Ah, corporations. It’s been so long since I’ve encountered the wondrous roleplaying of all the individuals that dominated the subforum. A wonder it would be to return to the days of the past, wouldn’t it? Yes, it would. So, I come forward to you all with a proposition to renew this wonderful subforum and allow it to reach its full potential. The core of this plan has three points, based upon the foundation of the web-like interaction between individuals. The first -- encourage a chain of supply. Second, start the growth of alliances. Lastly, create the template for events in the Corporation world. Feel free to drop any thoughts you may have regarding the matter below, and take these thoughts into consideration. Any assistance would be much appreciated. The first step: encourage a chain of supply. For example, the Space Hobo Corporation manufactures cheap clothing, they send it to the retailer via Stellar Stealth Transportation, and the retailer, We Are Mercantilists, sells it. We have the various groups ultimately cooperating in order to produce the end product. The categories of corporations are divided into the process of making/purchasing the product Raw Materials Supplier -- Getting the absolute basics. Think mining companies, pumping out iron and polluting the environment in order to give the companies the stuff they need to build whatever they build. Manufacturer -- These folks create the materials and make sure they have no defects (or ensure it). Simple enough; make l0lcats. Delivery -- They make sure things go from point A to point B without being either: bribed, killed, mutilated, devoured, or hypnotised. Simple enough, right? Well, not exactly, with that plague of space dragons... Militaristic -- Guards or militia to prevent the supplies from falling into the wrong hands. Retailer -- The sellers of the goods to the average consumer. This may not be necessary in the world of machinations, but it provides the sense of security that capitalism is ensured to bring. Right? Well, let’s just hope there aren’t too many taxes. Miscellaneous -- Anything you can conjure up. Militias? Check. Corrupt news reporters with an unreasonable amount of public influence? Check. Scammer society? Check. Whatever, man, whatever... Quite obviously, there is more to companies than this simple chain of command, but this is the basic infrastructure upon which all else will be built. And that’s not all -- there can be more types, depending on how creative one can be, and news companies, espionage networks, planetary governments -- they can all be used for further fun (See Dwarf Fortress definition). The stars are the limits, my friends The second point of the Corporation Revitalization Plan is alliances. These may be any groups of corporations that find it beneficial to stick by each other and stand by as a whole in order to make as many pixels as possible. Again, this is an almost limitless opportunity. Sanction half of the galaxy if you’re powerful enough; no one’s strong enough to stop you. What fun can result from this... Alliances are generally to be held together by the corporations themselves, with possible voting power by their CEO/ruling bodies, although closer collaboration could possibly work in the twisted world of Corporations. Again, I stress the importance of autonomy -- be creative. The final lubricant in the engines is events. No real world economy system is purely and only governed by the rules of monetary finance. There are further influences from the outside world, and be it for good or for bad, they sure make for some interesting opportunities. They can upend alliances, tear apart friendships, and make things anew. This will introduce a certain dynamism that can be dealt with in the most interesting of manners, and should prove to be a very fruitful method of interaction. Now, there are a few problems with it, not limited to: Who creates the event? Who runs it? Who will partake in it? How will it not devolve into a mass of stupidity? These are all very valid and pressing issues. However, this system can prove to work with this as well. The freedom involved with the Revitalization Plan would allow people to work together in order to do this, with an alliance would be the most common method of going about doing this. The toy-making company alliance finds themselves at a lack of children. All of them have gone and eaten too much ice cream; poor them. This simple scenario demonstrates the system’s power. The event is created and managed by a group of collaborating individuals who are willing to make an effort at interesting roleplay. It is managed by the participating members. Whoever wants to; it’s a free roleplaying area, and if you want to contribute to the fun, it will be all better. The same way general roleplay doesn’t; individuals hold each other accountable, and when the force is too great for the ordinary forumgoer to overcome (horde of trolls, anyone?), the moderating arm of the forum will set things right. Now, this mechanic will allow for the more nuanced interaction that comes from the more extreme circumstances than the regular plodding of individuals as they continue about their well-worn home corporation roads. And you can use your imagination to do whatever you wish. Create a bandit organization? Wonderful. Now the others will have something to react to, and they’ll possible create their own protection services. This will lead to a greater output of activity, as everything is linked together. This, I believe, is the prevailing virtue of this interconnected system. You will have an impact on the world, but not so much that you will be the god of it all. If you have the initiative to start and end something, do so, by all means. Anything to breathe life into this wondrous hive of activity. So rise, my comrades. The sky’s the limit, but we’re beyond in the stars.
Theoretically, could a corporation be several kinds of things? I have a Weapon manufacturing company, but it would e cool to be a Militia as well... I think I'm going to start visiting this subforum again. I had such great times on here.
I'm thinking perhaps we could include some central threads such as a sort of universe trade center, so to speak. It never hurts to have a hub for all business.
So we'd move the trade away from the Corporations and into these trade threads? It sounds rather... chaotic, but it certainly has its merits (government control, ).
I think this thread needs more views. And a Sticky. I REALLY want this subforum to boom again. Although perhaps we might have to wipe them clean, there's so much stuff in here. It's almost as cluttered as my room...
I'm afraid to go in there now What can possibly rival this in depth of messiness... And the first thing I've thought is that this should be separated from the Clans subforum if it really wants to get views from all those newcomers. Anyone with me?
I've noticed a huge decline in corporate activities since the subforums were merged. If we get them separated, we'll probably get more people here.
I totally agree with you. The Merging with the Clans subforum put this place out of its misery. It was like the sympathy shot that one would give to a small animal that was slowly bleeding out from an infected wound. Also, this is my desk. Marvel at its exquisite messiness.
Meh, my desk's so cluttered I've forgotten its original color. And it is true, we did get a sympathy shot here, but I think it was a bit premature.