Epilogue:
Well, this is it. The idea was to wait until Blair or Yankee were elected Presidents to issue the last edition of The Political Tracker and deliver a well-staged farewell. But I think the time feels right as we speak, and as a result I've deregistered from the game for the second time, and hopefully, for the last.
I've always maintained that if a game is not fun anymore, then one needs to stop playing. And Atlasia has not been fun for me personally for a very, very long time. I've often wondered why I would bother after so long, why did it seemed like staying was worth it because not finding it enjoyable. Perhaps it was the weight of the years, the idea that having played for four years in Atlasia on itself meant it was better to stay.
I leave, partly, because I've spent the last months having severe issues on my personal live, and because I've had to struggle against a deep sense of depression that made a large of my life seem rather pointless. But there is a larger reason as to why now, as something dawned on me while I was meditating whether to finally leave the game or it give another chance to see what happened in the coming months.
Frankly, I realized that after having spent for years in Atlasia, things hadn't changed. We've changed the laws of the land, we've gone through different presidents, we've even changed constitutions. But deep down, the game hasn't changed much. Many of those who ran the country when I joined continue to do so now, or form cabals to make the game unworkable. Those who where obsessed about the game and took things way to personal continue to do so, and stop at nothing to smear their way into victory. Even all the work that's gone into changing the party system to give us a more interesting outlook resulted in the Federalist Party and the Labor Party being as entrenched as ever, enforcing this sense of stagnation.
And I've changed as well. Not because I've matured from 17 to 21 and there learned a lot, but because I am no longer the young, inexperienced independent I was once. Four years have resulted me in joining half a dozen parties, serve in the governments of three different regions, join the Senate and the Cabinet, serve as Vice-President, and reach the ultimate position, with the privilege that meant being the President of Atlasia despite the hardships that came with the job. When I joined, I used to feel negatively about those who stayed on for years and appear to be blocking others, thinking that Atlasia was not a game to be played forever. Imagine the irony when I noticed I had turned into an "elder stateman", and perhaps, the same thing I used to criticize.
On the other hand, I don't see this as a bitter good-bye. I've had a lot, and I mean a lot of fun playing here since I've joined. Campaigning, fighting elections, writing platforms, researching, promoting legislation, governing and writing speeches or media articles, it's all been highly amusing. I've also met some highly interesting people, people I'm quite pleased to consider my friends. Similarly, I've also learned to have worthy enemies, and save for two or three that I personally loathe there are those which whom rivalries were also a fun experience. So I consider this to be a honest and quiet departure.
But if the game isn't fun anymore, if it fails to change at all, if I don't feel well personally and if I run the risk to turn into what I don't want to be, then one needs to be graceful enough to exit the stage with what I hope is a small sense of dignity.
And that's all there is to it.
May the Republic thrive, and may the players continue to have fun,
Lumine.
