Banned by abydos2: Admin complaint and ban appeal for Yre

[Blame]

ADMIN BYOND KEY: @Abydos

CKEY: Yre

DATE OF INCIDENT: 12/6/2019

Nature of complaint:  I think rule 2 needs a revision

tl;dr: Playing the legendary culinary artist Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson made me eat a ban.

 

Full description of events:

I think Rule 2 needs amending; and here's why.

 

I am totally in love with SS13. It's basically science fiction DnD with fast paced rounds. Play SS13 for any stretch of time and you'll find it is loaded with references to dozens of science fiction books and movies; Aliens, Dune, The Thing, Enterprise, The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Neuromancer, Star Wars, and from whatever hell the clown was dragged from; to name what comes immediately to mind. We are playing a game that is wholly full of references and nods of homage to classic works of art that defined science fiction and modern technology. Why would we deny that to it's players? Don't references to fully fleshed living universes only increase our immersion of the game? What is a xenomorph, why should it cause fear and panic among the crew? In-game, it's a wonky 2D sprite; it's the movies, the shows, the books we've read that are so full of detail that could never fit in a single game, that allows us to fill in the rest. I know why I'm afraid of xenomorphs, I've seen them in action. I'm not afraid of a 2-Dimensional sprite, but my imagination fills in the rest; and that is what is so great about SS13.

It is not a completely unique universe. It is a universe hodgepodged together from dozens of sources. Given the limited nature of the engine, we cannot simulate why a xenomorph is scary, we cannot show how gruesome a changeling is when it sucks up its prey through its proboscis; you don't know why a malignant artificial intelligence is extremely dangerous unless you've lived through it, through some context, by the movie or by the book, 2001 A Space Odyssey.

By playing as characters with already developed personalities; we are only adding to the story, not subtracting! You do not know what kind of captain "Wilson Jones" will be, and you will only have the vaguest idea after a two hour round. You do know who Jean-Luc Picard is, what kind of captain he is; and this backstory can only add to your experience! You know how to interact with your captain and what to expect. You know what to expect when you meet a shadowling named Akira in the hallway. RUN.

When a player chooses a name, they are signaling to other players what kind of person they're playing. Sometimes names are just a reference to a meme, fully fleshed characters made just to ask passerby's if they can smell WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKING. Another reference added, to a game constantly paying homage. You wouldn't get it if my name was John Doe. You also wouldn't get why Airhead Jones, the atmospheric technician, is so damn clueless about everything. Or why the clown keeps screaming after his own jokes, until you read his name, Screamo the Clown.

 

Anyway. I love SS13. If there's something I can contribute to the community, even if it's through a ban appeal, I'd take the time and effort to try to change the game in a way that increases its fun for all players. I do think Rule 2 needs amending. However, in the interests of the community,  I don't think silly names should be the norm. I think it should depend upon the discretion of the admins. Playing with Jean-Luc Picard and HAL every round would be boring...but you'd be damn sure I'd be excited to play a round with my favorite captain.



I have attached a shortened version of the conversation between the admins and myself.

 

 

 

 

 

[necaladun]

I'm personally fine with how the rules work in regards to naming. 

I do not want to play on the kind of server that has memes like dwayne the rock johnson running around shouting catchphrases.

If that's the kind of server you wish for then I advise playing on a server like that - we have no intention of changing our rules to match those.

 

Complaint can be considered resolved.