The situation arose back on Wednesday, several hours after I posted that day's entry. I was involved in a conflict with some friends that ended up becoming quite sour after a backstab went horribly wrong. I assigned myself the position of "interventionist" and somehow brought the situation to a steady calm, only to lose control and watch as my friends and I embroiled ourselves in another brawl that would prove to be quite bloody.
In the end, I somehow ended up on top and unwittingly tasked myself with solving a major crisis. There's also a bit of a time limit - I was only able to bring about a metaphorical ceasefire, and if things go the way I'm foreseeing it, this crisis may escalate into yet another fight by tomorrow's end. Said crisis requires a bit of input from all of you, so I thank you in advance for taking the time to read this entry.
So, what is this dramatic and important dilemma, you ask?
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| Australia as it currently lies in our Risk Legacy game. As can be seen, I've yet to write a name for the continent. |
But what should I name the continent?
Cue many facepalms from people who did not see this anti-climax coming. Hee hee hee. =P
CURRENT MUSIC:
Frank Klepacki - "Grinder"
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 Original Soundtrack
During some games of Risk Legacy, one of my friends has a habit of envisioning the Command & Conquer: Red Alert series' "Hell March" motif (notably "Hell March 2") whenever he plans an assault. (David B.: sound familiar? =P) Likewise, I have the "Hell March" motif (particularly the "Hell March 3" variant) blaring in my head in some games - specifically the ones where my victory is almost assured.*
However, there are occasions where the "Hell March" motif doesn't quite fit the bill exactly... and that's where Red Alert 2's "Grinder" comes in. In my last-played game, all seemed lost for me, but then certain events came about where I was able to achieve victory. That's where this piece popped in. While the first three times I've featured this main menu-esque piece involved heavy thinking and attempts to work at a reliable pace, this time I'm using it "properly" to aurally assist with my conquest of the world. (Well... the world of Risk Legacy board 00029890, at least.)
Honestly, playing this while you're playing any game of Risk (or any of the many variants) spices up the game like none other.
* = I say "almost assured" because there were a few occasions where victory was in my grasp. The dice gods chose not to side with me in the final stages of my conquest, allowing another player to (counter)attack their way to their victory. It happens. *shrugs*
Hello there, reader! It's the beginning of March, and so I thought it'd be for the better if I lived up to yesterday's word. So, here's that
Six games have now been played on my board, with me emerging as the latest victor (a second victory for me, whoo!). For my win, I chose to name an unnamed continent as my prize. I already had a major city placed on the board ("Caprica City" in Southeast Asia, in case anyone's wondering), and I figured that naming a continent would be a better prize (hogging the major cities just seems greedy) and would help mark this world the way I was hoping to.
("Naming continents? Major cities? What the frak are you talking about?" If you find yourself asking that, then relax - the answers will soon come. Just keep nodding along and reading - I promise you that I'll only explain the "dilemma" here.)
After some deliberation, I chose to rename the continent/region of Australia.
The problem with this is that I don't know what to call it.
Now, I'm a guy for making up names. Anyone who's worked with me in the past in any kind of creative project will know of my fanatic desire* for cool names. Writing projects, school film projects, World of Warcraft roleplaying characters... I've come up with more names than a baby-crazy pregnant lady trying to name her child. And I'm dead serious about that statement.
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| This piece of paper is the tip of the iceberg in terms of the many names I could use for this game. |
As such, it can be said that a name can become a symbol in itself. Much like a flag or a business logo can instill many thoughts to a viewer (case in point: the Confederate "Stars and Bars"), mentioning a name holds that same power. As such, I make it my personal mission in my projects to have memorable names for my characters.
* = Is "desire" the right word? I was thinking "fetish," but that just seems wrong. Or maybe with the explanation above, it seems creepily right in the end. I dunno; I'll let you decide which is more appropriate.
So when I decided to claim the right to name Australia as my prize, I suddenly began to regret it. A million ideas began flooding in my mind not long after, and now I find myself swamped with many names... and only one of them will emerge victorious.
