The Aspiration Collector’s Edition

“At turns hilarious and heartbreaking, even emotionally exhausting, it is always epic and written in a classic Harbour Masterian style that many can emulate but none can match.”

–Steerpike, Tap-Repeatedly

The Aspiration was a mighty Neptune’s Pride AAR/game diary, also included in the Critical Distance Best of 2011. The game, originally played in the summer of 2010, was a motherfrakking nightmare but made one insane story. I’d love to re-write the first part of The Aspiration because it’s a little slow but, get through it, and you’re in for a nail-biting rollercoaster.

Inside you’ll find emotional honesty, space opera role play and 4X strategy: this is probably the best Neptune’s Pride Diary you’ll ever read.

Preview: The Aspiration Cometh

1: Sartre Was Right “…everyone was nervous and paranoid.”

2: Laura Michet Hates Me “…there was a moment of Keanu Reeves Whoa.”

3: The Elephant In The Doom “…using a bow and arrow against gods.”

4: Your Counterfeit Love “I wanted my life back.”

5: We’ll Be In Touch “…staring at this impossible puzzle, my Kobayashi Maru.”

6: Rise Up Singing And Take To The Sky “…a growing sense that my time was up.”

7: Inferno “…witnessing these giants slug it out…”

8: All Our Ascensions “I built a wall of fleets in front of her…”

9: Sartre Was Wrong “…is my story the truth?”

And The Spinoff Series

The Aspiration returned Christmas 2011 for a short mini-series, The Xmaspiration, consisting of standalone essays.

Broadcast Prime: Honestly, you’ll never see a Neptune’s Pride video like this anywhere else

Rashomon’s Rage: How player emotions distort memory

Kerry’s Story: Littleloud developer Kerry Turner tells her story as Seance in The Aspiration’s game

Scrapbook: Selected images from a genocidal apocalypse

Fourteen: A closer examination of the fourteenth day, when the game broke into reality

In Paranoia We Trust: An analysis of how paranoia is the best weapon in Neptune’s Pride

Laura’s Story: Laura Michet tells her story as Facewizard in The Aspiration’s game

Survivorship Bias: Via financial statistical manipulation and a game from 1972 we ask whether Neptune’s Pride damages its players

A Final Bow

In the wake of the Aspiration, some Electron Dance readers clubbed together to have their own fun in Neptune’s Pride. This game turned out to be wacky and interesting in its own right – it included a formal galactic peace pact for example – and I was compelled to write about it in March 2012. I also awarded a “trophy” called The Remnant of The Aspiration, crafted by Jonas Kyratzes, to the winner.

The Remnant

The Remnant Speaks