Slynky's Demise

[Lord Chane]

geoschmo said:
I totally agree that the politics and player to player interaction are what makes this game great. Without it SE4 would have been an interesting game, for about a month. About the time I spent playing SE3. But for me deceiving, and being decieved are a crucial part of that interaction.

I don't like team victory games of SE4. So by definition that means any allies I make along the way are going to end up being enemies before it's over. Even while working together to beat our common enemies I am always plotting the eventual demise of my allies. And I assume that my allies are doing the same for me. I try to be a good ally, as long as it suits my purposes. I work hard to make our "team" strong, but on the other hand I don't want my teammates stronger then me. I want them to be strong enough to help me, strong enough so that I don't seem a great threat to them, but not so strong they feel they don't need me any longer.

The question is which of us will reach the point of being ready to cast off the alliance first. Too late and your ally gets the drop on you. Too early and the distraction caused by the new war make sit impossible to completly dispatch the common enemy. And your ally turned enemy could turn and make allies with the former common enemy.

It's a great way to play. Unfortunatly I have found that few people get the same satisfaction from this style of play that I do. So I find that people don't want to be allies with me to begin with because of what they have heard abotu me form other players, or comments I've made in the forum. Or they take it personally when I turn on them, making what should be just a game issue into something that affects our friendship.

So at times I've had to modify my style of play, keeping alliances beyond the point at which they are actually useful to me in the game. Because I don't want to "hurt their feelings". That to me is as distateful as decieving allies is to some of you.

In real life I am a nice guy. I guess all the pressure of being nice and following the accepted norms of society manifest themselves subliminally in the way I play this game. Turns me into a bit of a jerk.

I don't participate in the forum very much but this is one of those times when I just can't resist. While I respect Geo and his opinion, I don't agree with it. I'm one of the players he refers to who would not ally with him if I knew that he viewed alliances as transient and was planning my demise and trying to get the upper-hand the entire time. I do take things like that personally. In fact another player and I exchanged a few angry Messages here on the forum after he stabbed me in the back in the Proportions game. Apparently some folks are driven to win in ways I can't comprehend. It makes me wonder what they're like at work. Would they screw over a coworker to improve their standing in the office? Would they get themselves assigned to a project team with the intent of sabotaging another team member? Would they pretend to be your friend all the while trying to get your wife in bed? No, of course not. Because that's reality and this is just a game. Then I guess it'd be okay if the coach of one team sent a scrub into the game with orders to break the other team's star player's leg. After all, it's just a game and he wants his team to win. And hey, if I can sucker punch the other guy while the ref isn't looking, then that's okay too. I need to win. Playing a board game with a friend? Get him to look away and move a piece or change a die roll. After all, winning is what it's all about. Yes, yes, I know I'm going overboard. The things I've mentioned here are all cheats, and betraying an ally in SEIV isn't prohibited by the rules. It's a completely legal move. That's certainly true, but I view it as a cheap way to win. Basically, the back stabbing player has un unfair advantage. They know that they're going to betray the other player, they know when to betray them, and basically there's little the betrayed player can do. Now, if it's a role-playing game, then I agree that stabbing an ally is a legitimate tactic. In a B5 game who would expect the Shadows to behave honorably? And who would trust the Romulans in a Star Trek game? But most SEIV games aren't billed as role-playing, so I take a player's behavior to be a reflection of that person's personality. How can I ever trust a player once that player has betrayed me in a game? Every future interaction with them, in or out of the game, will leave me wondering whether I'm being duped, used, merely a means to an end. How do I separate the player from the game character? How can I tell that the player was just indulging in game deception and isn't like that in real life? Let's say an ally and I agree to gift each other something and the gift from him doesn't come through. I contact the other player and they swear that they issued the order and say that the game must have screwed up knowing full well that they never issued the order at all. So now it isn't just a matter of game deception, the player is actively lying to me. Now, I'm in another game with that same player and he wants to do a deal. By what means can I tell that this time he's going to play me straight and not stick a knife in my back? I like knowing that my allies are trustworthy, not trying to line things up to give themselves an advantage and screw me over. And once screwed over I will never trust that player again. So, is stabbing an ally in the back a part of the game? Absolutely. Is it a fair tactic? I guess that depends on each player's feelings on the subject. I say no, other's say yes. But some of us take issue with having that done to us, so don't be surprised or shocked if in a future game we refuse to do business with you. Maybe some of us take the issue too seriously. If so, then I'm certainly one of those players who does. We may be allies in some games and enemies in others, but if we're allies in a game, then you've nothing to fear from me. As to the questions drawing a parallel between behavior in SEIV and Poker or Chess, they're apples and oranges. In Poker I hope that everyone at the table knows that they're my opponent. They know up front not to trust me so I'm not lying to them if I bluff. I haven't promissed them anything, we haven't entered into any sort of agreement, so I can't possibly take advantage of them like a player can in SEIV when they screw over an ally. In Chess the other player knows I'm the enemy. How can I possibly deceive them? It's not like I can tell them it's okay to leave their king uncovered and then pull a Pearl Harbor style attack and win the game. Nor can I make a treaty to slip past their pawns and then drop said treaty and launch a surprise attack.