[Accepted] Zundy - Human Lore Dev App

[Zundy]

Ckey/BYOND Username: Zundy

Position Being Applied For (coder, mapper, spriter): Human Lore Dev

Past Experiences/Knowledge: -

-I used to run a wiki on a NWN 2 Roleplaying server "Tales of Moonsea" though it ended up getting scrapped as it was taking up server space.

-I've also been a DM on said server for over 6 years and was head DM for around 3 years. During that time I wrote the entire server backstory and story arc for the "Herald of Chaos" campaign which has been ongoing for around 5 years. (User Cryosphere).

-I also run tabletop games every so often with my group, areas of expertise is WH40K, Dark Heresy, Pathfinder. D&D 3.5e and some Iron Kingdoms and some Warmachine. Usually I homebrew the modules.

-I'm a Quality and Compliance Manager in real life so I appreciate working to targets, time management and attention to detail.

Examples of Past Work:

-Server side I try to organise events for players to get involved IG, the latest being the ATLAS event.

-Lore wise, my latest contribution (Odin Lore) can be seen here: https://forums.aurorastation.org/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=9018

-Generally I like to think I help some of the lore devs with feedback (kekers) and ideas.

Preferred Mode of Communication (Skype, Steam, etc.): These forums, discord (Zundy).

Additional Comments:

My main idea for the lore is not to rewrite anything but instead build upon. My first area of focus is going to be around Biesel itself and the frontier factions, namely Elyra and Dominia at present. I would be very keen to work with the new Ant dev regarding a project relating to Elyra and the Vaurca.

Regarding Biesel in particular, I want to pick up and run with the current Vaurca problem as well as shine a light on factions within Biesel which can be reflected in game in the form of events. I'd need to learn the sooper seeecret background lore though to see if my ideas will fit and to know what's running in the background. I don't want to step on any toes.

Further, I will be overviewing all factions across human lore as a whole and seeing if I can bring them forward to the playerbase as well as update them to reflect current events, for example: ATLAS not being huge Nazi's, highlighting political groups in Biesel, drawing some focus onto the frontier etc.

Lastly, I'll also be looking for current opinions and ideas of and from the playerbase to see what sort of currently overlooked ammunition we've got to play with and of course, I want to establish a close relationship with the coding dev team so that I can bring tangible, well informed and reasonable change to the table with their guidance.

I've been here a few years and I've always been interested in the human lore side of things (alongside the Unathi) and I'd love to be given a change to bring some new ideas to the server which I think the playerbase will like. I also like to think I mesh well with the admins and devs in general, you're my bois/grills.

Thanks for your consideration, if you have an questions or reservations let me know below and I'll try to answer as best as I can.

[Coalf]

Hey Zundy my man, making an app? Great! Because I seriously support you dude!

Allowing Zundy to be a human loredev would seriously be a good idea as I've already had chance to interact with him.

I'd say he's instant to recognize and utilize great ideas and is a great listener no matter who they are or what they're talking about.

Like I said once before human lore is behind both on the wiki and current affairs, nothing really explores the different colonies.

During the events humans were used sure, but not really as their own species but mostly as some kind of a background setting.

On the other hand they got a lot of negative light thanks to this as they were used as the "bad guys" while IPCs were the good guys.

My opinion is that humans particularly Solians are used way too much as antagonists of space.

I'd like to see them in different ways, not only good of course I'm no hail humanity guy but new and refreshing takes on humanity.

Now my main concern is the shifting focus on Vaurca and hopes that this wouldn't become Starship Troopers.

In short, I seriously recommend Zundy as a human loredev due to his ideas, creativity and abillity to take a project and finish it.

Also I'd recommend reading the first letter of every sentence. ;^)

+1

[hivefleetchicken]

I have one concern with your application, and it's something I see in every application for human loredev.

All of you state that you wish to make ATLAS more mild. I reality want to discourage that idea. The faction was originally created as a fascist party against Xenos in the interests of preserving mankind. It had a complete neo-nazi ethos.

A lot of recent work has made ATLAS fade in strength and concentration, and I have large criticisms of most of the goals of many players involved with the politics of the group. Most of them don't actually follow ATLAS (I had one of your candidates for ATLAS presidente or whatnot asking an unathi and his sister for a threesome) and it really gets my gout.

I beg of you not to make ATLAS milder in the slightest. In fact, I think you need to up the gas, make ATLAS appear on the news for committing crimes. Maybe ESPIONAGE. You only lose roleplay by making factions and aspects "more realistic", or as I like to call it, "zero calorie lore".

There is a much better way to do this, and this it it:

Make ATLAS evil. Make them as evil as the most militant follower of ATLAS on-station is. Now you have properly represented the faction for how it appears on the server. But, now ATLAS is a domestic terrorist organization. Then put well-spoken, well-funded guys at the head of it.

"Us at human-only-supermarket have NO RELATION to the VIOLENT TERRORISTS who burnt down that Tajaran 99 cent store down the street. We are NOT RELATED to them. THEY ARE BAD. EVERYTHING IS OKAY. BY THE WAY WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS NO CATS ALLOWED."

