Story = Palestine RL

[_____________Rowenna]

I don't know about the rest of ya, but after reading the timeline of Rubi-Ka it struck me as a very sick replay of the situation in Palestina AD 2002:

Ceasefire broken by capital-owner OT (Sharon) who acuses Clans leader (Arafat) for undefined terrorist atrocities that they held resonsible for (Hamas?).

I assume next thing is that clan members get to use suicidal bombing technology, as OT has better equipment.

The conflict has no end, just endless dragging of violence and atrocities etc. What's next? Ethnic clensing? WTG.

My stomach turns sick at the fantasy of this RP political games.

As if its not enuf to see the 'story' of violence and lies being there every day in the newspapers & TV, now we get it served as 'creative innovation' into our game world, too.

BLEAH

[___________Avatarius]

Tir Accord makes the north country effectively independant state [you know, the thing Palestine wants], and throughout the game duration [and last 4 years of the time line], Omni has not expanded [unlike Israel that keeps making new settlements deeper and deeper into what was/is to be the state of Palestine almost daily]. Finally, at the core the conflict is DEEPLY religious one (it is the "promised" land after all right?) and the ultimate [if not original] causality.

Outside those three issues, sure it sounds like that, but so does any other dozen border conflicts [Russia/Chenyenka]. In fact, if you recall the news early on many accused Russia of blowing up her own apartment building and blaming it on Chenyenka. (Pardon my spelling). Of course, this is what Omni did, blew up their own building and blamed the enemy. (Eva obviously is not really acting on the behalf of Omni but some third party or herself entirely, but nevertheless, she is not a clanner but Omni). Ross has no way of knowing whats transpired, so he presume the worst or so it appears, hence the end of amnesty).

I try to avoid comparing stuff like this because it kind of cheapens the lives lost in the various conflicts. Also makes it look like Funcom is taking cheap political shots at other nations and peoples, which is a risk they would not likely wish to take for business reasons so I cant believe they would be foolish enough to do it. You know the expression about "life imitating art" [and vice versa] face it, a sci-fi story of civil unrest, double dealings and mal intent is bound to sound like *something* in our history because thats all our history seems to echo.

[____________Bherserk]

Not to forget the recent events on the border between India and Pakistan. India claimed that Pakistan didn't do enough (or anything?) to stop the terrorists after the terrorists set off bombs in India.

[_______FeloniousPunk]

It makes me wonder how someone could be so disturbed by superficial similarities between the situation on Rubi-Ka and the real life situation in Israel yet not bat so much as an eyelid at the number of corpses you have to create to earn a level.

Someone help me with this?

[_____________Rowenna]

"so much disturbed"

you mean by having to listen to RP of political lies that make people kill each other instead thinking that the killings have a just and 'righteous' cause behind it?

Sorta takes fun out of it all.

Notwithstanding that the 'killings' in AO actually kill noone, but political lies stay political lies and malicious manipulations after all.

If felonious punks enjoy lies and living in VR world of lies, maybe its not everyone's sense of fun in their free time?

[_______FeloniousPunk]

Your logic makes absolutely no sense here, Karlek. You discount the mass slaughter of NPCs as the primary way players make a living in the game since no one really gets killed; fair enough. But somehow the 'political lies' are real and therefore harmful. How can that be? What real world politics are involved here? Who is being hurt? If the killing is unreal so then is everything else, particularly since the factions and attendant politics in the game are completely made up.

But you know, you can turn this into a great role playing hook. The lies and manipulations bother you? Do not curse the darkness, light a candle - do something in the game to fight against it! Form a coalition, find others who agree with you and band together, do *something*. Someone here in the RP boards wants to organize a peace march to protest the end of amnesty - a great example.

[____________Sllaagor]

Originally posted by Avatarius
You know the expression about "life imitating art" [and vice versa] face it, a sci-fi story of civil unrest, double dealings and mal intent is bound to sound like *something* in our history because thats all our history seems to echo.

Agreed. I've posted before on the limited number of themes in human storytelling.

There's nothing new under the sun. - Anonymous

The human condition never really changes ... just the people and props we surround ourselves with. (That's another quote, or a paraphrase of a quote, I can't remember) Therefore, the same themes come up, time and time again, in both fiction and "history" (which, a lot of the time, IS fiction. History is always written by the victors, yet another quote!)

Originally posted by FeloniousPunk

Your logic makes absolutely no sense here, Karlek. You discount the mass slaughter of NPCs as the primary way players make a living in the game since no one really gets killed; fair enough. But somehow the 'political lies' are real and therefore harmful. How can that be? What real world politics are involved here? Who is being hurt? If the killing is unreal so then is everything else, particularly since the factions and attendant politics in the game are completely made up.

I totally agree. This is a game. In this game, we kill "people" and "monsters" to gain levels, set to a background of political strife. I for one can keep fantasy seperate from reality ... and when I see parallels to the real world within fantasy, well, I smile. Maybe FC is using this game as a political statement. Fine by me, many books and games have done that before this. It touches me not.

There are worse atrocities in almost every "holy" book (which many intelligent people actually believe as gospel!) and in recorded history than anything put forth in the Rubi-Ka timeline.

I'm supposed to be disgusted, or freak out, because there are similarities between the Rubi-Ka timeline and real life events? It's inevitable!

This subject was hashed to death in many previous posts where people were complaining about the similarity to the WTC tragedy ... I'm done with it. Thanks.

- Sllaagor
Clan - Atrox Enforcer

[____________Yehezkel]

Sorry to say so, but you guys really don't have much of a grip on the Israel/Palestine situation. This ain't the place to fill you in, but let me just say that unless you live in Israel for a awhile you're probably not going to get it.

The reality of the situation there has very little in common with the clan/omni storyline.

[Detonate]

Oh god... Another conspiricy theory thread.

Get a life people.

[Tolax]

Every story can be interpreted in many different ways. Still the nature of the human being in the last 5000 years has showed a common pattern. So if that happened for 5000 years, is it safe to conclude that it will be so also in the future?
No idea but for sure the AO story is based on a conflict. That is something we cannot ignore. Still you could role play ingame the innocent and peaceful citizen who reject any form of conflict.