I’m only nice so I get what I want and then can tear down regions or communities as if that’s the only reason why I’m nice. I don’t have to always be formal in places because I’m a girl. I get away with it because I’m “cute.”

Everyone needs to read this book Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit. It's one of the best books you could be assigned in a class.

Worst of all, my friends, who are all guys because NS is a sausage fest, are put down and discredited because they agree with what I have to say. Maddie gang, brainwashed, blinded, I heard it all and frankly it isn’t fair to them because they worked so hard to be where they are and people, both males and females, have gone after them just for supporting me. It really sucks to have your position be put down simply because you support a certain person, and truly because you are tagged as that person’s “slave” or simply “brainwashed” by that person.

Do I find it a blaring issue in NS? Perhaps, but honestly there’s so little females in the game that I highly doubt it is as blaring as what I’m saying may make it think. These are my own observations. I don’t use my position of my gender to try to excuse how I have behaved in the past or will behave. I’m not very nice when I, or someone I care about, is wronged, but then again, who would be and be able to be in the positions that I have been in?

Girl, we've got a lot in common In addition to thinking that Emma Stone and Kristen Bell are awesome and would make beautiful children <3

What has been your favorite historical moment in NS?
I was in the same room as Alastair during his first big kid raid, it was back when Illuminati was raided again, I forgot the details, but I remember watching that raid happen and then everyone, including Alastair, literally cheering at the accomplishment. Everyone went into Voicechat after that and had a little party. That was also my first real taste of what raiders were like, before that, I was essentially brainwashed into thinking raiders were evil.


If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?
I’d probably use my money to fix NS++.

What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?
I’m in a sorority and a coder, so I do a lot of philanthropy and I’m also a tutor, I love helping people. I also play too many video games for my own good, lol.

What is your favorite movie and\or TV show?
LOST it is amazing!

Favorite book?
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Favorite music?
Heavy Metal

Favorite game (outside of NS)?
The Kingdom Hearts series!

So you wake up one morning and a receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?

I love this question, I said this in the NSGP server, but I’ll say it here for consistency, I would probably be the delegate of TSP and then turn it into a raider region for the lols.

Thank you to Miss Madeline for this interview! I'm hoping to work on a culture\regional project with her in the near future! Cheers to being Supergirls<3

[Kyrusia]

Because my Ego needed more Miracle-Gro.™

Good job, Mermum. Now I must go back to crucifying people in Kenshi.

Edit: Yeah, yeah, it was Lynch, not Kubrick. I'm going to thoroughly flagellate myself as we speak.

[Wopruthien]

PopMaster is definitely one of the most fun events on NS right now. Everyone should come and join in.

Really good articles that I enjoyed from people who I haven't really interacted with before(which wouldn't be hard I rarely leave my little bubble these days). Keep up the good work.

[Escade]

Great interview with a great interviewee.

<3 Bach! You're on my list too!

Because my Ego needed more Miracle-Gro.™

Good job, Mermum. Now I must go back to crucifying people in Kenshi.

Those Kenshi landscapes are so pretty, you make me wish I had a gaming PC

PopMaster is definitely one of the most fun events on NS right now. Everyone should come and join in.

Really good articles that I enjoyed from people who I haven't really interacted with before(which wouldn't be hard I rarely leave my little bubble these days). Keep up the good work.

Thanks, Wop <3

~
On an unrelated note, a few players have asked why I haven't interviewed them and such things. Honestly, I was planning to do two a month and now its 2-4 I'm hoping to eventually feature all the star players I respect (if this survives as a regular monthly thing) and just awesome people I find interesting across different spheres of GP.

Random shout out to the best theme song of all time. Also I did sing the Baby Shark song (okay the beginning parts I remembered) in a PopMaster VC and the listeners mostly survived I might do it again...

[The Holy Principality of Saint Mark]

It's always such a pleasure reading your lovely magazine!

[New Rogernomics]

Looking forward to more. Neat interviews.

[Miss Madeline]

Thank you so much for including me in this Escade! I've never been interviewed before outside of my own regions so this was a super fun experience, also Kingdom Hearts is amazing so of course I will forever recommend it! I look forward to the next issue and the next batch of lucky folk!

[Escade]

It's always such a pleasure reading your lovely magazine!

Thank you, Mr. Sunshine - I hope to interview you too

Looking forward to more. Neat interviews.

Thanks, it's been a while!

Thank you so much for including me in this Escade! I've never been interviewed before outside of my own regions so this was a super fun experience, also Kingdom Hearts is amazing so of course I will forever recommend it! I look forward to the next issue and the next batch of lucky folk!

You are totally a cool awesome person and I'm glad to have interviewed you and met you and I know you are going to make some waves in NSGP <3

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

~

Issue 4
April 12, 2019

In this fourth issue of the monthly magazine, we sit down with four NationStates personalities. First we interviewed owl fan and outgoing delegate of OsirisAltino. Next we met up with Fedele, one of the founders of Lone Wolves United and current delegate of the East Pacific. Then we interviewed Kortexia a XKIer with a penchant for tinkering with Discord bots. Finally we had the pleasure of interviewing Reploid Productions, an NS Senior Moderator and Game Administrator and all around cool person!

For this month's Happenings which highlights GP community events and projects we looked at an upcoming music festival being co-hosted by The West Pacific and the [region]The East Pacific from April 11-14th, and encourage NSers to check out theFactions proposal in technical promoted by Koth to revive gameplay.

For this month's bite sized art and culture studies we looked at the genre of fantasy in honor of a genre many NSers love to read and watch and because Game of Thrones is coming back for one last season!

Contents
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Altino
Forum |Dispatch

Happenings: April 2019 Highlights from the Gameplay World - Burning Marsupial Festival
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Fedele
Forum | Dispatch

Happenings: April 2019 Highlights from the Gameplay World - Factions: A GP Proposal
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Kortexia
Forum |Dispatch

Arts and Culture: Fantasy and Our Love of Game of Thrones
Forum | Dispatch

Featured Personality: Reploid Productions (Reppy)
Forum | Dispatch

Special thanks to all my interviewees Reppy, Kortexia, Altino, and Fedele! Special thanks to Xoriet, Tim Stark, Altmoras, Marrabuk, Svezjacael, Alantica, Todd McCloud for fantasy and GoT discussions as well as some editing help <3

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Altino

Our guest today is Altino, an NSer who has made quite an impact in the game, having helped revive any projects she's been part of and for gaining a reputation as a nice but firm leader in the game. Most players will know her from her owl fun and puns and leadership in Osiris as well as TWP. If you VCed with her, you'll notice she's super cool and has a delightful voice too!

This interview took place on Discord in March 2019.

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
My little sister started playing before I did. She always makes fun of me for being a politics nerd, so she insisted that I make a nation, and I eventually did since she wouldn't leave me alone about it. She got bored like a month later, but it's been like 3 years and I'm still here.

What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?
My flags always have owls on them. That's their only rule. I just really love owls and like, collect them irl. My nation… is named after celebrity chef Alton Brown. Alton. Altino. I'm a huge fan!

Alton Brown, a celebrity chef, inspired Altino's adorable user name. The mystery has been solved P.S. Check out 13 recipes from this famous chef here!

