Hollywood Style PDAs + MMOFPS = MAG

Miscellaneous General
1

The game begins in 2025. As time passes in our modern world, maintaining a full scale military becomes a burden. In a fully globalized world, the only security threat is from small scale rogue organizations against whom large forces are useless, and the fuel needed to supply increasingly mechanized armies becomes more costly. As a result, most nations armies decrease to the size necessary to defend against a “national emergency”. Furthermore, under the “Millennium Accord”, no nation’s military is permitted to leave its own borders, officially creating world peace. In their place rise PMCs (Private Military Corporations). They have two advantages: first, they compete, lowering their cost, and second, they are allowed to work for anyone, anywhere. In an unregulated global economy, the companies soon compete by less than honest means. After enough mergers, bargains and buy-outs, however, the remaining PMCs decided to use their weapons to full use. The original attacks followed a simple plan; shoot their soldiers, supply goes down causing them to charge more and ultimately, they go out of business. The shadow war, as it was called, grew in secret until the conflict moved into full swing, with the PMCs securing their own interests and violently fighting for contracts. It is unclear if the story will continue after release or remain static.

IOW: magic scrolls create world peace, and war isn’t the health of the [selfless, valiant defender] state. Supply and demand and unregulated global economies cause people to kill each other.

2

That’s why I play games like Mass Effect. No silly economic fallacies.

Mass Effect 2 is coming soon!

I need to shower after watching that video.

3

Bioware’s last game made me feel physically ill. It’s full of that “glory to the king” and “sacrifice for the greater good” nonsense.

Dealing with price gouging social justice style @ 3:12:

4

Haha I love that part in Origins. I talk to the npc and tell the her that price fluctuation is just a result of supply and demand.

5

How quaint. I, on the other hand, told the NPC that she was guilty of violating the NAP. For her crime of threatening to use the state’s coercive power to violate the merchant’s property rights, I proceeded to tell Alistair (in a very non-coercive, voluntary, mutually-beneficial fashion) alot of mean things until he left my party.

6

Social ostracism [:P]

7

No worries! As a mage, I can conjure all my material wants, thus rendering the division of labour obsolete! I am not plagued by scarcity ot the extent that you silly muggles are, nor am I subjected to the opportunity cost of waterboarding chantry priests. Sadly, my powers cannot make action exist outside of time [:(]

8

Slippery slope fallacy @ 2:07:

9

Any thoughts?

10

I find it odd nobody in this thread has interpreted said game as a criticism of the military-industrial complex or modern private military companies like Blackwater.

11

I’ll stick to Modern Warfare 2.

12

I’ve heard philosophically interesting things about that game.. but they are incredibly spoileriffic. I’m not much of an FPS man, but I do enjoy a good game of Project Reality for Battlefield 2..

13

Question:

Is this considered a Malthusian trap?

14

Nein. It is the revolution of the Proleteriat. The Jockey the represents riding off the back of capitalism (evil capitalist humahn), so that the transition can be made to socialism; however, Jockey Marx ends up dragging them both off a cliff.

15

I find it odd that nobody has really cared to comment on MAG. PDA related discussions at Mises are usually strenuous.