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Cheers all! Name is AJ, or AJ BLarg, or BLarg, whichever you prefer. May know me from the server, or the UH elections. I hope to help us all have a better time!


1) Why are you running for this position?

I hope to promote region wide games, and to have a blast for all skill levels. While the scene has been pretty much dead for a bit, I hope to revive it, and give us another pasttime.

2) What do you aim to accomplish as thane? As part of this, you must include at least one thing that you promise to do beyond the minimum listed duties of the position during your term. It should be measurable, so that it's black and white whether you fulfilled this mandate at the end of the term if you are elected.

I have a few objectives I wish to make, and if I'm elected, please hold me to these.

-Possible tournaments
-Casual games at least once a week
-Multiple different type of games, something for everyone to enjoy
-Maybe expand upon the gaming section of the forums, and possibly get other games than Minecraft as a more permanent standing.
-Possible prizes for competitions

3) What qualifications or experience do you have in the area that you are running in?

I have a lot of hours in the games I wish to try to promote, and I'm very willing to expand on what I play to try to incorporate it into further games, and to try to promote even more.
I have a decent PC, and good internet, so those are not limiting factors. In addition, my work isn't hella swamped at the moment, so I should have a decent amount of time, especially on the weekends, to try.

4) How do you plan to have the time to fulfill the duties of the position until the next election?

As of now, I don't really have anything on my plate, other than when random military stuff shows up, so I have a decent amount of time to plan out things, and to try to accomplish things. As someone that's been a part of this region for years, I hope that I have connections with people, and have fun with you all.

5) Are you currently a part of any other NationStates regional or organizational government? If so, please include those regions and positions.

Only the Wintreath Underhusen.



Feel free to ask any questions, and I'll be happy to answer them!

Same question I asked Hannah:

I think the main issue with the gaming portfolio people have ran into over the years is that it's required a lot of micromanagement by one person to even get anything at all going, and unlike other areas of culture the community at large has never taken up gaming projects on their own. If elected, what would you do to encourage the community to put together and run their own gaming events, so you're not carrying the burden by yourself?

Same question I asked Hannah:

I myself particularly enjoy strategy games such as Hearts of Iron 4 and Stellaris, yet I don’t see a lot of interest in the area with regards to gaming. Do you have any plans to encourage different genres of games to different people?

I myself particularly enjoy strategy games such as Hearts of Iron 4 and Stellaris, yet I don’t see a lot of interest in the area with regards to gaming. Do you have any plans to encourage different genres of games to different people?

I don't mean to hijack the opportunity to answer from AJ, but I mean...bruh! There's a good chunk of people on these forums who love Paradox games. Myself included, but I can think of other people just off the top of my head like Crush or North - to say nothing of AJ.

But at the same time, just because I enjoy Paradox games myself doesn't mean I enjoy them with other people. I've given CK2, EU4, and Stellaris a fair shake among my friend-group, but the inability to just pause and do whatever you want/need to do for vast stretches of time without inconveniencing people is a huge stumbling block, and even with 3-4 people in an MP game you're either pausing too much, or not enough, and either way is frustrating. I can't imagine it with even more people.
My experience is likely not representative of the whole population (generally because I hate playing video games in MP at all because I'm a secret misanthrope) - but I'd factor that in to why interest isn't necessarily expressed even for games that might be shared in common.

Same question I asked Hannah:

I think the main issue with the gaming portfolio people have ran into over the years is that it's required a lot of micromanagement by one person to even get anything at all going, and unlike other areas of culture the community at large has never taken up gaming projects on their own. If elected, what would you do to encourage the community to put together and run their own gaming events, so you're not carrying the burden by yourself?

@Wintermoot

Thank you for the question, Mooty!
Personally, my idea was to incorporate potentially a couple others who wouldn't mind holding games, or doing events in games alongside with me. After all, as you mentioned, carrying the burden alone wouldn't be fun, and would also cause a single point of failure. As I know the Discord knows, I am in the Navy, and if I suddenly have to go away and do something for a week, who would do it? If I don't have others that are capable of it, that's an issue. And one I hope to resolve with this idea.

Same question I asked Hannah:

I myself particularly enjoy strategy games such as Hearts of Iron 4 and Stellaris, yet I don’t see a lot of interest in the area with regards to gaming. Do you have any plans to encourage different genres of games to different people?

Thank you for the question @Excalibur!

My answer was mostly hijacked by @Doc (Bah!), and I agree with a lot of what he said. There is a lot of us here that absolutely love Paradox games! However, they are not all good for multiplayer. I was attempting to play a multiplayer game with a friend earlier in CK2, and despite both of us having good internet, we were at speed 3, max. And in Paradox Interactive games, speed 3 is slow, especially in a game like Crusader Kings II. Others, like HOI4, or potentially Civ, Town of Salem, or even Minecraft are better at that, though that doesn't mean I will ignore other games.

One idea I had was a dynasty game. Without expanding outside of your De Jure Empire, have your Dynasty on as much as the map as possible. Winner may even get a prize, and this would be in single player with Ironman. Or potentially, in Ironman, try to do a hard game, like start as the Hapsburgs in 1066 and try to do a WC as Fratecelli. The possibilities are endless. Or maybe HOI4, have an achievement hunt, like the Egypt one, or possibly one of the new Man the Gun achievements?

My interest in Paradox games is wide, and I enjoy many other games too. I hope that I can have us do well together, and have a lot of fun.

It's looking like you're going to be in a competitive election against Hannah for Thane of Gaming. If Hannah were to win, would you work with her in the gaming area? If so, do you have any ideas on how you could work with her based on her campaign and your ideas?

Sorry for the delayed post, yesterday was a bit busy.

@Wintermoot I would still try to work with Hannah with my ideas, and I hope they'd go well together. We have some of the same ideas, so I think we would work well together.