States of Mind
Ever dreamt of creating a
nation? Do you wish to invade a country and install a new government? Do you
want to create a nation where the left/right scale doesn't exist? A nation
where a zillion people subscribe to your warped political ideals – of maybe a
Utopian paradise, or a totalitarian state regime, or maybe an eclectic mix of these. Then you should log onto www.nationstates.net,
a free online nation simulation game, which was created by Max Barry to
promote his novel Jennifer Government about two years ago. [1]
It's easy to
build a nation - choose a name, a motto, a national animal, and a currency.
Then talk about your politics - authoritarian or permissive, left wing or right
wing, compassionate or psychotic. Players
may also join the so-called United Nations, making their nations
automatically affected by the decisions of that body, although various players
role-play disobedience. Discussions on proposed resolutions take place on the
forums, often home to all manner of political debate. A dedicated team of
volunteers moderates the forums; most of them also moderate the game to keep it
free from vandalism. [2]
¥
Max Barry (born March 18, 1973)
is the Australian author of Syrup and Jennifer Government. He is
also the creator of NationStates
and owner of the website Tales of Corporate Oppression. He lives in
Melbourne, and worked as a marketer for Hewlett-Packard before he became a
novelist. Barry's third novel, a corporate satire entitled Company, was
published on January 17, 2006. In the November issue of the magazine Fast
Company the novel was ranked at number 8 on a list of the top 100 “people,
ideas, and trends that will change how we work and live in 2005.”
ΩJennifer Government is a black comedy
written by Max Barry. In 2003 it became Barry's second published novel,
following Syrup in 1999. The novel is set in a dystopian alternate
reality in which most nations (now controlled by the United States) are
dominated by for-profit corporate entities while the Government's[1] power is extremely
limited. It is similar in satiric intent to George Orwell's 1984, but
criticizes the concept of a government with too little power, rather than one
with too much power. Because of this, some readers see the novel as a criticism
of libertarianism. [2]
Role-playing, Nation Creation and
Governance on nationstates.net
In the game, a player has charge of a
"nation", deciding government policies on automatically-presented
issues from a list of options. These decisions affect the character of the
nation's status in the areas of Civil Rights, Economy, and Political
Freedoms. Groups of nations form regions. All players begin in one of five
Pacific regions and may move their nations into any other region at any time,
or set up a new region. Many regions have an elected leader and some
participate in complex regional governments, though some contain only a handful
of nations. Players commonly attempt to collectively "invade" another
region by entering it and seizing control. Some regions have
password-protection to stave off such attacks. Invaders must follow certain
rules: nations that don't follow these rules often get deleted. [3]
NationStates' relatively simple simulation
has given rise to more in-depth and freeform role-playing, with players using
their nations' statistics to measure how their nations would fare in international
trade, diplomacy, and war. Some players have even developed complex statistical
calculators and advanced defense arsenal. [2] [3]
The Future of nationstates.net and Online
Nation-States Creation and Simulation
As of July 22, 2005, players had set up over
1,300,000 individual nations since NationStates premiered in late 2002. At any
time fewer than 150,000 remain in existence as a result of the deletion of
nations due to various rule infractions and to inactivity. A second version of
the game, currently in development and called "NationStates 2", may
include complex functions for war, trade, diplomacy, and customization [2]
By the way, when you are bored
of playing president, prime minister, or dictator in your region - you can
explore greener pastures. But if there's no sign of you for over a month at
NationStates - Max Barry will delete your nation from his virtual globe.
[1]
Lamat
Hassan. “Building a Nation through Internet.” Hindustan Times http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1632866,00020020.htm Feb 22, 2006
[2]
Wikipedia:
The Free Encyclopedia. “Jennifer Government:Nation States” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationstates
Feb 2006
[3] Greg Bolton. “States of
Mind: The Armchair politicking of nationstates” CBC/Radio Canada http://www.cbc.ca/arts/media/statesofmind.html:
March 2005