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and the significant things you did to lead you to where you are today?
I started off NS in Illuminati directly after its founder had just purged the region and started it over. I'm a pretty feisty person as it is, but walking right into a region full of intrigue, betrayal, lies, heavy manipulations, and just general shenanigans was insane fuel to my feisty fire. I spent my first few months learning how to be very convincing and vaguely threatening when that's what you need to be. When Illuminati eventually got raided, Don pulled me and Rigel (who has always been with me) into KGB to “save us” from those nasty, toxic people… which in hindsight is ironic in the most painful way. But being in KGB is how I found my way into GP. When I was a super noob, I was very convinced that the whole game was run by the same 15 people. I didn't want to be one of those people, mind you, but I did want them to know my name. So when I discovered GP, I started networking really quickly until I met Badger, and then I stopped, because I liked working with him more than I liked being so cosmo. That's pretty much what landed me on the path I'm on now.

What region are you currently a part of? What do you like best about this region?
Osiris! Osi is I think the most accepting, caring communities I've ever been a part of. A lot of regions are fighting in the background, secret oligarchies, power grabs, and a sense of not always knowing who you can trust. But Osiris feels like home to me, and I think that's just because it's a place that doesn't want what you have to offer as much as it wants to be a place where you can be safe. GP is hell; home shouldn't be.

LMAO, throwing massive shade but yes TSP definitely was one of those regions, I'm sure among others, where there was more of a "Survivor" vibe than anything else. The players who set that toxic atmosphere up are now in power so I guess they got what they wanted. I do think GP is going through some changes and overall not sure which direction it is going in based on recent events but anything is possible.

What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?
I'm a big fan of the RMB right now. This is something that I've gone back and forth over a lot. I think to the regulars of any region, discord is probably our most vital venue. To our government, the forum should be where our attention lies. But the RMB, I think, should be the heart of your region if you want your region to thrive. If you rely too heavily on offsite property, your region looks dead onsite. You have to rely on new people taking the incentive to step offsite of a region that already seems quiet to begin with. That's really shorting yourself in the way of new recruits. Gameside should be a big and purposeful focus of your community. Do we care if you have record breaking forum post counts? No. And why would we, if it's the same circle of people making those posts and no one new ever shows up. RMB is where it's at.

If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?
Hire. Some. New. Techies. We need more admins to make us new things!

What do you plan to do in NationStates now?
I'm going back to Karma now, after a short "wow, that was a lot of work" break. I think what NS is missing is good teachers and low stress environments, so I'm going away to turn Karma into the mentorship machine that I crave to hopefully send good GPers out into the world and #MakeUCRsGreatAgain. I've had more than my fill of GCRs for the time being. >.>

I do agree that NS could use more wholesome, positive, skills based mentorship rather than the usual "survive the hellhole" mentality.

What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?
I spend a lot of time at thrift shops and antique stores purchasing more owls for my collection. If you think my owl thing is excessive on NS, you ain't seen nothing yet. A glimpse into my living room is an immediate assault of dozens and dozens of owl eyes staring right at you. Also I play piano to destress. I've been playing since I was like 12 and I used to be piano/vocals in a band, but these days I mostly just play at home and at church. Makes your fingers sore, but it's a real feel good. Oh, and also, I take pictures of my dog. If any Osiran saw my dog on the street, I'm pretty sure they'd recognize him. He's just so cute!

Arianrhod, one of the many mythological figures who evokes the owl as a symbol of wisdom, mystery, strength, beauty. Altino collects owl related items including decor. She once shared an intriguing door that she found with an owl painting to add to her collection - that is dedication! (This also justifies my finding and searching for owl related art and sending it to her )

What is it about owls in particular that draws you to them?
They're just so beautiful and precise. Like, mythologically they tend to he wise or Guardians to the afterlife, but even outside of mythology they're powerful and silent and fast. You don't even have time to be terrified of them before they get you, you never even hear them coming. Ask Malphe, he gets swooped on all the time, he knows.

What is your favorite movie and\or TV and\or anime show(s)?
I am a glutton for punishment. My favorite show is This Is Us and favorite move is PS I Love You.

Favorite book?
East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is in both my favorite era and category of writers. I like my books in pristine condition, but my copy of East of Eden is written all in and looks like it's 15 years old. I loved that one.

Favorite music?
Electronic forest hipster banjo music. Good vibes stuff.

Queen of Spades, Owltino Edition

What is a game (outside of NS) that everyone should play?
Spades, bois. Learn to read the room and take risks. That's life lessons, y'all!

So you wake up one morning and a receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?
Eck, I don't know if I want to be delegate again. If I just had to, I think I would pick Balder. Just because #SinkerLivesMatter and there's a lot I could do there to help it. Like to start, empowering their gosh darned monarch! Say no to democracy! Meritocracy or bust.

I actually have come around to thinking that Meritocracy is the best system and that democracy doesn't work in NationStates and is generally used to hide oligarchy. People can change Thank you to Altino for this interview!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Happenings: April 2019 Highlights from the Gameplay World - Factions

Burning Marsupial - An East-West Music Festival

~
~
~

From Thursday April 11th to Sunday April 14th - The West Pacific and the East Pacific will be holding a music festival sure to delight the ears! Check out festival Discord where all the magic of music will unfold!


Musical Events and Activities Include:

Best Album Cover Design Contest - Submit the best album cover art designs

Best Mixtape - Create a themed music playlist that perfectly captures an emotion or time or essence

Pitch Perfect Riff Off - Inspired by the movie, use the first letter of the last word (or hard mode the word itself) to continue the riff off!
Karaoke Event - Listen to NSers sing in voices ranging from heavenly to delightful to not what you expected and join along!

Delegates Fedele and Halo Rahl have agreed to a duel duet where they will sing for us with their amazing voices on Saturday at 9PM Central Time! Be there to experience awesomeness <3

Composers Event - Composers, lyricists, musicians, poets submit your original works here

Disney Soundtrack Trivia - Think you know your Disney movie soundtracks?

Music Video Trivia - Can you identify the artist and song just based on a screen cap of a music video?

SongPop - Based on the game and TRR's PopMaster, can you guess the artist and song from listening to the first 10-20 seconds of a song? Fastest answer wins! Saturday at 8PM EST!

Game of Thrones Trivia - Wait what? Yes, in honor of one of best themes of all time and the fact that the show is about to come back for its last season - we'll have a special GoT trivia session! Time TBA on the Discord!

P.S. All times are subject to adjustment because ...always late but worth the wait. Check the TEP Discord and the TWP Discord for more musical games and updates!

P.S. What's your favorite song of all time? Tell me your favorite song and I just might include it in one of the live events!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Fedele

Our guest today is Fedele, an NSer with a long and storied history, a great drawl that comes out sometimes when he voice chats, a deep appreciation of Gwen Stefani and some choice liquors, and is a promoter of BDE. He's also great at encouraging people and has strong leadership skills. Check out his upcoming duet with Halo Rahl featuring the song Shallow from the movie A Star is Born.

This interview took place on Discord, mostly over Voice Chat. For those interested, trying to VC and type is not as easy as you might imagine

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?

It was a stray Google search in March of 2005 that landed me on the site. I imagine I was bored over spring break or something. I was in high school at that time.

What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?

