[Declined] Pikl Vaurca Loredev Application

[pickled_tomato]

Ckey/BYOND Username: pikl

Position Being Applied For Vaurca Loredev

Past Experiences/Knowledge:

I have experience working with the staff team firsthand, as I was previously CCIA. I have been playing on Aurora for around a year, and I believe that I have a firm grasp as to what the standard for lore on this server is. Furthermore, I very much enjoy creative writing, and would have no issue with what being a loredev involves.

Do you play Vaurca extensively? Why?

Yep. Vaurca and Diona. I enjoy the difference that Vaurca bring to the table. When playing a Vaurca, thematically I'm already at a lower standing than most humans. I have to work for what I'm hoping to achieve, or simply not work at all, and further the stereotypes that already exist for Vaurca. I really enjoy this. To be so different from humans, but to still be individuals. Even with Bound, I have seen many differences in how they interact with their environment. The other day I was very interested to see a drone simply discard an order that was given to it because the Vaurca who gave the order was from Lii'dra. Some drones that I have encountered have simply accepted orders, and have had an IQ similar to my chair.

If you were chosen for Lore Developer, what would your plans be for Vaurca?

As of right now, I think that Vaurca are in an interesting spot. On one end, they're almost completely fine as is. Their lore works, but, on a different end, their lore leaves an extreme amount of room for development. I've seen many interesting things said and done from Vaurca players, in terms of their own backstories. But it's clear that Vaurca are in a major transitional phase. They're interacting with other races for the first time, many interacting as refugees. So, I'll just list a couple of possible ideas to make things easy on the eyes.

The VR, as of right now, just exists as far as Vaurca lore in concerned. I have a couple of ideas in relation to expanding the VR to not just be something that exists, but instead is something that can be interacted with. Right now, if someone wanted to mention the VR to someone else in-game, they would likely have to stop talking about it after they say "Oh wow, it'zz a paradizz. Wow, I'm really deprezzed that I am not in it!!" It's minor, but it would be fantastic if there were more talking points about the VR.

As of right now, Vaurca are just refugees. They're a burden to other races, and there's several massive hiveships floating around, that other races don't really want to piss off. Vaurca are tolerated, but treated like ass. They're treated like the giant space bugs that they are. It would be interesting to see this develop more. In coordination with other lore developers, there are several interesting events, and developments that can easily, and believably happen, given the current situation that Vaurca face.

Lastly, food for thought. Another hiveship flies in. One that was previously not known about. What happens? Event? Development? Where would it happen, and what differences might the Hiveship have with others?

Would you embark on major or minor rewrites of Vaurca lore? If yes, why is your rewrite worth it?

Short answer: Leaning towards a no.

Long answer: It depends on what would be best for the server. I can brainstorm a bunch of things right now that could have happened, but why? The few things I would want to do, as of right now, without input from other lore-devs, would be to elaborate on a couple of things. There are certain parts of Vaurca lore that are extremely vague. What does a hiveship look like? How are Vaurca organized? What differences might Zo'ra and K'lax have, in regards to how the function. I believe that these minor details are important, in setting a guide for others. Right now, many Vaurca backstories are mostly the same. "Wow, that VR was great. Time to get treated like shit from the humans!" You have to admit, there's not much you can write about, without pulling a bunch of shit out of your ass, and hoping that it flies. I think that there should be more talking points in regards to Vaurca, because an interesting foundation has already been set.

[Bygonehero]

Since you seem keener than the other applicants on keeping things as they are, what is the single most important thing that you feel needs to be changed? What would you change it to? Beyond their size and bereft of interior decorations what does a hive ship look like to you? What is the importance of the hive-ships now that Vaurca are colonizing?

[pickled_tomato]

Since you seem keener than the other applicants on keeping things as they are, what is the single most important thing that you feel needs to be changed? What would you change it to? Beyond their size and bereft of interior decorations what does a hive ship look like to you? What is the importance of the hive-ships now that Vaurca are colonizing?

 

As I believe I stated in my app, the thing that I think most needs to be changed is the amount of information that has been given about certain aspects of Vaurca. I believe that if there is an elaboration on much of Vaurca history, Vaurca lifestyle, and Vaurca culture in general, Vaurca backstories can grow to be much more dynamic than they are at the moment.

As far as hive ships go, I don't know what they'd look like! I would love to establish a sort of design norm as far as hive ships are concerned. As of right now, when I imagine hive ships, I imagine something close to what the Orks of 40k drive, except not literally made of scraps of junk. Here is an image for reference.

Think something like this, on a larger scale.

As far as the functionality of Hive Ships is concerned, they're still serving as living space for a large number of Vaurca, I believe. I like to imagine Hive Ships as mobile cities, fitted with restaurants, markets, Vaurca implant specialists, VR Rooms, living quarters, some sort of Bound slum/quarters, etc. But I would love to design some difference as far as Zo'ra and K'lax are concerned. The possibilities are endless.

[Bygonehero]

I would like to hear your thoughts on the nature of the Vaurca hive-mind.

I personally think the term hive-mind is a misnomer, Vaurcas don't completely share consciousness. It is my personal opinion that The Vaurca 'hive-mind' is more like a giant organism. Take Zo'ra for example, with the Queen as the brain and Lesser Queens as vital organs. Worker and Warrior groups of Vaurca with a similar profession or jobs compose a Hive-cell, lesser organs in the body of Zo'ra.

In this setup, Individual hive-cells can be completely ignorant of each other and still be connected. After all, a bodies immune system does not need to know what the stomach is doing to work.

This is by no means canon, it's just my personal interpretation. It neatly explains Vaurca reasoning and the brutal efficiency highlighted in their species while also allowing each Vaurca to have different enjoyments and hobbies.

To reiterate, what is your interpretation of the Vaurca Hive-mind? Is it pheromones? Technology? Or is it something else entirely?

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello,

Sorry I took longer to respond to this application.I wanted to make sure I read each one fully and tried to give each one the proper attention.

You said you want to keep Vaurca more or less the same with the major change to their VR.

Adding a new hiveship is a big deal; each hiveship has its own full arc. What do you feel will benefit us in focusing on a new introductory hiveship rather than focusing on the Vaurca we already have? What sort of introduction to a Hiveship have we not explored in the four hiveships that we've already encountered?

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Hello again,

Thank you for your application. Unfortunately another applicant has been chosen. I encourage you to continue contributing to the server in your own ways.