Countdown 2016, 9: Man on the Edge

Welcome to the Electron Dance Advent calendar. Each day will bring another post from the archives.

Have you read The Aspiration posted between 25 January 2011 and 23 March 2011?

Alright, I have to tell those who have never read it, The Aspiration is one of the best pieces of writing on Electron Dance. Its nine-part run led to a huge swell in subscribers.

I knew Neptune’s Pride was not a good fit for me, personally, but Kent Sutherland was such a nice guy that you couldn’t say no. Don’t worry, you can trust me, I’m a nice guy, just have a go. Okay, sure Kent. I expected to retire early because Neptune’s Pride was already notorious for dominating its players’ lives. I had a one-year old son and another child on the way and it would be impossible to commit the time that Neptune’s Pride demanded.

Yet my life was trapped inside this game for four weeks. What started out as a bit of harmless fun and role play gradually disintegrated into a hellish experience which felt, at times, like riding along the jagged edge of a nervous breakdown.

I don’t think I’ve ever played anything like Neptune’s Pride. And I have no intention of playing anything like it again.

I wrote a diary every single day, keeping track of what was going on in the game and in my head. This eventually became the Neptune’s Pride diary known as The Aspiration. It is gripping, painful and, most important of all, funny. Go read it.

Postscript: I often think about turning the series into a film, a streamlined account of what happened but I fear the scope of the project would absolutely destroy me.

From the comments:

• Badger Commander: “Man, this is getting vicious.”
• Switchbreak: “I think had this blog not existed I would have seen you as an entirely benevolent force the whole time we played. Only now do I discover the depths of your machiavellian schemes!”
• Armand: “Epic stuff so far HM. I really should go to bed, but I can’t tear myself away.”
• BeamSplashX: “I’m excited to see how this ends, got chills up my spine.”
• Badger Commander: “To my mind this was an even better write up than the one on RPS.”