If you read what we are doing in Politizens, it is a great project. My fellow designers might have their own opinions, but I have always believed the great success of NationStates is how politics, more specifically the interactions between players, nations, and organizations without resorting to military means. We felt it essential to preserve these attributes as they really inspired a great deal of creativity, and encouraged the game to always find new ways to create and extend itself, as new modes of contact arise between the various cultures.
The political model we have adopted really focuses in on this, and where NS focuses on the nation, we focus on the player as individual political aspirant (Hence POLITicial CitIZENS), with the ability to rise up and achieve whatever they imagine. There will be states, that can be changed in form and function, where players can rise to govern. For those wishing a different path to power, they can control organizations, both within their chosen state or internationally, pursuing their own ambitions. Or, some players might even find ways to unite states. The limits are only those of the players ambition, imagination, and interaction. From socialists to terrorists, and capitalists to centrists, we want the players to form their own organizations, but knowing that these will be central to the game.
At the state level, there are functions of great importance. Social policies are set upon an interactive polity that responds to the pressures of the chosen legislators, advocates, and provocateurs. The government will have to choose wisely, lest they be removed through election or even a coup. And, lest you wonder, there is war. However, just because war is possible, when you live in a world with vigilant neighbors and incurred cost, will it make sense to go to arms? Even we don't know yet, but every decision has consequence. That's what will make Politizens great, when it is completed.
Some of us realize that all good things come to an end, and hopefully, at least some of the people here, will find a new home in what we are trying to create. At first, we may not have the polish, but we feel if we design an engine that makes a game worth playing, infinitely variable, that we will have achieved all of our dreams that started here.
