Player's History of Particracy Classic

[Elena1012]

Alrighty uh, my turn I guess for this stuff. Admittedly I feel like I won't have as much to say compared to the oldies (Doc, Zanz, Mbites and Wu) but meh. 

How and when did you discover Particracy? How old were you and where were you in life around that time (to the extent you are comfortable sharing)?

So- i want to say it was around late summer of 2022 that I first discovered Particracy. I was a bored 15 year older googling political games (since I recently got bored of Nation States) and lo and behold, PT showed up. Which leads to the 2nd question.

What country did you first play in? What was your earliest experience with the forum? What were your first impressions, generally?

Admittedly, this one is a bit embarrassing since it shows my (continued) nature of incompetence, but my very first nation was Dankuk. I (somehow) lost my login information on the very first day and made another account, only for the player there to inform me that doing so was frowned upon and a rule break, so 15 year old me, in her infinite wisdom decided to just not play the game for a few months. I got reinvited by a friend from Nation States to go join Rutania and that lasted a month or two before everyone left and I forgot entirely about PT again. Until around mid 2023, where me and a friend joined PT once again, and went to Kundrati, and stayed indefinitely in the community (albeit in a bubble).

It wouldn't be until late 2023 that our favorite banana, Greek, helped me figure out how to use the forum (since before it, I never even knew it existed, let alone how to use it). Being my first time using an Internet forum in such a way, my impressions were quite generous.

What was your most memorable RP experience or arc? Did you help shape any regions, lore, or political systems that you’re proud of?

Gah, that's a hard one. I'd have to say either Alduria or Xsampa have been my most memorable. Alduria got me into actually RPing in a decent quality and I do still hold find memories of Alduria. However, let's face it. Everyone knows me as the weirdo in Xsampa. Being in Xsampa since the start of 2024, I like to think I've shaped Xsampa alot, and I'm very proud of myself for that. Admittedly, I can't recall everything from the old forum, but Xsampa (Formerly Utembo) didn't really have much going for it. The wiki hardly had much, there were a handful of cities, and the nation was hardly relevant to the world when I was given control of Xsampa. One year later, Xsampa is relevant, it has a relatively coherent history, it's participated in several RP arcs (Le Cefard my beloved), and it has coherent lore. I like to believe I've done a semi decent job with Xsampa.

What do you think your biggest impact/legacy has been on the game and the community (if any)?

Honestly, I'd probably have to say my biggest impact on the game is working on Xsampa. As for the community, I don't know to be quite honest. I can't think of much to say without sounding bleh.

Who were some of the players or moderators who had the biggest impact on you? What were your most memorable interactions, collaborations, or rivalries?

Aaaaa

I suck with words, but hey at least I'll try.

Greek, for starters. Not only did he help me learn how to use the forum back then, but he's always been up for an arc or been there to help and give feedback. Sure, it doesn't seem like alot but he's a sort of stable positive feedback for the community. Between nuking me to helping me out in Gaduridos, I'd say Greek has been very influential and has had a very big impact on me.

Louis. From Alduria to now, Louis has always been there to provide feedback, engage nations, or just be awesome. Like Greek, he's pretty much always been down for an arc, no matter what. Whether it was me in Alduria trying to make my RP good or to today in NEK, Louis has consistently been there to provide feedback and advice for RP. 

Hyrae. One of the (unfortunate) souls to join Kundrati. I'd like to say he's been an impact, simply because he tolerated my shenanigans in Kundrati before I learned how the forum work. Whether it would be a copious addiction to making new parties, porting dumb ideologies or just normal politicking, he's been down for everything and rolled with everything.

In terms of collaboration, I gotta say Doc at the top of that list. Collaborating with Doc with Kalistan and Gaduridos was incredibly smooth and it was enjoyable. Fun RP. Would've loved to stayed in Gaduridos and continued collaboration there but alas, rule changes happened and Mbites evicted me from Gaduridos (but like in a good way, praise the Austrocracy).

How did the community culture evolve during your time within it?

I'm going to be honest. When I first joined the community (and opened up to the wider community), the atmosphere (and subsequently culture) felt, at least to me, very restrictive. Or rather, it felt as if everyone was in a bid to one up another and hesitant to do anything for the sake of fun. It felt.. authoritative? Perhaps that's not the right word, but it felt very claustrophobic. Now however? I like to say we're in a soft Renaissance. The rankings are gone, so no one is forced to do posts they don't want to do, and there's less blood in the air. The community feels more closer, more friendly, more relaxed and generally mellow. It feels more like a game than a simulation. We can freely joke, take shots at one another, even do the occasional dumb post.

How did Particracy influence your interests, writing, or worldview?

I'd say PT has definitely gotten me more interested in politics as a whole. Beyond a surface level interpretation. I like to think it's helped me mellow out with how I interpret politics as well. In terms of writing, I think it's also helped. Both since it acts as a form of practice for good writing (no doubt if i write a crappy post, i expect Svet to slam it), and simply because i get more joy out of PT by being more detailed (when applicable) to posts i write, which required a basic level of competency at writing.

In terms of worldview however, I think PT has helped me in finding a community where I can say i fit in. At the end of the day, we're all nerds with a niche interest in politics. That's quite rare to the wider world, and simply being apart of this community has been quite helpful for finding a community. 

How do you feel about the end of Particracy Classic — and what do you hope remains remembered?

Honestly, I feel conflicted on Classic. I liked it, but it also did have it's flaws. Immense flaws (cough cough election mechanic). Admittedly, I think what upsets me the most was the lack of communication. Not between the community and the mods, but with Wouter. During my tenure as a mod (before I got Union Busted™), it kind of opened my eyes to the fact that the game was on life support. Click a wrong button? Congrats, it's shit itself for 30 minutes. Server went down? You best pray to a God cause Wouter only accepts pigeon carriers. I understand that people have lives, and that people move on from hobbies and interests. I understand that, no doubt. But I don't think it can justify Wouter essentially leaving the community, with zero communication whatsoever and leaving it up to us (the collective community) to keep it alive. I'm simultaneously glad he didn't kill the game and leave since then, none of us would be here. But still. Zero communication from Wouter, is what I'd say was my biggest disappointment about Classic. At least even a few more messages to the Mods or Greek would've gone a long ways for the community, and the game.