My first nation was Scardino and my second nation was Fedele. Both are Italian names. There was a third nation that I founded, but I believe it was deleted by the moderators and I don't remember the name. I remember just having an Italian flag on Scardino and Fedele, switching to the Sicilian flag, before founding The Lone Wolves United. When I decided to start LWU, Scardino adopted the wolf face that currently takes up the center with a black background. The current flag is a nod to that with elements of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms surrounding it, giving it a bit of personality. Fedele's flag was just the Italian flag or a revolving door of forgettable placeholders until, in The North Pacific, around late 2005 or early 2006, Fedele settled on “Anarcho-Fascism” as a parody political philosophy that posited that, “When given absolute freedom, the people will oppress themselves.” Most good jokes have an element of truth to them, after all.

For this philosophy, Tweedy designed a wonderful flag, that has since been lost to the ether, that had a fasces with the anarchy “A” as the axe head in the center. Tweedy had made thousands of flags and the imagefrog or whichever account he had stored it in was long gone so, in 2016, a full decade later, lacking memory or reference, he recreated it as faithfully as he could and did, I believe, another good job despite being different. Whatever his other faults, he did flags well. A complicated situation involving counterintelligence and subsequent leaks made it impossible for me to stay and contribute to The North Pacific and Cormac, then delegate of Osiris, invited me to come take a leadership role in the military there. The humor of the flag was lost on the inter-regional community and, despite his eagerness to defy the cries of self-righteous indignation, I decided the flag wasn't worth the trouble it was causing him. I changed my flag to an orange background with a white circle and a chainsaw for a while before Fedele’s flag again went through a litany of designs of little significance, including the “NS pretty girl” meme in 2017. After becoming delegate and following a painful episode where The East Pacific had to rid itself of a recent culture of perversion and permissiveness, the region adopted the lotus as a symbol of purity and rebirth and Fedele adopted the fleur de lis in the same spirit.

Well, nearly the whole history of my time in NationStates is told in flags.

Lone Wolves United was founded to "bring together a bunch of people on the fringe but bring them together in one place with a purpose." Like a wolf pack.

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and what inspired you to stay in the game.

I spawned in the the North Pacific and I created a couple of puppets. Pixiedance was a tyrant delegate at the time in TNP and quickly banjected me. That was my first experience in the game.

I think many players actually “came alive” in the game because of a banjection

Another puppet of mine was founded in the Pacific. I got to see all the hail and the jingoism and ultra regionalism of Unlimited in NPO. It made an impression on me. You could see pretty quickly that it was a pretty fun parody of real world dictators.

However, I didn’t want to play along with those regions. I wanted to lead something. I wanted to create something that was different. I wanted to speak to the kinds of people who I wanted in a region.

That’s why and how I started Lone Wolves United. The goal was to bring together a bunch of people on the fringe but bring them together in one place with a purpose.

One thing I observed early on was that the delegate had all the power in game. So I figured out that mechanic and identified a region that didn’t have a founder. I took my nation and two puppets and had them all join the WA. Moving directly from The Lone Wolves United, with ADN watching in passive bewilderment as I later learned, I took the delegacy and banjected everyone from the region and refounded the region. This was before influence and all of that, of course.

The Mods came in and deleted one of my puppets. I got a WA ban on the other one. A Moderator sent me one of those angel telegrams that said that was illegal, briefly explained what region crashing was, and directed me to the FAQ..

And so I tell people now days that LWU was co-founded by Unlimited and the moderators.

XD. Can you tell us how Gwen Stefani influenced the LWU?

Gwen Stefani was a heavy influence on early LWU, shaping the culture of upbeat irreverence, spontaneity, and welcoming people of a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, which in particular has never been common for such a historically lean and tight-knit region.

Gwen Stefani was critical in inspiring the LWU!

How did you find your way to the East Pacific?
If I remember correctly, Evil Wolf joined The North Pacific first largely because he was told he couldn't. I followed him there to join his fight and ended up contributing there for quite a while. We had to fight to be there because raiders weren’t welcome.

Was that a view towards raiders only or anyone from the R\D sphere? What time period was this around?

The North Pacific, along with almost all of the other feeders, was a defender region at the time and specifically forbade citizenship for crashers, invaders, or imperialists. Evil Wolf and I appealed to their liberal sensibilities and challenged perceived loopholes in court, ultimately winning the right to citizenship.

I stayed in The North Pacific for a few years and had several positions, elected and appointed. After I had an unannounced a semi-retirement from the game, I came back and was banned from TNP in part for counter-intelligence actions I had taken. Given an admin role as a joke, I copied the IP address list and used it to catch TNP spies operating in LWU. This list was ultimately leaked to a hostile person by a general in LWU, which created a great deal of trouble. As I understand it, this general was eventually forgiven but the admin team decided that I was permanently banned from TNP for this.

Cormac invited me to Osiris to bring my GCR experience and I served as field marshall and helped turn around the military. I received an honorary title of nobility there as well.

Around this time Yuno left Osiris and invited me to TEP. After a little while I saw that there was some opportunity to make a positive difference and contribute. Following months of checking it out and observing, I decided to take more responsibility and gradually fell in love with The East Pacific.

What do you like most about being a member of TEP?

TEP really brings together all kinds of people from all over the world. All different creeds, perspectives, and ethnicities. It’s an amazing region for being so active and dynamic. I really love the region. We have roleplayers, defenders, raiders, and people with such varied interests in one place.

What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?

I don’t think forums are dead but I think our purpose in how we use forums has changed over time. Forums are usually, in my view, for organizing the government and keeping an official record for government and long form roleplay.

With such an active and engaged region, Discord has proven to be, by far, the most fitting platform for the level of activity and varied interests that people bring to the table. It’s also created some challenges.

The admin team in the East has had to adjust to the new realities of so many cliques, the breakneck speed of communication, and the challenges inherent in keeping all of our players safe across these communities and platforms, even the subcommunities like the handful of unofficial RMB servers.

Also, in the East, our RMB is just a beast for its ability to pump 100 messages at a go and its brute simplicity. Some of these players engaging in the RMB are really impressive and are putting intricate roleplay posts and detailed discussions on a quickly moving medium that gets called “dead” any time there is a few minutes in between posts. Our RMB never ceases to amaze me.

What made you decide to become delegate? How has the experience been so far?

I didn’t really decide to be honest. For a while I wanted to become a feeder delegate, but I didn’t think anyone would see me in that role given my involvement in LWU.

One election cycle, a number of people nominated me and I had a stronger than expected showing. Yuno encouraged me to run again and, after many people nominated me and pushed me to run, I won the election with a healthy majority and support even from people running against me.

As for the experience so far, I'll admit that it’s a stressful job and, even just recently, I had to discuss with admin teams of other regions another extremely stressful situation. Some challenges are in-character and some are out-of-character and never should have been here to begin with. So that’s the dark part of the job.

There’s upsides as well though. Every day I have 1-2 dozen telegrams and usually well over 100 notifications from all these people who want to talk to me and ask questions, and ask for advice about NationStates. Sometimes I intervene in roleplay disputes. What I enjoy the most about being delegate is feeling like I've got thousands of friends that I'm talking and engaging with.

What is one thing that you feel you’ve done well as delegate so far?

