The Bendix Perspective: A BM Editorial

[Kai]

its obviously shorthand. e.g. the world is made up of non-weabs and naruto fans.

[Revan]

Very cool thing you're doing, Bendix. Reminds me of what I tried to start doing with The Journal on the wiki. Look forward to the next one!

[Watly]

Why in the world would liking Game of Thrones mean you don't create consistent characters, that you whine about things not being exciting and demand that they get their way, are especially self centered, drive away casual gamers and are responsible for most of the negative feelings in the game and etc? And have more time to play? This connection is a really strange one to make in an analysis of player types. It's like seeing a list of socioeconomic classes go "lower class, middle class, upper class, and dog owners."

He didn't mean to offend the GoT fanbase, as he said clearly that it is game of thrones ADDICTS he meant, not regular fans. Game of Thrones is all about scheming and plotting on a truly epic scale and thus he makes a reference to GoT to describe the BM players who play it most and above all for the excitement of the medieval world, way beyond the ordinary BM player.

[Daycryn]

He didn't mean to offend the GoT fanbase, as he said clearly that it is game of thrones ADDICTS he meant, not regular fans. Game of Thrones is all about scheming and plotting on a truly epic scale and thus he makes a reference to GoT to describe the BM players who play it most and above all for the excitement of the medieval world, way beyond the ordinary BM player.

It still doesn't make sense. Game of Thrones is actually chock full of exceptionally consistent and believable characters, and plenty of the mundane and ordinary quite apart from EPIC-ness. And again, there are plenty of 'powergamers' who must be GoT fans, same with casual gamers, and plenty of the personalities he describes who aren't fans of the series at all. It's just not a very strong correlation and it's coming off as a negative stereotype. Whether qualified with "addicts" or no.

[Dishman]

It still doesn't make sense. Game of Thrones is actually chock full of exceptionally consistent and believable characters, and plenty of the mundane and ordinary quite apart from EPIC-ness. And again, there are plenty of 'powergamers' who must be GoT fans, same with casual gamers, and plenty of the personalities he describes who aren't fans of the series at all. It's just not a very strong correlation and it's coming off as a negative stereotype. Whether qualified with "addicts" or no.

I think what he meant was people who try to make battlemaster into Game of Thrones regardless of the situation. Game of Thrones is a great drama, but that kind of drama doesn't fit in some circumstances to people. I appreciate the kind of pot-stirring it creates, but I can understand that it may throw off some other people's game when you play an overly hot-headed brute or an unexpected wily backstabber. I like it, but I think it pisses people off. Once the player is pissed off it all devolves into OOC bitterness.

Big dramas tends to create a lot of friction. Some of the best rivalries I've seen have caused people to delete characters and come to the forums to engage in flame wars. It saddens me that things get overheated between players rather than festering as bitter hatred between characters. There have been several times that I wish two players could message each other and say "Hey, I'd like x character to dick x character over as hard as possible, why don't we work together to create a rivalry for the ages?". Then again, some people don't play that way...and forcing it upon them just makes them mad. You have to find people that will reciprocate what you want out of the game.

I think that is the biggest issue with Battlemaster. The locality of interaction forces you to deal with people, but sometimes those people aren't the ideal people you would want for that kind of interaction. Rather than search for greener pastures, people try to force things with people who don't want it. It makes for great stories...but pissy players.

[Kai]

BM is a team game "you are a member of a team from the start, and don't have to start out on your own."

So I play the game with the expectation that being backstabbed within-realm will be infrequent.

GoT wannabes who are also bad players screw up a realm, too frequently, for no reason.

[Gustav Kuriga]

BM is a team game "you are a member of a team from the start, and don't have to start out on your own."

So I play the game with the expectation that being backstabbed within-realm will be infrequent.

GoT wannabes who are also bad players screw up a realm, too frequently, for no reason.

I've always found this to be a conflicting opinion. you have a game about medieval nobles, which just SCREAMS intra-realm politics, and then expect it to be a game with teams like football or baseball. there wouldnt be much need for roleplaying since that would mean this was a pure strategy game.

[Buffalkill]

I've always found this to be a conflicting opinion. you have a game about medieval nobles, which just SCREAMS intra-realm politics, and then expect it to be a game with teams like football or baseball. there wouldnt be much need for roleplaying since that would mean this was a pure strategy game.

Agreed. It's a team game until it's not, i.e. until it's no longer in the character's personal best interest.

[Valast]

Everyone should have personal interest in mind with every action.

We really do need a more publicized and rounded out RP guide.  Show people how to see from a perspective.

[Indirik]

Personal interest, yes. But that doesn't mean you should consider how you can screw someone over with every action. If not enough people are working together toward a common goal, then everything is chaos. Complete chaos is no fun for anyone. It's frustrating, like playing a game populated by nothing but griefers. There has to be enough teamwork that people feel like they are accomplishing something.

[Sacha]

You can work towards fulfilling your own selfish ambitions without disrupting the whole realm. It doesn't have to be one or the other

[trying]

You can work towards fulfilling your own selfish ambitions without disrupting the whole realm. It doesn't have to be one or the other

Like Bankers using the Shadow government option.

[Sacha]

That's just small fry work... I'm thinking more about garnering support for yourself by presenting yourself as the driving force behind a successful war, for example, and turning that popularity into political power.

[Gustav Kuriga]

Personal interest, yes. But that doesn't mean you should consider how you can screw someone over with every action. If not enough people are working together toward a common goal, then everything is chaos. Complete chaos is no fun for anyone. It's frustrating, like playing a game populated by nothing but griefers. There has to be enough teamwork that people feel like they are accomplishing something.

Complete chaos is rarely suitable for anyone trying to gain power either, you realize. If the entire realm falls apart, what will they gain power of? Besides, one needs supporters to plot properly.

[Anaris]

Complete chaos is rarely suitable for anyone trying to gain power either, you realize. If the entire realm falls apart, what will they gain power of? Besides, one needs supporters to plot properly.

Most commonly, it won't be people trying to cause chaos, it'll be that everyone is plotting for themselves. That's what causes chaos—and, more generally, when people don't care about working together as a realm/team.

And you'd be surprised—you'd be disgusted—at how many people think they can run a serious plot either all by themselves or with one or two supporters (their OOC friends, usually). The problem being, of course, that you otherwise have to resort to actually trusting people.