Guild Wars & Politics. Would they ever mix?

Do you think the developers at Anet would ever introduce real world politics into Guild Wars.

Imagine an anti-bush or anti-blaire compain in LA with pickets or a sit in.

Imagine they put suttle messages into the messages of NPCs around the game, making bold statements against illegal-wars or animal rights, poverty or global warming.

But imagine all those things being twisted to have a Guild Wars perspective, so as not to be so blatent. Names being changed for legal issues, but it still being obvious who they mean. Blaire being changed to something else and Bush being changed to something else, but the message still existing.

I dont see why it would be impossible. Countless other games introduce strong political views. Expressing an opinion was and is never a bad thing, aslong as it hurts no one.

But I wouldnt suggest a pro-longed political statement or message. Just something over a weekend of a day. Nothing which would detract from Guild Wars being a game and about exscaping the real world.

Imagine an old 70s style hippy standing in the center of LA, asking us all to go to a collector to get a picket sign, and to then sit around him while he makes a statement. With LA guards around us in a circle, ready incase we get violent.

With periodic riots kicking off and you have to kill the guards before they can get to the hippy. If you win, we keeps chanting. If he looses, you have to wait for him to return, which he only does if you all sit at a certain spot for 30 minutes.

Then he casually stroles over, lights a role of <insert none taboo name> and puffs away and starts making his statement. If you sit and listen the whole time, you get a role of <insert none taboo name> which makes you trip and counts towards the drunk title.

So are we all ready and wanting some political stands in GWs? or is it something best left to the real world? or is it too risky?

It would certainly get media attention, and thats not always a bad thing. And I bet alot of people at Anet have some strong views on certain things.



I realise a few of those examples of a bit tooo politically risky, but you get the idea. But I thought the hippy thing was just cool.

well Nightfall introduced some quests with strong moral desitions, but failed to carry them to conscecuences, as far as political involvement why? where is the benefit in-game of such things? I fail to see them, mock outside world? thats just tacky IMO

Let's also do the following:
- Anti-semitic protest (of course, disguised as anti Tyrian protest)
- Ku Klux Klan meeting (grentchies wearing white hats)
- Pro abortion protests (gwen gets repeatedly killed)
- Pro-Hamas movement (pick a packet, and blow someone up)
- Communist party party (everyone gets the same look and same ammount of money)
- Group supporting adoption of children into same sex marriages (...something)

Hey, this could be fun.

Now close this before too many problems arise.

You have something against gays Antheus? It saddens me that you cite same sex marriages in the same list as Ku Klux Klan and Anti Semitic. The godfather of my child is gay and Im certainly not worried about it.

I seriously doubt it.

RED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GORED ENGINE GO no.Theres enough Idiocy in GuildWars as is.

And don't mock the Communists. The idea of a fantasy game is to get away from real life, which would be ruined by adding politics etc.

I play Guild Wars. Not Politic Wars.

People already take the whole Luxon vs Kurzick thing way too serious and they are just fictional factions. Think about what real life politics would do....

Come on Anth, a bit of intelligent debate never hurt anyone. I think it will be informative to see what opinions come out this thread. It should weed out the childish if they cant even manage a friendly discussion about politics in GWs.

And here's the reason why this is forbidden by default. People have different opinions. And these are serious issues which cost people lives. This is why they are strictly forbidden from most public media.

Why was me quoting this wrong? Why does it matter if it's in the same list? They are all issues which occur daily. Why shouldn't they be discussed? What if someone's opinions do differ? What if those opinions make them willing to sacrifice their life for them? What if someone is a believing christian and gay is cardinal sin to them? Do you realize that this statement alone is a grave insult in that context?

How about child porn. Absolutely taboo in Western world, and thriving in Japan in form of Hentai or even worse forms.

Do you honestly believe that people start political movements because they need something to do on Sunday afternoon? It's childish to quote serious issues which affect lives, and of course deaths of millions daily in scope of a game. Yea, level 20 guards to make fun out of something that may destroy your retirement plan or the regime you live in.

These aren't funny things, and they aren't something you mock about.

I never suggested the situations going on in this world are funny. Im thinking calm down. I was suggesting an intelligent, light hearted debate. Not to pick fun at those less fortunate. I suggested these protests to allow Anet the chance to enlighten the younger amoung us to the issues going on in the world. As education. Not fun picking.

I dont appreciate you suggesting I was.

But hey, if people are incapable of simply talking and debating issues such as these without loosing their rag, then please can someone close this thread which I only just made.

It seems Anth has proven his own point by already going over the top about this.

I apologise for trying to inject some intelligent conversation into the website.

/no

This would be the worst the GW could ever imagine to do.

No reason for discussion, no need to debate.

Keep the fantasy separate from reality.

If Anet is smart enough to keep pet Pandas from the game, they are surely smart enough to go nowhere near this idea.

Surely if you want to bring politics into it you'd need to do it in a way that was in-keeping with the game... Like with the festivals. You can't call it Christmas...it is Winterval. So any festival would have to be non-religious OR named after an in-game GW god. Like Festival of Lyssa or something. Same goes for politics...problem is...this is where it gets boring. Yea...let's all vote for a new Emperor of Cantha...Thing is...all the emperor does it get targetted by lunatic bodyguards who want some royal blood...it's not like they take taxes... "Politics" in GW would be more like Monks going on strike or demanding money for helping in missions...just don't go there.

Is this a joke? Of course games can, as you put it "introduce strong political views." There's nothing wrong with NPC groups in the game expressing political ideology as part of the storyline--the Stone Summit, for example, are blatantly xenophobic. If players want to discuss government and politics from real life in chat, there's nothing wrong with that either. As a politics junkie, I would be glad to join in.

But what you suggest is completely different. What you suggest would do nothing but trivialize weighty real world events by subverting them into "fun and games" and making a mockery of political issues in the process.

Please tell me this is a joke. Please tell me "Blaire" is a joke too. Or have I missed out on a new and important personage in the political sphere? And fyi, by the 70's, the hippie movement in America was in decline. Hippies flourished the most as part of the counterculture of the 1960s.

If we also have the choice to help the guards and kill the hippy, I'm in.

EDIT: Forgot the "we."

No,

Hell no,

Absolutely NO.

As I strongly suspect is the case for most people, I play GW to relax and have fun, not to listen to some idiot's mental diarrhea passed off as real-world political discourse.

NO

I play GW to get away from the annoyances of Real Life crap like Politics

GWGuru isn't the forum for what you want - go find some lighthearted political website and tuck in. Good luck with that too.

Oh, and thanks for insulting people when they get upset about real world concerns, no matter what forum they are engaged in. Just because you can have a good time and be flippant about what some people consider grave concerns, thats fine. Just don't get all uppity when we don't want to play along.

QFT

nine xtra

This is a really weird thread. That being said, all I can reply to it is: No.