Rachel: Today I have the pleasure of having former PM and long time Europeian Verteger at the EBC. Welcome back!
Verteger: Thank you! Nice to have someone pleased to see me, for once.
Rachel: People usually aren't?
Verteger: Eh, I typically get sued or tried for something. Back in the day if I wasn’t committing some form of treason, I wasn’t on. But at least I was funny
Rachel: What was your initial reaction coming back?
Verteger: I was somewhat surprised at the amount of growth that Europeia has experienced. It is clearly a powerhouse of a region. It was also nice to see old friends, and met new people. Good Experience, overall
Rachel: That's good. Now, you're signature says that you used to be important. Could you tell us what you've done in Europeia?
Verteger: Well, I was involved in Europeia pretty much since it's inception. I had known HEM fairly well from before he founded the region. Myself and two of my compatriots: Pineaplyboy and Danoboy landed here and made our mark on Europeia society. In my time here I held nearly all the important posts at one time or another and if I was the minister of secretary of a department, I was certainly involved.
My peak however, was being the Prime Minister. That was back when Europeia had Prime Ministers. And now, thanks to my leadership (good or bad) it no longer has Prime ministers and Europeia is a free republic.
Rachel: Does it make you feel special? Being the last Prime Minister ever?
Verteger: It does, indeed. It was a very fitting tribute to my political success in Europeia.
Rachel: Do ever feel that maybe you're under-appreciated and maybe forgotten?
Verteger: I think that for those who have been around long enough to remember me, I am not underappreciated at all. They know full well my contributions to both Europeia and to Nationstates as a whole. For example, if it wasn’t for the constant battles between myself and my arch-rival, Lord Alphanesia, the NationStates legal system would likely never have developed.
As for forgotten, of course I feel forgotten. But the beauty of system is that it keeps going even when you stop. We are all eventually forgotten unless we remind the world ourselves.
Rachel: Do you feel it's changed? Europeia that is since you were last here.
Verteger: Well, its hard to say how I feel about it. The idea of Europeia and the systems and everything have stayed the same, but the people have changed and there are many new faces.
I feel like a lot of the intrigue is gone these days, but that’s with nationstates as a whole. The real cut-throat, war based politics have been calmed down and civilized. Its not the same environment.
Rachel: Do you think that it's for the better?
Verteger: Well everyone can have a different opinion on that. I personally missed the days of secret societies, and the possibility of personal rivalries and family based feuds and thrones destroying regions. It's what floated my boat, so to speak.
But it did make people very very angry at each other. Most people never learned to separate the player and the character, and the line was blurred to many times. It was just too personal.
Rachel: It's funny you should say that because the general opinion is that things have gotten too personal in Europeia. Elections getting personal and campaigns based on people rather than ideals. People fighting each-other and taking it all very personally even after the election. Do you feel that goes too far?
Verteger: Of course it goes to far, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. Many people that join nationstates originally join to learn about politics and run for office once or twice and get some legislation passed. However, those that stay in nationstates stay for the drama of politics. The personal attacks, the backroom deals, the terrorism and treason.
Drama makes the world go round. It keeps it from being boring. By investing a bit of a personal vendetta in the game, it ensures you show up to play every day. Is it right? Not my place to say. Its probably ok to do things with a personal touch, as long as you maintain some shreds of respect. I, for example, loathed my rival with every part of my body, mind, and soul. But I respected him as an equal as far as being a player went. I won some, I lost some, but I always came back in the end to play.
Once he left, I left. I hope I am making some sense.
Rachel: I think you are, that it's not really the ends but it's the rivalry and that fierce competition that keep you in the game. It keeps things interesting and competitive. Am I right?
Verteger: Exactly! Its the challenge of "I have to beat this man if its the last thing I do". The sense of accomplishment whenever he was banned and I wasn’t was fantastic. It was the Battle that made it so worthwhile
Rachel: Do you hope to find that again?
Verteger: I would love to, but I don’t think I will. Even If I found a rival, I would likely step aside from the battles. You have to understand that while I respected LA, I also hated him. And hate isn’t a good thing to carry with you. On top of that, Regions were destroyed. Monarchies collapsed, republics fell, etc. We made a huge mess of things.
Rachel: It turned out all right in the end, but I know in recent conflicts it drives people away from the game. What do you plan on doing and what would you like to get from the game?
Verteger: Conflicts always drive people from the game. And the size of the conflict never matter, it could something small like not getting a ministry job, to a global war. As for myself, I plan on watching for a bit. Re-wetting my feet, and then just rolling with the punches and see what fate gives me to work with.
Rachel: Sounds great! Thank you so much for coming and good luck.