It's always much more intriguing to let players think a faction is good, only to see that theyre really quite the double dealing bastards but cant make the same connections ICly. Far more fun than just making the entire faction weak. It's also more fun for antags because then they can say theyre, like, special ops of the secret side of the faction or something, and not just "Bob the extremist with a gun". Theres a higher chance people will play along too.

Anyways I need to stop ranting. Moral of the story is: dont you dare make anything less intense, just put in lore excuses for them. That is what the fun part of lore is, and thats what people (jackboot) wants to see.

EDIT: You dont have to KILL the other, weak parts of ATLAS. Even though they deserve to be fucking removed. Just don't enforce them and remove the guys who want the counterbalance to peaceful xenophiloa.

[Zundy]

I have one concern with your application, and it's something I see in every application for human loredev.

All of you state that you wish to make ATLAS more mild. I reality want to discourage that idea. The faction was originally created as a fascist party against Xenos in the interests of preserving mankind. It had a complete neo-nazi ethos.

A lot of recent work has made ATLAS fade in strength and concentration, and I have large criticisms of most of the goals of many players involved with the politics of the group. Most of them don't actually follow ATLAS (I had one of your candidates for ATLAS presidente or whatnot asking an unathi and his sister for a threesome) and it really gets my gout.

I beg of you not to make ATLAS milder in the slightest. In fact, I think you need to up the gas, make ATLAS appear on the news for committing crimes. Maybe ESPIONAGE. You only lose roleplay by making factions and aspects "more realistic", or as I like to call it, "zero calorie lore".

There is a much better way to do this, and this it it:

Make ATLAS evil. Make them as evil as the most militant follower of ATLAS on-station is. Now you have properly represented the faction for how it appears on the server. But, now ATLAS is a domestic terrorist organization. Then put well-spoken, well-funded guys at the head of it.

"Us at human-only-supermarket have NO RELATION to the VIOLENT TERRORISTS who burnt down that Tajaran 99 cent store down the street. We are NOT RELATED to them. THEY ARE BAD. EVERYTHING IS OKAY. BY THE WAY WE ARE OPEN FOR BUSINESS NO CATS ALLOWED."

It's always much more intriguing to let players think a faction is good, only to see that theyre really quite the double dealing bastards but cant make the same connections ICly. Far more fun than just making the entire faction weak. It's also more fun for antags because then they can say theyre, like, special ops of the secret side of the faction or something, and not just "Bob the extremist with a gun". Theres a higher chance people will play along too.

Anyways I need to stop ranting. Moral of the story is: dont you dare make anything less intense, just put in lore excuses for them. That is what the fun part of lore is, and thats what people (jackboot) wants to see.

 

I totally understand where you're coming from and I agree that, though the recent history of ATLAS on the server had them as literal ridiculous jackboot stomping caricature neo-nazis (which has been corrected), there is a danger of the pendulum swinging the other way and them becoming so mild as to be pointless as a method to create roleplay other then, "hey, we're like in the same club bro!".

I assure you my intention isn't to water down ATLAS, but to actually document what has gone on so far wiki wise so people know what they're getting themselves in for when the roll up and ATLAS boi/grill. There is of course, room for more nefarious ATLAS shenanigans which will get some game time after the other unloved factions get big hugs and taken out to dinner.

[hivefleetchicken]

Damn haha. Put me on the list as an unloved faction then?

+1

[Tomiix]

Not often do regular members of the community go out of their way to create events and engage people with the lore both in game and out. Zundy is a rare example of someone who goes out of their way each round or spends a good amount of time out of the game engaging with the lore. Just off the top of my head his Unathi chaplin character is super engaging with the other unathi crewman, even going as far as to ask them to participate in his forum post discussion in character. His organization of the Atlas event also shows his dedication not only to the lore, but the human lore.

He seems like the only logical choice as the successor for the human lore, and unquestionably gets my +1.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

My main idea for the lore is not to rewrite anything but instead build upon. My first area of focus is going to be around Biesel itself and the frontier factions, namely Elyra and Dominia at present. I would be very keen to work with the new Ant dev regarding a project relating to Elyra and the Vaurca.

 

I have considered creating a full developer position for Dominia, and I'm glad you're going to give the faction more attention. And with Biesel as our main setting, the focus revolving around them is also ideal. Some have complained that Tau Ceti has too much focus in our lore, which makes zero sense to me. What do you think about the balance between Tau Ceti's level of activity and the activity for the other human factions?

 

Regarding Biesel in particular, I want to pick up and run with the current Vaurca problem as well as shine a light on factions within Biesel which can be reflected in game in the form of events. I'd need to learn the sooper seeecret background lore though to see if my ideas will fit and to know what's running in the background. I don't want to step on any toes.

I don't like hiding background lore. Anything we withhold is generally just to avoid spoiling the plotline of ongoing arcs. Everything else is supposed to be set somewhere for players to digest. Personally my ADHD energy has a lot of the best developments of mine just erupt on the fly with little pre-planning.