I have done one thing well as delegate and it is surrounding myself with fantastic people. My cabinet is some of the best f*cking people you can find in NationStates. I have an all star cast of ministers in my cabinet. And all of the stuff we’ve been able to accomplish is amazing. Every single member has a goal and is working toward accomplishing those goals.

What is one thing you want to see happen in TEP under your second delegacy?

One of the things that we haven’t pushed yet as a region, that I don’t have direct control of but am pushing it is serious overhaul of the Concordat. It’s just a mess of loopholes and amendments that makes it a legislative equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster.

The legislative branch needs to look at the Concordat and evaluate it. Really begin with the simplest question which is, “What do we want from this governing document? What do we want it to do?”

From my perspective, the Concordat needs to give clear direction to the region without getting in the way of the region.

We can look at the recent citizenship applications mess - our own laws have gotten in the way of us functioning as a region. The magisterium needs to step up and use its authority to really address the way the Concordat limits us as a region.

Legislation is often the most onerous aspect of this game for me

This generation of the magisterium needs to look at the big picture. We need to not get caught up in the minutiae. We don't want to get bogged down in bureaucracy that strangles the life out of the region.

What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?

I've got four kids. I spend most of my time with my wife and kids. Then, I spend a lot of time working and doing NS between work appointments.

I might go fishing once in a while. Really, I prefer to spend a lot of time with my family.

NationStates is a great place to learn skills. What are some skills you wish you could learn and what are some skills that you would teach?

Anything I could teach, someone else could teach better than me. I think I’m delegate because I’m good at delegating and a Jack of All Trades.

For example, I could teach a course with Davelands on “When Is the Right Time to Make Concessions and When to Stand Firm.” I could help teach flag design but would need help from Gnapr. Culture and recruiting and the World Assembly are all subjects I know about but I'm not the real expert on any of them. Our ministers fill that need for specialized knowledge. A passion of mine has always been for military gameplay, which I took over personally and moved into a role that supports our foreign affairs ministry.

What is your favorite movie and book?

My favorite movie is 3000 Miles to Graceland. It’s about a bunch of Elvis impersonators trying to rob a casino who turn against each other. My reading has been mostly nonfiction with a work emphasis, speckled with works from Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, and a few other authors.

3000 Miles to Graceland is an action adventure crime film from 2001.

Beyond Gwen Stefani, what kind of music do you appreciate?

Most of the music I listen to is metal. There’s also Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, and Andrea Bocelli.

Have you read the Harry Potter series?

No, I have not.

Oh no!

It’s probably something I will read to my children as they grow up.

Awww, that’s so sweet What is one thing you hope to happen in 2019? Whether in the real world or NationStates?

In the real world, I just hope that my family is happy and healthy. When it comes down to it, that’s all that matters.

In NationStates, I want the East to continue to gain focus and clarity on its unique culture and personality.

If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?

If I were Max Barry, I would do away with API telegrams, limit recruiting telegrams to stamps or individual telegrams and reconsider how and when different kinds of interactions should be able to be blocked.

If you could become delegate of any region, outside of TEP, which region would you pick?

Nasicournia.

Thank you to Fedele for this interview! It's been fun seeing him work on making TEP a safer more positive place.

P.S. You have to check out Gwen Stefani to truly understand Fedele's soul

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Happenings: April 2019 Highlights from the Gameplay World - Factions
~
~
~

Factions - A Proposal to Revive Gameplay

~
~
~

A proposal to revive gameplay, originated by Reventus Koth has continued to gain traction with ongoing discussion on the forums as well as the NSGP Discord.

While many of us have lamented at the stagnancy of gameplay for some time, the feeling that the gameplay has reached new lows that cannot easily be recovered from due to a mixture of player actions and mechanics has far overstayed.

Quoting the introduction from Koth:

Hey everyone, Koth here. I have a proposal for NationStates Gameplay that is designed to be a fundamental overhaul to the way emergent political conflict works in this game by rooting it in mechanics that should already exist to support it. The problems with Gameplay in 2018 can be summarized in the following points:

• Gameplay is mechanically basic and lacks complexity
• Power has centralized around GCRs, leaving the UCRs mechanically and narratively uninteresting
• R/D has become narratively bland, prioritizing quantity of raids and defenses over political intrigue
• Gameplay is stagnant and difficult to make a splash in because of lack of avenues for conflict

My proposal seeks to address all of these points while not taking away from the cultural, mechanical, and political importance of GCRs, UCRs, and R/D. This system would exist on top of the current mechanics, and provide another level of in-game political intrigue that brings attention back to nationstates.net as opposed to off-site communication platforms that contribute the entirety of narrative development in Gameplay.

Let's call it Factions.

Read more about the details and engaging discussion here and add your own thoughts. It's time for GP to see some changes, and this has been the most thorough and intriguing proposal as of yet.

~
~
~

How else can we change the mechanics of GP to make for a better game?

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Kortexia

Our guest today is Kortexia, an NSer who has become a mainstay in many Discord events outside of his home region due to his amazing bot and coding skills! I first met Kortexia as one of the fine people from 10000_islands and then he swooped in to save the day by helping set up the bot for both Harry Potter festivals. He's also a genuinely good person and I enjoyed attending his beautifully designed wedding with Sylven <3

This interview took place on Discord in March 2019.

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?

I learned about Nationstates back in 2015 (so I’ve been here 4 years) when students were playing it in a Social Studies class I was substitute teaching for that day.

I almost had a moment of fear at the teacher part OMG, Mr. Kortexia are you the history teacher who sent me to the Dean's office?

Nope just an occasional substitute when I'm home and its needed. Was weird teaching all these kids I knew growing up.

What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?

I wanted my nation’s name to represent knowledge or learning, so that lead me to thinking about the brain -> Cortex -> Decided I wanted a cool spin so I changed the C to a K, which gave me Kortex, and from there it was just a step further to Kortexia!

Tell us about your early career in NationStates and the significant things you did to lead you to where you are today?

I joined up with 10KI pretty much immediately upon starting NS, and then I hopped right into TITO as soon as I could. Most of my NS career is focused on R/D with my consistent participation in Defenses and Liberations with TITO, up to the point in 2017 where I was promoted to TITO Tactical Officer and spearheaded our movement from Skype to Discord, which in turn lead to me developing and helping to establish the current flourishing 10KI Discord server we have today.

10KI is really such a great, unique region <3 What do you like best about it and are you currently a member of any other region?

I am currently and forever a part of the 10000 Islands region. The friends I have and the community I am part of are an integral part of my NS life and I will never forget about them, even after I eventually move on from the game.

What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?

I tend to stick rather closely to Discord since it is the venue I am most comfortable with. I’ve never really been a fan of forums or talking on the RMB.

If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?

I would set in plan a revamp of the R/D system into a way that is no longer toxic to those who do not wish to participate in it. Ideally removing the need for moralism in Defending and creating a system that is just a game that isn’t harmful to the communities of the participants.

Can you expand on how that might work in terms of gameplay mechanics?

Communities would have to opt in to R/D. Ideally it would be more that regions are created FOR the purpose of R/D. In such a way that they wouldn't have a founder. So that theres always the inherent risk that your main region could get taken if you weren't careful.

That's an interesting suggestion. I do wonder how gameplay mechanics could be changed so that players who enjoy R/D could still enjoy it without impinging on those that want not part in it.

