Hey there, folks! Your friendly neighborhood Phisto here with one of those posty post things I like to do. I’ve been ruminating on my history in Elite: Dangerous (three years this summer!) and I’d like to share some learnings with you all.
First, some things this post is not.
As some of you may know early in my Elite career I became enamored with PvP and ganking as a way to play the villain (you can read about that journey here: https://inara.cz/cmdr-logbook/23543/28644/ ). Since then it’s expanded into a sort of political game where I explore my own beliefs through the dystopian lens of the game world. Briefly summarizing here, my real life politics fall into some kind of mishmash approximating anarcho-syndicalism. This means I usually get along with people like American Libertarians and get quite prickly around authoritarians of all stripes. If any of you are familiar with the endlessly useful Political Compass (https://www.politicalcompass.org/) I land in the bottom left corner. My character lands in a much different place, but more on that later.
Back to Elite! It provides such a lovely sandbox you can jump into and do all kinds of things. Again, what I do is try to explore my beliefs and attitudes through the lens of its dystopian vision. What does this look like? Glad you asked! For me, playing with Anarchies and the Commanders that support them have been the perfect way.
Why?
What’s a jolly old anarchist to do? Fight like hell! This is where my character differs massively from myself. He is a person that lives in a world that condones ruthless, violent behavior to get what one wants for them and their people. Better yet? He’s got the means to make it happen. You, dear reader, have that power too no matter how you choose to go about it.
So get out there! Ask forgiveness, not permission. Get in people’s faces. Dream big and dare bigger. Find a bunch of friends, have someone hold your drinks, and get to work carving out your piece of the galaxy. Most importantly, enjoy all the rewarding gameplay that comes along with this. Sure, you might make mistakes and more than a few enemies but in the end you’ll find it was worth the effort.
Blaze your own trail and remember: the journey’s the thing!
First, some things this post is not.
- This is not the end all be all lesson on content creation in Elite. This is simply my own experience and perspective. If you find something useful, great! If you find nothing useful, great! If you’re inspired to get out there and give it a go for the first time, fabulous! If you’re an old timer looking for a spark, hope you find it!
- We’re going to be taking the game as it stands right now. That means all you armchair Commanders with all your amazing ideas on how whatever game mechanic and what not can be better feel free to pull up anchor and shove off to the Suggestion Forum. Haunt there instead!
- I am not at all interested in discussing the minutiae of existing game mechanics. I’m taking the whole of Elite from a high level view and attempting to explore how I play that on a personal level for the edification of others.
- We’re not starting a discussion on real life politics. I reference my own simply as an example of inspiration for my gameplay. It’s exactly like other art, stories, friends, or even my struggle with chronic illness. I’m also using it to help illustrate the line between out of character and in character beliefs and actions and how it can let you experiment with thoughts you might otherwise not.
As some of you may know early in my Elite career I became enamored with PvP and ganking as a way to play the villain (you can read about that journey here: https://inara.cz/cmdr-logbook/23543/28644/ ). Since then it’s expanded into a sort of political game where I explore my own beliefs through the dystopian lens of the game world. Briefly summarizing here, my real life politics fall into some kind of mishmash approximating anarcho-syndicalism. This means I usually get along with people like American Libertarians and get quite prickly around authoritarians of all stripes. If any of you are familiar with the endlessly useful Political Compass (https://www.politicalcompass.org/) I land in the bottom left corner. My character lands in a much different place, but more on that later.
Back to Elite! It provides such a lovely sandbox you can jump into and do all kinds of things. Again, what I do is try to explore my beliefs and attitudes through the lens of its dystopian vision. What does this look like? Glad you asked! For me, playing with Anarchies and the Commanders that support them have been the perfect way.
Why?
- Anarchies represent the most clear and present way to reject the hierarchies of human space. Whether it’s the Pilots Federation, the Superpowers, or any of the Powerplay figures Anarchy thumbs their noses at desires to control and dominate humanity.
- They create all kinds of interesting game play from the lack of System Authority, opening of black markets, and goofy idiosyncrasies of groups like The Nameless. There isn’t really any other kind of ethos that does it quite like Anarchy.
- Lots of players have out of character and in character objections to Anarchies. As conflict is the source of all good storytelling, the benefits are obvious.
- Anarchies are what you make of them and are straight up about this fact. No one is going to do it for you. Take the initiative and see where your imagination can take you.
What’s a jolly old anarchist to do? Fight like hell! This is where my character differs massively from myself. He is a person that lives in a world that condones ruthless, violent behavior to get what one wants for them and their people. Better yet? He’s got the means to make it happen. You, dear reader, have that power too no matter how you choose to go about it.
So get out there! Ask forgiveness, not permission. Get in people’s faces. Dream big and dare bigger. Find a bunch of friends, have someone hold your drinks, and get to work carving out your piece of the galaxy. Most importantly, enjoy all the rewarding gameplay that comes along with this. Sure, you might make mistakes and more than a few enemies but in the end you’ll find it was worth the effort.
Blaze your own trail and remember: the journey’s the thing!
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