Hey, if we ever get too bored, we can always split up into the people
who think Olympia can be a little like role-playing game and the
people who think Olympia is a wargame and duke it out.
Personally, even when I'm playing wargames like Empires in Arms (one
of the most masocistic wargames ever written), I still call the other
players by their position names, e.g. "England", "Prussia". It adds to
my enjoyment, and avoids getting personalities involved in game-play.
It also helps avoid cross-gaming. If you see me playing Oleg the
Loudmouth, you know what to expect from histories of past ages. If you
see me playing Gelo the Silent, you should expect the opposite. (Gelo
is a real warmonger...) If you see me playing with a new name, expect
a new playing style.
But, as you said, this is a pretty boring discussion. I still don't
think you should be playing a game like Olympia, in which even Rich
Skrenta has a pseudonym (Atnerks), if you can't bring yourself to
refer to me as Oleg. Historically, even people like the AOO, who very
much treated Oly as a wargame, always used character names for
themselves and others. I have always treated Oly as a strategy
wargame.
You don't think Atnerks is going to create the Brian artifact, do you?
But he did create the skull of Bastrestric the Archymonaged, or
Baconlet tuce Andtomato, as we like to call him. I even hear a rumor
that BtA will be playing in Olympia: TAG.
And if you'll excuse me, I have to do my taxes.
-- greg