"I love that you've brought this to attention. An extensive database of uncommon but resistant and hardy plants/foods could be developed and organized by climate. Ease of growth and processing should also be taken in to account. I will try to…"
A crash course in changing the world.
The EVOKE final stretch and the fallacy of points farming.
So, 10 days left to change the world.
And 10 days where I feel like I have to force myself to see this through to the end.
The reality is I have been loosing my will to EVOKE. The reasons are many: Agent feuds, bans, administrative abuse, content censorship, people trying to force their own vision unto your evocations, points farming, Jane's reluctance to be a part of her own game, the increasing focus on EVOKE 'top dogs', etc. etc.
It just feels to me like EVOKE has lost much of what it originally attracted me to it. It appears to now be more about who will win and what agents are best, rather than what projects and ideas people are offering. It is all about who's got the most points rather than who is contributing the most.
And make no mistake, Power Points are not really an indication of somebody's contribution or the quality of their ideas. They are merely a reflection of how many mass mails they send vs. the length of their friends list. As for me, I have not sent a single mass mail, and I don't intend to. You may think I am a poor gamer or that I am not playing to win, but I chose to do so out of a moral stand of fairness to other players.
Furthermore, nowhere in EVOKE does it say Power Points are the way to "win" any of the awards. In fact, the related article indicates quite clearly that the criteria will be based on the EVOKATION itself and that players who have completed all runes will be given first priority. First priority: that means you don't even need to complete all the goals to "win".
This was supposed to be about social innovation, not what agents come out on top, who's giving nasty looks at who or who got banned for what. This was supposed about developing new ideas and paradigms, not censorship vs. who has the loudest voice. This was supposed to be a forum of expression and innovation for everyone, not a mere focus on the top players.
Yes, I know I am on the leader board. Yes, I know I have been featured a few times and Hero of the Week twice. Yes, I know I am one of the "top players", and that may make some think this rant comes from a high horse or a pedestal of sorts, but it does not. It comes from the frustration of seeing what once was a fertile ground to exchange ideas into a mad rat race for the top as May 12th draws closer. It comes from people half heartedly completing runes and then mass mailing their work to farm for achieved goals and power points instead of trying to actually complete the goal itself. The closer we get to the finish line, the more it becomes about "winning" than it is about EVOKING. It is increasingly about who has the most points than it is about ideas.
In the last couple weeks, I have read more about who's on the top ranks, conspiracy theories about the World Bank, censorship, bans, personal attacks between agents and general eDrama than I have about new ideas and EVOKATIONS.
All the grievances I mention on this post are not getting anyone on the verge of an "epic win", they are just drawing EVOKE closer and closer to an epic FAIL.
And to be honest, at this point I just don't care anymore. I am forcing myself to complete the runes with actual thoughts and ideas just because a part of me has to see this thing through to the end and because from the beginning I decided to challenge myself to do so, but EVOKE has lost it's spark for me.
Personally, I'd rather see all the prizes go to charity instead of exclusively to the "top players". Specially if, in the end, points do prove to be the main criteria.
And to show I'm serious about this issue, I have decided to stop voting my own content.
Nobody has to be a "top player" to post an idea worth noting or to "win" anything, and it should not be that way. Nobody should have a large friends list as a requirement to be a top player. Nobody should be pestered about changing his ideas to fit someone else's vision. No agent should antagonize and insult another just for the sake of being argumentative. No content should be censored under bogus pretenses that reek of a personal vendetta. No GM should refuse to participate in their own game. No agent should ever offer half assed content simply to light a rune. No content should be spammed just to farm points.
And above all, no agent should be driven by what they can win as opposed to what they have to offer. The moment that becomes a goal, EVOKE in turn becomes an EPIC FAIL.
Views: 28
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Comment by Sarah O.Connor Panamericana on May 4, 2010 at 12:38am
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How can it be rather unrelated if it is part of the WB Group,
Its like if I say Lays its unrelated to Pepsico,
who is in command, obviously Pepsico.
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Comment by Julio Cesar Corona Ortega on May 4, 2010 at 12:47am
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Sarah's a****sment is quite accurate, actually. This is why Hasbro really is the one that calls the shots at Wizard of the Coast, but that is an entirely different and very angry rant. Point is, I agree with Sarah on that one.
And I do know it will not be just points. In my post itself I mentioned EVOKE never indicated points as a criteria to decide who gets the awards. But many agents, and notoriously, those in the leader board, appear to be fascinated but who has the most of what and who is going to "win", which I think the idea itself is anathema to the spirit of EVOKE.
And again, in agreement with Sarah, I doubt the most... shall we say, "maverick"?... projects and agents will be acknowledged.
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I like McGyver better
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McGyver is good, but I don't need to build a nuclear reactor with a beer can, a rubber band and two bags of lightly salted peanuts, at the moment.
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Comment by Chris Ke Sihai on May 4, 2010 at 6:46am
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But many agents, and notoriously, those in the leader board, appear to be fascinated but who has the most of what and who is going to "win",
That's probably how they got onto the leader board. It's there as a way of motivating the people who care about that sort of stuff, and incidentally gets them to devote some of their energy to something worthwhile.
The net result is that people who just want to win are compelled to learn at least something about the issues, take some small action, and envision the future with/without their active effort to make change. It may not result in "us" helping "the needy" but it may result in a few of us becoming slightly better people. Not exactly an epic win, but it's better than nothing.
I have lots of criticisms of Evoke, but I decided to stop thinking about them and instead to focus on what the next iteration of the game could be. Articles like this one are valuable food for thought, and I agree with most of what you say, but don't let yourself be fooled into following the herd.
The EVOKATION is in addition to the game. It's not part of it, not a prize. It's something you can do even if you haven't completed anything, but of course the quality of your posts and other media is the only way the awards committee have of evaluating you.
For the record, I stopped worrying about how many points I have last week. I figured that once you get into the hundreds it doesn't really matter any more. The people who think it's important are naturally going to talk about this topic, and if they happen to outnumber the smart people then that's their problem. The rest of us can just keep on working away to make change in the real world.
Perhaps there should be another points category: actual lives saved (or improved by some measurable criteria)
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Comment by Crispy on May 4, 2010 at 7:15am
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Well stated Julio. I respect your stand against mass mailings, and can't help but second your notion on the spaminess that has taken root. However, I can't deny that Evoke has done a good work. Anyone who actually strove to complete missions came out smarter, and more prepared to help the world. I learn new and useful information with each post I read and write, and I know this is true for anyone else who went through with it. Despite the (predictable?) degeneration that seems evident with all mmo's, this exercise in global responsibility has not been without its fruits. Keep up the good fight.
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