So you wake up one morning and receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?

I would choose “The South Pacific” just to say I was the Delegate of one of the Pacifics and then immediately resign because I don’t like politics (Plays NS but doesn’t like politics right?).

A lot of the players in this game don't necessarily fit in to the "political" mode or even follow politics. I think you find your niche and do what you enjoy doing! Although I'd suggest for that particular region, which is the worst of the lot, to find your inner purger

This beautiful invite to Kortexia and Sylven's wedding ceremony was created by Rigel. NS Weddings and Marriages are complicated things, often the source of drama. In this particular case I was elated to experience a beautiful ceremony. There were sweetly written vows emphasizing friendship and mutual support. Sylven Razedusk sang for us in the most sweet and delightful voice that I have heard on NS and played guitar which was enchanting <3

Kort, tell us a little about your wedding?
Mine was fairly simple, I've known Sylven for a long majority of my time on NS. We both initially met on puppet nations in a region she created, before later meeting again working on a liberation together. We'd been good friends for a while and an NS wedding had been in the works for a long time.


So, what do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?

I can usually be found playing/streaming League of Legends with my friends or reading a good book!

Many NSers enjoy playing League of Legends and some are part of a group that plays together regularly! LoL, as it's commonly acornymed, is an MMO or a massive multiplayer battle arena online game. Players select a champion and have to, as a member of a team, destroy the opposing team's "nexus." The game has professional players who compete in leagues and is part of the quickly growing e sports industry.

What is your favorite movie and\or TV and\or anime show(s)?

No specific favorite movie, but I love heist movies like “The Italian Job” or any of the “Oceans” movies. For TV I would have to say “Brooklyn 99” is my absolute favorite followed by “Suits”. As for anime, I’m a huge fan of “Bleach”!

I love Brooklyn 99 <3 It's such a hilarious and funny show!

Favorite book/series?

Impossible for me to choose between “The Inheritance Cycle” and “The Wheel of Time”, they’re both so good.

Favorite music?

I listen to a lot of different music, but my 3 favourite bands/artists would be “Rise Against”, “Pegboard Nerds”, and “21 Savage”.

What an interesting and eclectic mix of things


Thank you to Kortexia for the interview <3. I hope to do a follow up feature talking to a few NS Discord bot programmers\inventors about server setup and bots in the near future!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Arts and Culture: Fantasy and Our Love of Game of Thrones

Brace yourself, winter is here

The final seasons of Game of Thrones, Season 8, is finally herewith a trailer that promises more madness, mayhem and tragedy. This is a world where we have been trained not to expect happy endings and fans are speculating how George R. Martin plans to instill that lesson about the harshness of life this time.

Americans will be watching live this Sunday on April 14 so find a friend with HBO or use your Amazon Prime Video\plus HBO or the HBO Now app. More details on how to stream the premiere live arehere.

Need to remember what happened in the first seven seasons or a quick recap? Check out this pretty well done recap of all the big moments.

Remember first falling in awe of how cool Ned Stark was and then....

NationStates has a pretty big Game of Thrones fan base with a general discussion thread here. There are also several attempts to roleplay in the Game of Thrones world in Portal to the Mulitiverse. I engaged in one of those roleplays last year, before it lapsed, and had a lot of fun building my House and its backstory (as well as collecting images). Having run the first Game of Thrones NS festival, it might be cool to run another one around the time of the season closing and start up another roleplay\game.

Spoilers below!

I asked several NSers the following questions to learn more about our fascination with the fantasy genre and this particular show and book series.

Player: Xoriet
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
I enjoy fantasy because it creates an entire new world where impossible things happen and characters aren’t bound by the same realities they are here. I also love more historical/magical settings because they sound lovely and like something I’d love to see. Also magic is super cool.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
Danaerys because she has a tendency to get out of bad situations alive, an interesting and twisted family history, and dragons.



~


Player: Tim Stark
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
Sh*t, so I really don't read or RP unless you count video games, but for me it's a part the escapism of a genre so fundamentally different from our real world and a part of an appreciation for grand-scale story and world building which so often is notable in the fantasy genre (as well as science fiction, since they tend to be lumped together in book categories). It's cool to have these really widespread developed stories that span an entire universe, because there's really sort of a magic to the scale of what they have built.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
Honestly, I less have favorites and more have people I want to survive the end. Like, I thing Cersei is an amazing character, but I'm for natural reason not too particularly fond of her. Anyways, I think my NS last name gives a pretty clear answer who I'm big on in the Game of Thrones Universe. All in all, really pulling for my boy Davos though.


~

Player: Marrabuk
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
Since I was a kid, I've always been into fantasy. I still do now, I feel like our current world is kinda boring. We are limited by laws and rules while also heavily relying on technology. I enjoy reading fantasy and sometimes writing, because it has to do with your imagination and creativity while not being limited by laws, rules and current understanding of the human mind. I especially like magic fantasies like the Harry Potter series, Lord of the Rings and GOT, just to name a few.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
My favorite GOT character is Tyrion. Because even though, in the real world, I could definitely get what I want by my physical strength and size, I've always been a fan of winning without using my strength, but rather my intellect. I'd choose killing a battalion of armies by the swing of my pen rather than the swing of my sword. And Tyrion has that attributes and qualities.


~

Player: Altmoras
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
Fantasy and Sci Fi worlds are just much more interesting than our own. Our world is boring and shows set in "realistic" worlds have to be really good to not bore me. For example, "Vikings" is medieval, but I still got bored of it and quit watching because of how telegraphed it all was. We all know Ragnar dies, Rollo becomes Duke of Normandy, and Ragnar's kids kick off the real viking era, it's all laid out in history already, not exciting. There's nothing new or mysterious about our world. Meanwhile sci-fi and fantasy are full of mystery, what's east of Essos? Where did the protomolecule come from? It's all such a big adventure.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
Jaime Lannister. Tyrion was my favourite until his exile from Westeros and transformation into a sad sack. Jaime has taken his place as the character who has both the will and ability to do what needs to be done. I'm not a fan of the whole incest thing, but he seems to be reformed.


~


Player: Svezjacael
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?

I enjoy the fantasy genre because it's so full of potential. From the futuristic Star Trek, the D&D feeling GoT & LotR, and even the bizarre apocalyptic Mad Max, fantasy let's the current laws of physics, technologically possible, and sensible stand aside for inebriated fun and story.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
My favorite GoT character is probably Little Finger. From his development personally to his convictions, LF is one of my favorite cross-genre characters entire.



~

Player: Atlantica
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
First and foremost, I appreciate the escapist nature of the fantasy genre and other speculative fiction genres, as it provides a sort of relief and release ƒrom the struggles of everyday life.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
My favorite GoT character is probably Mance Rayder - I appreciate the genuine commitment he has to his people mixed in with a certain degree of tolerance, though I'll freely acknowledge that he isn't a flawless character.


~

Player: Todd McCloud
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
I sorta like the creativity in the universe. It's different from what I write, but I do appreciate character arcs, especially when characters have flaws and those flaws end up getting in the way. The new Star Wars seems to lack that at times, but it's not as bad as some people make it out to be.

