What Price PT. III

The cost of freedom and creativity is sometimes very small, just a change in ones own mind.

In constructing Dragon's Egg, I asked for some help to test some aspects of the sim. People came with no expectation of gaining anything for themselves - but for love of the game. The
one thing that stands out for me is that despite they all had other interests, they all, each and every one, helped in the way that was needed. There was no sense of entitlement. I didn't
feel they owed it to me to help me, or the sim, and they didn't feel I owned them anything.

As a result, the sim is now a better, more immersive environment, and people who usually don't work together actually are occupying the same space at times - and it is very, very pleasant to see. It is nice when things work.

I was surprised that only one person asked me *if* there would be buildings on the surface. Everyone else seemed to assume it would be rebuilt, just like before.

Well, news flash. I am not rebuilding it.

You are.

And the conditions under which it can be rebuilt are pretty harsh. Its designed to have seasons, and they are pretty extreme. There are many more dangers than were on Hales Moon. Not a lot of people made it out of Hales. Those that did, this is an opportunity for them. This is an opportunity for you.

What does this mean, then? Exactly? Can everyone just go do what they want? Well, no. There are going to be some conditions and same rules as before. They are posted in the welcome center. It's likely that there will be combat. A lot of it. On the surface. When there's limited resources, people tend to fight over them. It's also likely that the environment itself will be fraught with danger - danger that makes inhabiting the ground a pretty risky business. Its pretty much certain that there will be surprises - for example, why did Alliance just happen to have this moon handy to hand over. If no one was there before, why so you find little bits of civilization every so often?

Conclusion: this is an opportunity to build the better world. And, it is guaranteed to be every bit as flawed as the last one, because if it was just a nice fun place to go hang out and live, it would not allow for the kind of creative expression that is my hope for Dragon's Egg. Every person who was living on Hale's Moon is a valued, and generally loved inhabitat of the Dragon's Egg Space Station. There will be eventually safe (more or less) habitats on the ground. There will be eventually some sort of infrastructure. Or maybe not.

It is up to you. How this will work, well, there is a plan. And for those who choose to take part in this creative scary and COOPERATIVE endeavor, we welcome you to join us.

For now, Lily is shut down. I leave you with this final image.

http://youtu.be/2P8jJNbLREo