That's where you come in. Any artist worth his/her salt will know when to come to their audience for suggestions and criticism. While I have a decent list composed (as seen above), that was just a list of general names I could use for other things - not just Australia. However, I'm just one man - and that means that there's others out there with as much creativity/silliness as me with ideas that could be used.
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| What am I going to write on here later on...? |
Tatooine
A few games earlier, my girlfriend Wendy and I were discussing the cheapness of Australia in more traditional games of Risk. (Eddie Izzard perhaps explained it best when he mocked Hitler's lack of playing Risk as a kid. Anachronistic, I know - but funny nonetheless.) As a result, I jokingly suggested that if either of us were to found a minor city there, we'd call it "Mos Eisley" due to a lack of Star Wars references on either Risk Legacy board I played. After a game (I want to say game two or three), Wendy found herself holding on to Australia, and as such founded Mos Eisley. Geographically, it seems to make sense - a good portion of Australia is just desert-like outback, and so the desert city/spaceport seemed like a good idea.
As such, I'm kinda tempted to call Australia ''Tatooine.'' Like I mentioned earlier, camping Australia seems to be the classic maneuver of cheap-ass Risk players. And do you know what I think of cheap-ass players? They're a group so vile, so putrid, so lame. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy." And seeing as how Mos Eisley is there, it only makes natural sense...
Durotar
The other Risk Legacy board I play on already has its fair share of Warcraft references - I renamed Europe "Stormwind" (blue for the Alliance, right?) while another of my friends chose to rename Asia "Pandaria" (he "couldn't come up with anything better," but it was a nice touch). Craggy, semi-desert, home to exiled peoples who now love their new homeland... the similarities seemed pretty fair. However, I wanted to use new references and more original names for my board, so I'm kind of wary about using Warcraft things.
In the interest of fairness, it would only be fair if I called Australia this. After all, there aren't any Horde references yet in either board. At the same time, though... I know I could come up with something better.
Koprulu
A proper StarCraft reference has yet to be made on either board. I figured this would be interesting as it calls upon the lore of the famed real-time strategy game. "Koprulu" is the name of the sector of space that the StarCraft games take place in. Seemingly isolated, the civilizations that formed up there eventually became powerful enough to hold their own. This was proven in Brood War when the United Earth Directorate flew in and attempted to subjugate control. They ultimately failed, and the
In a way, that's vaguely similar to how Australia works in Risk. Anyone who holds it has a pretty high chance of winning - there's only one way in, and so long as that chokepoint is properly defended, a player could theoretically build up and build up until they possess a force of numbers so massive that dice rolls won't matter at that point.
Of course, that's not the only reason why I like this name. Considering what happened in both StarCraft and in my Risk Legacy board, it would only seem to make more sense. (I'm being cryptic on purpose - spoilers would follow if I explained myself.)
New Thermopylae
After writing the text for the above idea, I suddenly recalled our world's actual history and was reminded of the Battle of Thermopylae. For those of you unfamiliar with military history, think of the movie 300. While the movie was historical fantasy, the gist of the events were true. A large force of Persians were halted by a much smaller force of Greek soldiers (including the famed 300 Spartans) who blocked a very narrow path from being crossed.
Neither board has made any reference to actual Earth history, and seeing as how the civilizations from Risk Legacy hail from Earth, it would not surprise me for a fictional world leader to name something after their homeland or what not. Plus, it sounds pretty cool.
Of course, I have more ideas, but these were the ones that stood out. I'm leafing through the lists, but I'm more interested in seeing what y'all might have come up with as you read this entry. While I get the final say in what to rename Australia, I've no doubt that someone will suggest something as cool (if not cooler) as the names I've been jotting down.
In closing, I just want to say thank you for reading. I'll see y'all tomorrow. I'll be sure to inform you what I eventually decide to name Australia! Take care until then!
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