Hi, my name's Russell and this is my first diary. (Hi, Russell!) I'm a Texas software developer with a Master's from UT. I'm also a gamer, and an outspoken liberal atheist.
I've been a Daily Kos reader for many years, but I rarely comment and have never posted a diary yet. I participate on a few message boards and am a contributor to three blogs. As such, I had a hard time justifying participation in another forum, especially one with hundreds of comments on most prominent posts.
I am the occasional host of a popular public access show on atheism, as well as an avid World of Warcraft player. These two hobbies intersected when a fan of the show who also plays WoW and reads dkos invited me to join Wreck List, the dkos Warcraft guild. So far, from playing occasionally and lurking in guild chat, I've enjoyed what I see. Warcraft AND politics together? Two of my favorite things -- why, it's like peanut butter and chocolate!
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I haven't really introduced myself properly to the Wreckies yet other than answering the occasional "who the hell are you?" question in chat. That's why I've decided to post some diaries over the next few days. After all, it's difficult to find an intersection of readers who like both politics and games, so this is as good a place as any to put my thoughts on the two.
First, by way of introduction, here are my other blogs.
Personal blog: Kazim's Korner
Group blog for my TV show: The Atheist Experience
Software development blog: Castles of Air.
Also, my characters on Garrosh are a horde death knight named Karzarm and a shaman named Druuz. Elsewhere, my main character is this big ol' hunk of Draenei Paladin tank.
Before my next post, let me give a short rundown of my philosophy, because I have a couple of justifications for how these two hobbies relate to one another. First of all, running a country well is all about good game design. A game, whether it's a computer game or chess or football, is designed to make its participants and/or spectators have fun. A society is designed to make its inhabitants live well.
I think lawmakers often forget this principle, because politics becomes a game that is about beating the opposition at all costs. Now, this isn't some milquetoast statement about how "it doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game." It sure as hell DOES matter. It's just that winning the game is a means to an end, where the end is that we all live long, happy lives, participate in activities that are fulfilling, and don't get killed or unjustly imprisoned, or wind up stuck as a starving serf. That's what the game is really about. Fun.
But when it comes to electing leaders who are rational and effective, it's very much a competitive game. The same strategies often apply to politics as to chess, WoW arenas, team shooters, or real-time strategy games. Same lessons are valid when it comes to faking out your opponents, learning from enemy tactics, and pressing your advantage when you have one. I've learned a lot from a series of articles called Playing To Win, and I think they carry over well in understanding why Democrats often seem to be so incredibly bad at the political game they are trying to play.
Anyway, I wanted to keep this fairly short, so I will just leave it at that for now. But coming up in the next day or so, I'll be posting on something that's been bugging me for a while. It's about the dynamics of random dungeon groups, and how Libertarian mentality is a hindrance to success in badge runs.