I also like, for better or worse, how Star Wars tends to better facilitate other species as sentient beings. Writing with different species makes the characters less relatable in general, but if there are flaws and limitations carefully built into who they are, that tends to connect to the reader a bit better, and makes the RP character, for instance, more fun and multi-dimensional.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
I've actually never seen Game of Thrones.


This is why the White Walkers might win
~

Player: Kortexia
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
It's always been my favorite.

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
Arya Stark, she's the coolest. Plus I love she's become a Faceless Assassin


~

Player: Escade
1. Why do you enjoy reading (and\or writing\roleplaying\watching) the fantasy genre?
From Harry Potter which was my first love in this genre and will always be my favorite, to all the other magical shows (like the Magicians for example which is super awesome) to Game of Thrones - there's something about worlds where magic is a real thing. In our world, it hasn't been disproven that miracles exist and maybe life itself is a type of magic but there's just something wonderful about

2. Who is your favorite GoT character and why?
Sansa Stark. She's gone from being a spoiled princess headed girl to someone who's still growing and becoming mature and I've loved her character from the start. That moment when she finally resolves the situation with Ramsay Bolton (avoiding too many spoilers), I've watched and rewatched that scene so many times and felt like relief each time.

I'm going to also say that Margaery Tyrell is my second favorite for just being very cool and having such high ambitions and working with what she has and the constraints of her world to try to fulfill her goals. Also her fashion sense and face expressions are priceless.



~

Did I miss your favorite Game of Thrones character? Do you have even more eloquent reasons for why fantasy is such an amazing genre? Share below (please GIF for fave characters bc GIF <3) or on the GP Discord!

[Escade]

Forum | Discord | Dispatch

~

Featured Personality: Reploid Productions

Our guest today is Reploid Productions, an NSer who is an NS Forum Admin who has rightly earned the title of "Ninja Mod and Evil Forum Empress." Reppy watches Gameplay drama like some of us watch Game of Thrones and often has delightful commentary. She's also fun to talk to about a plethora of real world topics from safety and security on the internet, to adorable bats, cosplay, to anime and her awesome collection of cool stuff and experiences!

This interview took place on Discord in March 2019.

How did you learn about NationStates? How long have you been playing NS?
Funny enough, the site where I first heard of NS no longer exists. A long, long time ago on a website far away, I was a casual participant on Anne McCaffrey's “Kitchen Table” forum. Somebody there posted a thread about “this interesting little nation game” called Nationstates and on a lark I decided to give it a look. Throughout the late 90s and early 00s I'd dabbled in a number of different “run your kingdom” type games such as Forgotten World, Archmage, and Earth 2025. I figured Nationstates would probably be another one like those that I'd futz with for a few months before getting bored of the PvP-heavy gameplay.

March 23, 2003, I founded “Reploid Productions”, immediately set up my region Space Sector RPRA, and the rest as they say, is history.

I'm always fascinated by UCRs and how they come into being. Tell us more about Space Sector RPRA!

At its core, the Sector is just my little hangout. My non-NS friends who gave the game a try generally end up there, along with folks curious about "OMG A MOD'S REGION!". The whole "multiverse" bit in the description is a holdover from the whole "Reploid Productions Revolutionary Army" thing, because Sneaky B and I would gleefully use tech and stuff in our mecha designs from multiple unrelated anime/video game sources. Mostly, it's just a sleepy little corner of NS that I lazily rule with an iron fist, about the only sort of regional 'government' amounts to my throwing embassy requests to a vote when somebody actually follows the instructions in the WFE about those. Pretty much anyone is welcome to hang around and chill, but somebody being disruptive or distasteful will most likely end up on a one-way flight to TRR. The region was floating around 50 members way back when, but dropped off aside from a brief and extreme spike during the April Fools trading card event, when card farming puppets inflated the nation count north of 200; I was very amused that my card was apparently that desirable.

What is the significance or story behind your nation's name and flag?
Honestly, both are kinda dumb. “Reploid Productions” was the name of a very short-lived Megaman parody fanfiction group my friends and I had tried to get going in the late 90s, but it never quite managed to get off the ground. The entire dumb premise for said group was making the Megaman X characters (and all of our various fan-characters we made) have to remake various movies with mishaps galore. We were all dorky teenagers back then, what else can I say? When I was coming up with my nation, I couldn't think of a good name and decided to just name it after said group.

As for the flag, my buddy Sneaky Bastards and I went through a phase where we were both stupidly into Gundam, and particularly into designing our own giant mecha creations. But we needed some kind of organization for making up model numbers for our creations. The older iteration of that was the Solar-Orbital Defense Alliance, but after awhile we decided that SODA was a dumb acronym for a space military, and rebranded it the Reploid Productions Revolutionary Army. (Which, coincidentally, my region took its name from!) The “RPRA” flag that I threw together for my nation borrows heavily from the Republic of Zeon flag from Mobile Suit Gundam, along with the Neo Zeon emblem from the movie Char's Counterattack. For years Sneaky B also used the same flag, resulting in people constantly assuming he was my puppet until he made his own version a few years ago.


Tell us about your early career in NationStates and how things were before you became a Senior Moderator and Game Administrator?

I was part of the much-maligned “flood” of March 2003 newbies. 2003 Nationstates was quite a different beast from what we have today.

No moderators (technically speaking, [mantle] and [dredd] were both mods, but I think I saw [dredd] online all of once and never saw either do any actual moderating,) and due to the lack of mods everyone posted all their threads in the first subforum at the top of the page- Nationstates. Factbooks & National Information, International Incidents, Global Economics & Trade, NS Sports, the Security Council, Got Issues, Moderation, Arts & Fiction, Portal to the Multiverse, and Forum 7 didn't exist back then! It was just Nationstates, Gameplay, the United Nations, Technical, General, and A&F's predecessor Jennifer Government (for talking about Max's books.) Actually, I'm not even sure the Gameplay forum actually existed back then. Point being that back then the forums were a complete mess with zero rules enforcement going on. Plus the original forum being unstable and pretty much unusable except when Europe and the US were asleep made things difficult.

I got my start over on the roleplaying side of things. Eventually I fell in with one of the major RP powers at the time, the Triumvirate of Yut. Probably because most of the players in that group also played future-tech nations with more of a focus on characters and storytelling rather than the OMG WAAAAAR that was rather prevalent at the time. Godmoding was a huge issue back then as well, and not too long before the events that prompted [violet] to finally add some real moderation I was part of an anti-godmoding group the “War-Mongering N00b Killer” alliance (… good god, typing that out makes me cringe.) My biggest pre-mod contribution to the community was probably my “IGNORE Supercannons”, as the images I made of those introduced a lot of people to the DoGA software that's still rather popular in certain sections of the RPing crowd today.

It's pretty cool, I just realized that all of the moderators I've interviewed so far have been heavily involved in roleplay! I love the level of detail and intricacy and thought that goes into your designs. Here are only two of the super cool 3d supercannons Reppy designed:

The very first IGNORE Supercannon pic, circa March 2003:

&
And the final iteration, the Mk-VI, November 2003:

How did you transition from roleplaying to joining the Moderator and Administrator team?
Cue the Night of Goatse and a couple of spammers spraying the forums with goatse, and the Powers That Be realized that maybe the site kinda sorta needed some actual enforcement of the rules. I was not part of that first group of newly-minted mods. (If I recall right, that first group included Melkor Unchained, Menelmacar, Amerigo, and Demoness.) When [v] was first soliciting the community for suggestions, I had tossed my hat in the ring citing my at the time 7 years experience running various IRC chat groups. (Once again, ancient NS was radically different from modern NS; when building a mod team from nothing, self-nominations were somewhat unavoidable because [v] was actively asking for folks to both make recommendations and submit their own qualifications.)

