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Guidelines
to All EV Products
Escape
Ventures, Inc. Mission Statement: To Entertain, Educate and Enlighten
This is to be accomplished by producing profitable entertainment
in the form of: games, novels and software that simultaneously
contributes to the enhancement of the individual and society.
General
Design Strategy (More than meets the eye)
There shall be a message hidden within the entertainment. A message
that shows by example either better or worse ways of living and
various options humanity might explore in the future. The message
should be surreptitious enough that it will most likely be "missed"
by the majority of the population as they were paying more attention
to having fun than learning anything. However, it's perfectly
acceptable for the majority of the population to suspect that
there's a little bit more to EV products than they assumed.
Why Send a Message at All? Chances are it's going to happen anyway,
a writer or designer can't help interject their personality into
their work, thus they will probably be sending some kind of message
anyway, so you might as well make sure it's a good one.
Writing
Guidelines
Everything must be logically and believably written and designed.
This means the universe is governed by at least the rudimentary
laws of science and mathematics (as we know it). For example
on Vinya (the fictional world of EV's game GateWar) several exotic
and fantastic creatures exist, which have come to Vinya through
an interplanetary Gateway. However, their "believability
factor" remains intact because a rational evolutionary explanation
is given based on each creature's world of origin and their subsequent
adaptation with respect to the current environmental niches that
they now inhabit.
How
the Message Will be Sent
In RPG games and novels characters have to seem real, so that
the audience can identify with them. Characters have their own
goals and flaws and struggle with life on a daily basis. The
characters through various dramas and adventures point out the
illogic and flaws of their own belief systems and thinking.
Role-playing games in particular are powerful learning tools
as they are a form of "inter-active storytelling" that
can through drama and real-life emulation show the various problems
individuals can face, and increase their chances of being successful
at similar endeavors in real-life. Through the actions of their
characters, players will resolve situations and thus grow and
learn. This allows them to safely benefit from their experience
by applying successful strategies and/or perhaps learning from
their past mistakes.
Easy targets to exploit in this area are typical stereotypes
that belong to: men, women, race, religion, politics and morals,
etc. Dangerous targets are those that are still a bit too close
to home (i.e., the power of the military industrial complex,
corporations and the brainwashing effect of advertising). Let's
not forget sexual attitudes and certain political ideas that
threaten current power bases especially within our own society
and government. However quite a bit can be said as long as the
characters are in a story that has a sensible beginning, middle
and end and they stay true to their beliefs. The story is 99%
about people a subject that the audience (read people) will always
find interesting. The importance of "believability"
can not be understated as that is the glue that makes everything
work. It also makes it easier not to insult the intelligence
of the audience and make sure that all the parts of the story
are connected and logical.
For EV Publishing's various other game products including: card,
strategic board and family games, etc., the message will be delivered
through game mechanics (i.e., player actions will determine the
winner or losers) according to whatever message EV Publishing
is trying to send. An example might be that there can really
be no winners in an all-out nuclear war.
Going
Too Far
It's important not to vent or be blunt about any particular message,
because at some point someone's feelings will be hurt and it
would be easy to get labeled as a preacher. The first responsibility
is to make the product marketable so that the messages can continue
to get out. Unfortunately, unlike art, the products have to make
a profit. However, having these kinds of limits forces us to
get the message out in a clever and creative way, which is a
worthy challenge.
Message
Limits
The audience can generally accept only small steps beyond their
current way of thinking. Thus society is limited to how fast
it can grow relative to its base knowledge. For the messages
to continue they will have to be sugar-coated within the entertainment.
EV
Supported Ideology
Even though it's true that playing games does through various
game mechanics teach such benefits as learning how to read various
tables, maps, schematics and contributes to increased familiarity
of mathematics and statistics this is not the areas of knowledge
EV wishes to emphasize.
The following ideas are presented in a candid form to eliminate
confusion, and are not intended to be expressed in EV products
so obviously. They are not original to EV but belong to society
and the many great humanitarians of the past such as Albert Einstein,
Gene Roddenberry and scores of others that have contributed so
much to what we are today.
The
Value of Critical Thinking and Logic
Anyone can learn, and with critical thinking solve any problem
or mystery without the aid of resorting to the supernatural for
help or explanation. It's important to have some proof to explain
some event so others will accept it...otherwise it's just a conflict
of two or more beliefs - none any more correct than the other.
Violence
Violence is not a viable answer to life's problems. As violence
only causes more violence. Violence should be minimalized, however,
it's not completely wrong, since at times it becomes necessary
especially in life-preservation situations when there is no escape.
It is important to mention that it's more efficient and better
for everyone to: stop, think, listen, talk, and reason one's
way out of threatening situations. In EV products if our hero
has to kill an evil person, it's important to understand why
that person was evil. Since violence is so ugly, when it is done,
there should be a comment about that ugliness (i.e., it's always
a terrible thing).
Sex
Sex is not bad or wrong in anyway; as long as: no one gets hurt,
all participating adults are cognizantly aware individuals and
consent at every stage, and everyone is held responsible for
their own actions.
An
Individual's Obligation to Society
We are social animals that rely on the efforts of others (alive
or dead) for everything. Common language gave us the ability
to learn from the experiences of others and move well beyond
the world of beasts. However, it's important to remember that
if left alone at birth and removed from all the trappings of
society the individual would be indistinguishable from the rest
of the beasts. By far most of the population now lives in shelters
that other's have built, eat food that other's have grown and
wear clothes that other's have made. The individual is what he
is not so much defined on their individuality, but rather as
a part of a greater whole, what we call society.
The
Individual and Society - A Symbiotic Relationship
It could be argued that an individual's virtue is primarily based
on how their feelings, thoughts, and actions promoted society.
However, it's the individual's creative and independent thinking
that allows society to develop and accept new ideas and inventions.
Thus the health and quality of society depends upon the independence
of its individuals as much as the cohesion formed by shared spiritual,
moral and political beliefs.
Legalization/Decriminalization
of Drugs
Is the only real solution to the drug problem from an economic
and humanitarian standpoint. This would make drugs more of a
simple public health problem than the serious economic and social
problem it currently represents. Drugs would then be taxed and
regulated by the government and the tax revenues would be spent
towards rehabilitation of addicts. The problem is that there
will always be some percentage of the population that has a need--a
physical need--and these people are going to have drugs if possible.
There is a limit to how much a society can afford to spend on
drug enforcement, prison construction and any sustained war or
drugs. The populous will also only put up with so many additional
restrictions on individual freedom, and an over-burdened legal
system that continues to become even more inefficient due to
the staggering number of drug-related cases. In addition, it's
only a matter of time before society starts blaming their government
for allowing international drug lords to use their untold fortunes
to wage their own war against their society. The outcome is that
there are economic limits to fight anything, and no one person
is forever strong and can possess enough morality to protect
them or people they know from ever getting involved in drugs.
The
Role of Competency Tests
Competency tests should be used so that there is no discrimination
based on: age, mental capacity or physical fitness. If you can't
perform certain standard tests for manual dexterity and mental
alertness you can't do a certain job. In a future setting this
might involve doing a certain test administered by the vehicle's
computer before allowing you to take the wheel. In a world with
a lower technology level the test could be a standard choreographed
exercise routine and/or speech test that is judged by someone
else.
In a future setting most job hiring will have to be based strictly
on the best performers in various blind competency tests. This
will become necessary as competition becomes tighter in a single-world
market and to limit the liability of business being sued based
on any type of discrimination. This will also be the end of government
hiring quotas and affirmative action.
Honesty
Being honest about all things can get you in trouble, since the
world is an imperfect place and is not always fair. It is sometimes
more expedient just to tell half a lie and get some unpleasantness
over with than have it dwell too long in your life. The world
is full of white lies or half-felt compliments, since we as a
species can't write off blunt honesty (yet) as just an opinion
and not take it as a viscous personal attack. Thus we have as
a society created many conventions to blunt such honesty and
downplay the emotional aspect of such actions. The hidden theme
is that honesty is basically good, can set you free and increase
efficiency--but not everyone is ready for it. The honesty test
is the answer to the question: If the whole truth is told, will
any good come out of it?
Sexual
Orientation
Sexual orientation is not formed due to environmental factors,
but rather decided by genetic factors. Thus no amount of persuasion
can change an individual's sexual orientation. In addition, an
individual's sexual orientation doesn't have a bearing on the
types of jobs or tasks that they can perform.
The
Individual's Right to Choose
An individual has the right to choose when to terminate extraordinary
measures to save their own life as well as how much they are
willing to jeopardize their own health. Simply stated no one,
but the individual has the right to choose what happens to their
body. This includes the decision of becoming a parent.
Male
and Female Traits
Men and women share a majority of the same traits. Their differences
are rather insignificant, since there are always several paths
to any given destination and who is to say what path is better
as long as everyone gets there at approximately the same time?
About
Organized Religion
When analyzed most successful (i.e. long practiced) religions
are based primarily on a set guidelines or rules for living that
are very similar to each other. The majority of the perceived
differences are primarily caused by the time differences of when
they were written compared to other religions and the prevailing
social climate and culture of the specific group of people for
which they were written. Once the shared messages and themes
are identified, most of the differences can be written off as
being mostly ritualistic in nature and thus of little consequence
(certainly nothing worth killing over). Most religions were either
founded or perpetuated by wise individuals that understood the
masses were incapable of creating their own personal guidelines
for living that wouldn't conflict with those of others.
The
Existence of God
Everything comes from something.
About
Differences of Religious Opinion
There will always be some people who mainly due to limited experience
and/or limited imagination will have a difficult time trying
to convince themselves than anything other than their current
personal religious beliefs is the best/only spiritual path to
follow. This can obviously be a dangerous path to follow as it
eventually leads to conflict when one particular set of ideas
or beliefs are either being forced upon others and/or the beliefs
of others are somehow being viewed as being less credible or
having less value.
Common
Goals of Science and Religion
That religion
and science have a shared goal of understanding the true nature
of the universe and that both are necessary agencies in bringing
about orderly progress to society and individual's understanding
of ones place in the universe.
Basic
Beliefs:
The principle
of "oneness and wholeness" of all races and societies.
The primary
role of the individual is an unfettered search for all universal
truths and until all such universal truths are revealed (by whatever
means) the promotion of continued amity and concord, between
all people.
To uphold
the basic principle of equal rights, opportunities, and privileges
for all men and women.
That education
should be compulsory until adulthood.
That the
extremes of poverty and wealth, should be eliminated.
That intermediaries
in the form of institutions or priesthood are not necessarily
required for the understanding of one's place in the universe
and/or one's relationship to it's creator.
The necessity
of the creation or the selection of a common language to be used
by all people.
Any type
of work performed in the spirit of service should be the most
exalted type of activity in the views of both the individual
and society.
That no
individual is above the law that has been agreed to by their
society.
Monogamy,
should be encouraged and divorce should be discouraged, but not
enforced by law.
Vinyan
History and Planned Future |
