Friends

It occurs to me, as I watch old "Tribe" eps & then read our game-posts, that something important is missing.

Friendships. Real, true friendships.

Sure, we've had 1 or 2 occasions where the friend-bond was tight & could withstand anything. But when I compare our game to our inspiration? Our game seems to come out a poor second.

Ok, sure, it could be the fact that the episodes were written/produced under the direction of The Creator; he could make sure that important bond was always there. Whereas our game is written by individual players who are VERY remote from each other & rarely have a real-life friendship to base character relationships on. (And, yeah, we're a bit lax when it comes to continuity...and when a player gets pissed off in-game, it tends to show up in whatever characters are involved.)

Still I miss what "The Tribe" had. It would be nice to see more of it in our game.

In "The Tribe," there was a deep-seated bond among characters that was probably based on the shared experience of surviving the virus. That bond extended beyond individual tribes. And that bond was hard to break. Example--the Mall Rats. Once a Mall Rat, always a Mall Rat. Even when Lex got drunk & attacked Salene & was tossed out of the mall, eventually they took him back & didn't hold anything against him. Another example--Ebony. There were PLENTY of reasons nobody should like or trust Ebony, and she always seemed to let the bad part of her nature rule her. But--and this is a big "but"--she always seemed to get a 2nd chance. That bond...hard to beat it.

In our game? It just isn't there.

Example--"Brena." There are PLENTY of reasons nobody should like or trust her, but she's trying hard to live down her past & make amends. She has connections to the River Rats (our version of the Mall Rats)--was even accepted into the tribe. But in our game, very few characters/players are even willing to give Brena a chance & see if this change is for real. (Believe me, they won't budge one inch!) The first chance they had, the River Rats voted her out of the tribe. So much for 2nd chances & friendships. Another example--"Xeno" (RIP). Sure he had a nasty, wicked past & always seemed on the verge of insanity. Few trusted him or wanted anything to do with him. Just one character gave him a chance...and in the end, he redeemed himself & repaid that trust & faith. But if not for that one character, Xeno would never have achieved his potential & had such a positive impact on the game.

Maybe the problem lies with our Game Master, who continues to insist our game-play be as close to real-life as possible. If you look back at "The Tribe," reality wasn't exactly their concern. It was the story, the characters, the plot. Maybe if we weren't so worried about getting it right & real--or if we didn't have to worry about trusting our fellow players?--we could focus more on developing the character-relationships that distinguished "The Tribe."

Maybe it's just me. The reason I was drawn to "The Tribe" in the first place was because of its positive messages in the midst of chaos--that this crazy tribe we call the Human Race might actually have some things that make us worth preserving & keeping around.

-Chyna

Photo source: copyright Cloud-9 "The Tribe"