Apparently the Powers That Be and the first group of mods liked what they saw enough that I was offered the forum mod gig in May 2003. Again, given 2003 NS was a different beast than modern NS, simply getting boots on the ground to start taming the previously lawless community was a priority, so the early forum mods were very quickly promoted to game mod compared to today, in my case barely a week after I’d been made forum mod. A few months later, [v] asked if I'd be willing to take on the role of forum admin as well, mainly so that the mod team could add new forum mods without having to badger the crap out of [violet] who was busy with actual technical issues like fixing the site. The title “Senior” game moderator is a comparatively recent development, that role was formalized in … I think it was 2009 when we escaped from Jolt and returned to self-hosting our own forums if I recall right, though there is a lone reference of Sirocco being promoted to “Senior GM” in 2004 in the Changelog Wall-Of-Text on the All About Mods thread in the moderation forum. Being at the time one of the longest-serving and most active mods on the team, needless to say I got saddled with that pretty much as soon as it was added!


What is the difference between Moderation and Administration?
As for the differences between moderation and administration, the biggest one is that moderation is all about the site rules and their implementation and enforcement whereas administration is more forum-related maintenance chores. For instance things like adding newly-minted forum mods, shuffling forum subsections around/adding new subsections (such as the Vault and the Zombie forums that need to be dusted off and moved out of the Archive for N-Day and Z-Day, or the subforums created for April Fools events,) and taking care of adding new forum ranks as needed. Fun fact, there are currently five forum post count ranks above “Post Overlord” that nobody's seen yet!

Enjoy the (violet) delights of NS responsibly or the mods will have to end them!

What are the best and worst parts of the both jobs?
Best and worst parts of the job are kinda tricky, because sometimes the worst lead to the best and vice versa. I guess broadly speaking, the best parts are watching this crazy community that happened almost by accident and knowing that I've helped make that; seeing the variety of things players have come up with from various roleplay organizations to an entire sports culture to the numerous regional governments and their political theater is just absolutely fascinating. Having been on the site for over 15 years, I've had the unusual opportunity to watch this community grow, change, and evolve almost from the beginning and it has been incredible to watch happen.

I think the worst parts tend to be those cases where somebody has been around awhile and low-key breaking the rules and we finally have to bring the hammer down on them. Just because someone is popular doesn't mean they get a free pass to keep on being a jerk, and there have been times where I or one of the other mods has had to smack or DEAT players that we may personally like but who simply would not or could not tone their conduct down enough to stay within the site rules. Fortunately these days we have a large enough mod team that when such situations arise, I can recuse myself and let someone else rule on it.

There's also a lot of fun aspects to it, such as the behind the scenes sneak peeks at future features, having a hand in coming up with the annual April Fools events, and so on. Sometimes it's just amusing to see what sort of nonsense folks are trying to sneak under the radar in their nation names. You'd think they would have exhausted the various means to try and get “p*n*s” into a nation name by now, but apparently not! (Also, please no one take this as a challenge to find new ways to do so, don’t do that to your warning histories!)


What are your thoughts on the various gameplay venues (forums, Discord, gameside\RMB)?
Given how unstable the NS forums originally were, coupled with the limitations of the old RMB system (and even with the revamped RMB system), the development of more expansive and reliable offsite community venues was basically inevitable. It's something of a blessing and a curse. All these different venues offer endless options for players to customize their Nationstates experience and control how they engage with it; but at the same time it presents challenges and difficulties that have no easy solutions due to that divide between “official NS venue where NS rules apply” and “offsite out in the wild frontier.” IRC, and later Skype and now Discord give folks a live chat utility that onsite simply cannot provide, offsite forums are a powerful organizational tool for regional governments and other NS-related organizations, with the onsite RMB/forums serving sort of as a central hub for this amazing and occasionally aggravating NS Expanded Universe.

From a moderation standpoint, things would be so much simpler if we could pull all that offsite use onsite, but realistically that's never going to happen for any number of reasons. For example, we're never going to have a live chat tool that could match Discord. Players like having their own NS-adjacent spaces that aren't subject to NS moderation. Offsite forums give regional and gameplay organizations greater control over their information and who is able to see it, plus protection of history in the event of something catastrophic happening onsite like the historical thread-purges of the pre-Jolt period, or the loss of the old Jolt forum pretty much entirely once Jolt/OMAC completely collapsed and shut down. (At the same time as evidenced by the much-maligned Tapatalk takeover of Zetaboards/Invisionfree however, that's still sadly no guarantee history won't get lost along the way.)

Reppy is a strong advocate for appreciating the cuteness of bats!

What has been your favorite historical moment in NS?
In moderation terms, the introduction of the Influence system that got moderation OUT of moderating R/D gameplay! Seriously, you have no idea how much time was wasted on that under the pre-Influence griefing rules and the massive headaches it caused to pretty much everyone from mods to natives to raiders and defenders. Getting moderation out of that quagmire quite possibly saved the site; several early mods and plenty of players got burned out dealing with that mess, and I imagine had Influence never happened, that burnout rate would have been much, much higher.

Community and culturally speaking, that's a little trickier to narrow down to any one thing. Probably when we got the current forums up and running in 2009. It marked a huge shift in Nationstates, bringing our slow decline under Jolt to a halt. It was like a breath of fresh air after dealing with the increasingly antagonistic behavior from Jolt staff toward Nationstates. It was at that point the entire community was basically able to come together as one and collectively flip Jolt off for its myriad bad decisions and the complete sh*tshow that was Nationstates 2.

If you were Max Barry for a day, what would you do?
Honestly? Probably panic. Like holy crap, that's a level of adulting and responsibility I want none of! Also, I like my hair thankyouverymuch!

What do you do for fun when you're not on Nation States?
Mostly nerdy things like video games, watch anime, do some creative writing and RPing with friends, and so on. My other hobbies include photography and a fair bit of crafty things. I was doing cosplay at anime cons for awhile, but I had to take a break from that one because I only have so much disposable income and way too many expensive hobbies. I do a fair bit of reading (mainly fantasy novels) in my free time, and have on more than one occasion been all “I'll just read one more chapter before bed” and looked up to find the sun coming up having read the entire book overnight. I also play Star Pirates casually, and Dragon Cave where I can collect cute pixel dragons and also enjoy watching forum drama that I don't have any obligation to clean up.

I was also 'patient zero' in getting my group of friends into Pokemon Go after ending up in the beta test the month before the game launched. So that routinely gets me out of the house raiding with the local PoGo community. And before anyone asks, Team Mystic. Blue is one of my favorite colors and Articuno is my favorite of the legendary birds!

Blatant Mod Favoritism! Reppy chose Team Mystic! TCheck out 10 Signs That You're Definitely Team Mystic...

