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.
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