My downfall in AGS

One project I do not normally comment on is my involvement in an online game called American Government Simulation.

For a long time this was because I had quietly played as an alias, due to my role as an admin at a semi-popular election game, Road to the Presidency. I had been involved since late August 2004, and my AGS involvement lead to my inability to continue running RTP in February 2005. I was elected President within the AGS world in June 2005, and won a smashing re-election victory in December 2005.

But shortly thereafter, during a dispute over how much of our history could be wiped clean, the chief administrator left the game, I went on a two-week sprint to finish my new book, and began blogging incessantly here. My interests slipped away from AGS and into other things.

So, the Admin Board at AGS decided they wanted to boot me out of office for inactivity, saying I had cancer or something. I don’t really feel angry, more saddened that it happened this way. I’m never the kind of guy who can devote every waking moment to a game. Yet, in some ways, that’s exactly what was expected of me from the game. Parts of it I loved, but I simply didn’t have the energy to sustain two years of speech writing, research, legislative machinations, and politicking. I am happy for my accomplishments at AGS, but it is just next to impossible to keep up the pace of AGS while doing anything else to any degree aside from my day job.

Alas, poor AGS. I knew you well. Maybe I’ll stick around; haven’t decided yet. But at least now no one from AGS will demand more of my time than I can give them.