What is your favorite book?
Oh crap, just one? Um... Well, the Dragonriders of Pern novels are indirectly responsible for my ending up on Nationstates in the first place, so.... that count for anything? It is really hard for me to pick a single book. Tomino's Gundam trilogy is probably up there, along with Max's novels Company and Lexicon. I certainly enjoyed the Wheel of Time series, often in spite of the series' infamous level of subplot bloat and narrative drag. Oh, and The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear, now if he'd just get the third book done already...

What are your favorite TV\anime show(s)?
Ooh, this is a toughie. I mean, Slayers and Dragon Ball Z were my gateway drugs into anime back in the 90s and will forever hold a special place for me (even though I'll be the first to admit and nitpick Z's many narrative flaws.) Slayers is just awesome, it's a fun fantasy adventure romp with a pleasing blend of comedy and serious situations. As noted previously, I'm also big into Gundam though I sorta fell off that bandwagon around the time Gundam SEED Destiny came out; probably my favorites in the Gundam franchise are Zeta Gundam, 08th MS Team, and G Gundam. (One of these things is not like the others~!) Gurren Lagann is another favorite, that series is just such a fun rollercoaster ride that you start out thinking is just some goofy nonsense right up until it suckerpunches you hard in the feels, just give it until the end of episode 8 before deciding whether to keep going or quit if you decide to give it a try. And of course, I am a huge fan of Team Four Star's work with DBZ Abridged!

Favorite non-anime show would probably have to be Mythbusters. I've never watched that much television to be honest, but I've always tended to enjoy stuff like that where it was entertaining as well as informative. Because... there's, like, totally educational value in vaporizing a cement truck with an obscene amount of explosives, really!

Which fictional character is most like you or your role model?
I've joked for years now that Lina Inverse from Slayers is my role model. Generally a good person at heart, but not prone to taking crap from anyone. Not to mention being fully capable of absolutely wrecking people who do get on her bad side. Girl knows what she wants and she's not afraid to go get it, even if she ends up accidentally risking the entire world and then saving it in the process. It's probably a bit absurd how many of her snappy one-liners from the English dub (a rare example of a pretty good 90s dub!) have found their way into my everyday lexicon. I cosplayed her at multiple conventions back in the late 90s/early 00s as well, and for me at least, you don't cosplay a character if you don't like them or have some sort of emotional attachment to them. And Slayers was one of my first animes, Lina one of my first favorite characters, and something that helped me maintain my sanity during my high school years.

What about your favorite movie?

Favorite movie is a real toughie. I'm probably going to have to say The Last Unicorn or The Princess Bride because I've loved both those films since I was a kid and still enjoy them as an adult. My old VHS copy of the former was watched so many times the tape itself eventually snapped. There's just a sort of timelessness to both movies, a kind of universal appeal that spans generations; I have very fond memories of going to see The Last Unicorn during a limited theater tour several years ago and just seeing something like four generations of fans ranging from people my grandparents' age to little kids was amazing and just sort of warm-fuzzy feeling.

Aaah! The Princess Bride is one of my favorite classics too <3 Which character\moment is your favorite?

Oh man, a single favorite? All of the characters are so memorable and fun, and it's so full of iconic moments that I'm not sure I could really narrow it down. I mean, the swordfight is fun (also amazing when you learn from behind-the-scenes stuff that one of the actors had a broken toe at the time!) The entire sequence with Miracle Max and his wife is a total riot. Cary Elwes as Westley is damn fine eye candy (mmm, especially in his dread pirate attire, dude looks niiiiice in black!), and then there's Inigo's showdown with the six-fingered man... I mean, there's a REASON so many of the movie's iconic lines are well-known in pop culture!

As you wish

Favorite music?
My music tastes are extremely varied, there's no way I can narrow that down to a singular favorite. I grew up on 80s and 90s country. (Seriously, “And the Radio Played” by Lady Antebellum hits me in the feels so hard because it practically reads like a playlist of my childhood.) About the only genres I don't enjoy broadly speaking are opera and rap, but even that's not absolute. My playlist today can hop from Garth Brooks to TM Revolution to Dragonforce to Two Steps from Hell to Linkin Park to Bon Jovi to Willie Nelson to Really Slow Motion to Nightwish to classical to various video game remixes and anime themes. Lately I've been listening to a lot of Within Temptation since I just got their latest album, but I usually listen to a lot of a new album when I get it; how else am I going to learn the lyrics well enough for my private in-car karaoke sessions while driving?

What is a game (outside of NS) that everyone should play?
I'm a huge Legend of Zelda dork, so obviously I'm going to recommend almost any of the Zelda games, but I freely admit that they may not be everyone's cup of tea. Okami is one that I recommend purely on its visuals alone; though the game was originally for the PS2 its graphics style has aged beautifully and it remains a solid adventure game with wonderfully quirky characters. Similarly, Ori and the Blind Forest is an absolutely beautiful little platformer that manages to tell a poignant story with very little in the way of dialogue. I totally adore the Ace Attorney games, they are absolutely fantastic visual novel/puzzle games. For less narrative gaming, music games like Audiosurf and Stepmania (basically a freeware Dance Dance Revolution clone) are my zen, you just get so focused on the game and the music that it basically crowds out everything else so it is a perfect tool to break a depressive rumination cycle or just force something else out of your head.

As for all-time favorite “WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU NOT ALREADY PLAYED THIS GAME?!”, that title goes hands-down to Chrono Trigger. It to date remains one of my all-time favorite video games, probably is my favorite video game soundtrack of all time, and it is just a solid, fun classic. And with the DS version, it's not ungodly difficult to get a copy of it. (Though by all accounts, avoid the Steam version, it is a sh*tty port from everything I've heard.) For “game folks might not have heard of but should totally play”, Ghost Trick. The game's stylized art is just snazzy, the puzzles quirky and challenging, and it’s a fantastic supernatural murder mystery story that throws some serious twists and feels at you.


So you wake up one morning and receive the delegacy of any region you choose. Which would you choose? And what would you do as delegate?
The Pacific, because good lord that would be the biggest salt mine ever. There wouldn't be enough popcorn in the world for all the salt that would generate. Because I am horribly lazy however, I'd probably end up just sitting back and letting the locals do whatever. Either that or go full Evil Overlord on the place, boot out the folks that look at me funny, and convert the locals into my Legions of Terror to... do things? I guess I'd need to figure out what the New Reppy Order's objectives would be first. Like, rule with an iron fist or maybe do the benevolent dictatorship thing and retain executive authority but otherwise generally letting the region's locals govern themselves? Be a friend to everyone and go all diplomancer toward other big regions? Secure the home region and militarily expand to create a multi-regional militant Church of Reppy? I'm honestly not really sure. I've got basically zero meaningful experience with regional management, given I've always ruled the Sector with a lazy but iron fist and it has no real regional government or cohesive structure to speak of, so for all I may kid about it, I really don't know what I would do if I had the delegacy of a major region.

Who wouldn't want New Reppy's Order to shake up the game a bit?

Thank you to Reppy for the interview <3. I really feel like I meet the most amazing people on NationStates who are doing so many cool things and it restores optimism and like faith in the world!

[Todd McCloud]

That was a good read, thank you!

[Escade]

That was a good read, thank you!

Thanks, Todd! Hope to get you in an interview at some point especially since the next book is coming out soon!

[Lamoni]

Looking forward to seeing an interview with Todd.