What sort of problems do you see with Vaurca and Biesel? With the departure of Tammy, I took up the reins of a recent arc in which the consequences of K'ois on the ecosystem became more apparent, and even caused a major crisis in Mendell City. How can such developments be impacted on station?

Further, I will be overviewing all factions across human lore as a whole and seeing if I can bring them forward to the playerbase as well as update them to reflect current events, for example: ATLAS not being huge Nazi's, highlighting political groups in Biesel, drawing some focus onto the frontier etc.

I personally feel that there is a lot of focus on non-Tau Ceti factions. The True Democrats are native ATLASians but they seem to be less popular than ATLAS. What do you feel are the main draws of ATLAS? How do you justify keeping a light shining on non-native factions moreso than those within Biesel? What relationships do you see between how all of these groups interact with Tau Ceti and NanoTrasen?

[Zundy]

I have considered creating a full developer position for Dominia, and I'm glad you're going to give the faction more attention. And with Biesel as our main setting, the focus revolving around them is also ideal. Some have complained that Tau Ceti has too much focus in our lore, which makes zero sense to me. What do you think about the balance between Tau Ceti's level of activity and the activity for the other human factions?

 

To my mind, the main focus should always be on Tau Ceti primarily, otherwise it becomes somewhat mastubatory. My stance on this is to keep a grasp on Tau Ceti, Biesel and the station as a main course and build upon other areas simultaneously. When I create more lore I'd be doing so whilst being mindful of the players playing their characters in game on the Aurora station. I want the lore to able to be used a driving force for roleplay, not just something cool to read on the side whilst players do their own thing.

 

I don't like hiding background lore. Anything we withhold is generally just to avoid spoiling the plotline of ongoing arcs. Everything else is supposed to be set somewhere for players to digest. Personally my ADHD energy has a lot of the best developments of mine just erupt on the fly with little pre-planning.

What sort of problems do you see with Vaurca and Biesel? With the departure of Tammy, I took up the reins of a recent arc in which the consequences of K'ois on the ecosystem became more apparent, and even caused a major crisis in Mendell City. How can such developments be impacted on station?

 

This would need to be discused with the Vaurca lore dev when one is selected, but I am looking for more ways the Vaurca can tie into the Biesel setting to encourage players to not just pick up the race, but for human players to get involved in Vaurca shenanigans as well. I personally had an idea for a player driven plot revolving around breeding a safer version of K'ois on station before this position became available, so it's likely I'd be exploring those sorts of angles. My main goal is to get the players involved and not guide them through a plot arc so much as set them up, give them a nudge and let them figure it out themselves. As perviously stated though, this all depends on how the Vaurca dev wants to swing the species and their mechanics. A lot of folks have become somewhat dejected with the ants based around the numerous rewrites which keep stopping roleplay dead in it's tracks so since that species is suffering, I'd like to offer support to the new Vaurca dev to spice things up and give the players of both humans and the ants something to have fun with.

 

I personally feel that there is a lot of focus on non-Tau Ceti factions. The True Democrats are native ATLASians but they seem to be less popular than ATLAS. What do you feel are the main draws of ATLAS? How do you justify keeping a light shining on non-native factions moreso than those within Biesel? What relationships do you see between how all of these groups interact with Tau Ceti and NanoTrasen?

 

Well in the capacity of a lore dev I won't be shining a light on the already blinding star of a faction that is ATLAS, it's pretty much set for a long while at this point. I'll be updating their faction page to reflect in game changes that have been driven by the players but this will ring true for the other factions as well. I'm going to be reaching out some feelers in the very near future to gauage who's playing with what faction IG currently with the playerbase to get a feel on what to focus on next. As to why ATLAS is so popular, is because it's popular. A bit circular but to elaborate when the faction was originally created it had a handful of players who just liked the idea (standard with all early factions), it's xenophobic, imperalist, pro-human angle is quite a popular trope so it gathered more players. Then follows the edgy bois and grills who join for the potential for edgy roleplay, push the faction in that direction (shouting anti alien truth propaganda over comms) which attracts brand new players who haven't even read the lore yet because it's literally in your face when you step in game. These new players gravitate to the faction and the cycle continues. One other cool thing is that human players can pretty much be from anywhere in the galaxy at this point (even opposing factions), but still join ATLAS and be part of this big gang. ATLAS itself is a good starting point because it nets you "friends" and "enemies" immediately without having to go through the process of building these in game. It's a newbies dream.

Now, I do have a plan to implement/tweek factions to draw on these same characteristics but with different ideological angles. In my mind they need to be reflective in game, easy to pick up, far reaching and inclusive, whilst being somewhat controversial. This seems to be the magic faction formula in my mind. I'd actually be interested to hear from other players as lore dev to see what faction ideas they have, as I know some folks have some pretty sweet concepts, but are nervous about voicing them on the forums. I want to hear these people.

[Owen]

After reading over the applications posted for the Human lore dev application, I am really liking the ideas that Zundy has put forth. They all seem well thought out and I am excited to see what his ideas would be as he continues to flesh out Humanity if he gets the position. The ATLAS ideas are peaking my interest.

A definite support on my part.

[Guest Marlon Phoenix]

Application accepted!