Pax Transhumanity rules, footnote 50: TYCOON FUTURE. In a future where state power is eroded, socially responsible businesses will assume many of the traditional roles of central democratic governments in improving infrastructure and leveling barriers.
Legomancer wrote: Pax Transhumanity rules, footnote 50: TYCOON FUTURE. In a future where state power is eroded, socially responsible businesses will assume many of the traditional roles of central democratic governments in improving infrastructure and leveling barriers.
lol, lmao
You can kinda hold up Disney and it's orlando "protectorate" as an example of this. They control the infrastructure, they have a keen interest in making it nice for their customers, and if it is stripped away and handed over to local government will Disney potholes get fixed as quickly? But corporate interests are, perhaps permanently, tied to profit as money is life for business and they can't make their own (yet). So unlike a government that can sorta kinda operate outside of economics, at least for a while, and place citizen welfare above business, a corporation is hopelessly tied to profit as a measure of success.
Of course these days there are corporations that outlast governments, so maybe they are on to something
Are there any other games that have, well, I was going to say, footnotes as obnoxious as Eklund's, but, I'll just back down from that high bar and say, obnoxious footnotes? Or even obnoxious "scene-setting" essays or explanations?
(Because basically I am watching corporations replace government services in real time and need to get a laugh somehow).
My favorite Eklund moment is in the rules for the original edition of Pax Pamir. There's this long essay on how Colonialism was good, actually, and how the countries that were colonized by European powers should thank those powers for bringing the wonders of Western Civilization to them. Typical bullshit, except he then goes on to state that this of course doesn't apply to Afghanistan since it was never actually colonized. So in other words, this has nothing to do with the game at hand, Phil just felt like Colonialism needed a cheerleader and this was as good a place as any to volunteer.
mc wrote: Are there any other games that have, well, I was going to say, footnotes as obnoxious as Eklund's, but, I'll just back down from that high bar and say, obnoxious footnotes? Or even obnoxious "scene-setting" essays or explanations?
(Because basically I am watching corporations replace government services in real time and need to get a laugh somehow).
I'd guess there is some pretty rough stuff in some wargame designer notes. I've played wargames that made assumptions that were pretty cringey but not too many that then put that cringey agenda in the designers notes. But I'm sure they exist.
For wargames, sure some designers adopt stances/positions that are definitely cringey - Nazi worship being the most obvious.But they rarely come across as blatantly as some of the societal comments that Eklund makes. They might say something like "this game assumes that the Germans could have done better than they did historically" or focusing too much attention on chrome rules that showcase supposed German capabilities. I am not a Civil War buff, but I wouldn't be surprised to see some similar biases there given how their leadership is often portrayed, like the Germans, as being "cool" and better than the Union .
I've now played Pax Transhumanity twice and taught through it. I think it's a really interesting design and I think I have a good teach for it down. There is also a Vassal module, which I haven't tried out yet. If anyone would like to give it a try on Vassal I'd be happy to teach it. Just holler.
Games
How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