Verteger: It was my pleasure
Verteger: Thank you! Nice to have someone pleased to see me, for once.
Rachel: People usually aren't?
Verteger: Eh, I typically get sued or tried for something. Back in the day if I wasn’t committing some form of treason, I wasn’t on. But at least I was funny
Rachel: What was your initial reaction coming back?
Verteger: I was somewhat surprised at the amount of growth that Europeia has experienced. It is clearly a powerhouse of a region. It was also nice to see old friends, and met new people. Good Experience, overall
Rachel: That's good. Now, you're signature says that you used to be important. Could you tell us what you've done in Europeia?
Verteger: Well, I was involved in Europeia pretty much since it's inception. I had known HEM fairly well from before he founded the region. Myself and two of my compatriots: Pineaplyboy and Danoboy landed here and made our mark on Europeia society. In my time here I held nearly all the important posts at one time or another and if I was the minister of secretary of a department, I was certainly involved.
My peak however, was being the Prime Minister. That was back when Europeia had Prime Ministers. And now, thanks to my leadership (good or bad) it no longer has Prime ministers and Europeia is a free republic.
Rachel: Does it make you feel special? Being the last Prime Minister ever?
Verteger: It does, indeed. It was a very fitting tribute to my political success in Europeia.
Rachel: Do ever feel that maybe you're under-appreciated and maybe forgotten?
Verteger: I think that for those who have been around long enough to remember me, I am not underappreciated at all. They know full well my contributions to both Europeia and to Nationstates as a whole. For example, if it wasn’t for the constant battles between myself and my arch-rival, Lord Alphanesia, the NationStates legal system would likely never have developed.
As for forgotten, of course I feel forgotten. But the beauty of system is that it keeps going even when you stop. We are all eventually forgotten unless we remind the world ourselves.
Rachel: Do you feel it's changed? Europeia that is since you were last here.
Verteger: Well, its hard to say how I feel about it. The idea of Europeia and the systems and everything have stayed the same, but the people have changed and there are many new faces.
I feel like a lot of the intrigue is gone these days, but that’s with nationstates as a whole. The real cut-throat, war based politics have been calmed down and civilized. Its not the same environment.
Rachel: Do you think that it's for the better?
Verteger: Well everyone can have a different opinion on that. I personally missed the days of secret societies, and the possibility of personal rivalries and family based feuds and thrones destroying regions. It's what floated my boat, so to speak.
But it did make people very very angry at each other. Most people never learned to separate the player and the character, and the line was blurred to many times. It was just too personal.
Rachel: It's funny you should say that because the general opinion is that things have gotten too personal in Europeia. Elections getting personal and campaigns based on people rather than ideals. People fighting each-other and taking it all very personally even after the election. Do you feel that goes too far?
Verteger: Of course it goes to far, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. Many people that join nationstates originally join to learn about politics and run for office once or twice and get some legislation passed. However, those that stay in nationstates stay for the drama of politics. The personal attacks, the backroom deals, the terrorism and treason.
Drama makes the world go round. It keeps it from being boring. By investing a bit of a personal vendetta in the game, it ensures you show up to play every day. Is it right? Not my place to say. Its probably ok to do things with a personal touch, as long as you maintain some shreds of respect. I, for example, loathed my rival with every part of my body, mind, and soul. But I respected him as an equal as far as being a player went. I won some, I lost some, but I always came back in the end to play.
Once he left, I left. I hope I am making some sense.
Rachel: I think you are, that it's not really the ends but it's the rivalry and that fierce competition that keep you in the game. It keeps things interesting and competitive. Am I right?
Verteger: Exactly! Its the challenge of "I have to beat this man if its the last thing I do". The sense of accomplishment whenever he was banned and I wasn’t was fantastic. It was the Battle that made it so worthwhile
Rachel: Do you hope to find that again?
Verteger: I would love to, but I don’t think I will. Even If I found a rival, I would likely step aside from the battles. You have to understand that while I respected LA, I also hated him. And hate isn’t a good thing to carry with you. On top of that, Regions were destroyed. Monarchies collapsed, republics fell, etc. We made a huge mess of things.
Rachel: It turned out all right in the end, but I know in recent conflicts it drives people away from the game. What do you plan on doing and what would you like to get from the game?
Verteger: Conflicts always drive people from the game. And the size of the conflict never matter, it could something small like not getting a ministry job, to a global war. As for myself, I plan on watching for a bit. Re-wetting my feet, and then just rolling with the punches and see what fate gives me to work with.
Rachel: Sounds great! Thank you so much for coming and good luck.
Verteger: It was my pleasure
h43r: