Hello, all!

Let me begin by explaining why I have two blogs. My first blog, the Metaverse Review, is specifically meant for players of Galactic Civilizations to see what's happening in the Metaverse, especially empires. I've had a great time reporting the many items of news that the empires produce and I hope to continue this for a long time. But I have some other thoughts that I'd like to express, but they really don't belong in an empire blog. So I decided to start up a personal blog. Granted, it will mainly contain thoughts on the Metaverse...but instead of objective reporting, I'll be speaking my mind here. Where the Metaverse Review stops, Theoden's Keep continues!

That said, I'd like to start out with what exactly the Metaverse is. Not everybody who reads through Joeuser blogs plays Galactic Civilizations. And you should be ashamed of yourselves! Galactic Civilizations is one of the greatest games ever produced, but a lot of you have heard that tripe before, so I won't bore you with another long examination of why it's so great. I'd like to focus more on the Metaverse, the community within the Galactic Civilizations gaming world. The Metaverse is something a bit more than a forum and a list of top scorers. How can this be? Easy...it all begins with who's there.

Though nobody really knows the exact average age of the Metaverse participant, the idea that has been tossed around is between 25-35. This age group is particularly important in the equation of why the Metaverse is so strong and vibrant. These aren't the children that you'll find on most other gaming communities. We have a bit more maturity and respect for each other. Of course, this lends itself to some slightly more colorful discussions than if Cap'n Crunch or Count Chocula is better! The friendly discourse provided in the Metaverse gives a newbie a feeling of comfort that they're likely not to find anywhere else.

Many of these people have gathered together into groups called empires. This is where it gets a little strange. A main characteristic of humanity is our overwhelming desire for competition. In other words, we like to win. And as we've seen in the past couple of weeks, many will do quite a lot to achieve victory. Jumping empires takes a player in a nominal empire into a competitive empire. But it also tends to twang some people's nerves as one player can affect many people. We've managed to make it past many of our problems, but the issue of competition will continue to be a focal point of strife, which in my opinion is how it should be. We shouldn't let ourselves screw up the Metaverse by making everybody win. Life isn't about everybody winning. It's about who can beat somebody else. As long as it's done in a civil fashion, without causing a breakup of the entire group, I see nothing wrong with players wanting to improve their situation.

Well, that's about all for this post. I'll let everyone chew on this for a while. But as you can see, the comments made on here would not necessarily be prudent for the Metaverse Review.