Popularize Political Roleplay

[np]

The title of the thread seems like more of a suggestion, and it pretty much is, but I think there can be a big discussion about this sort of topic. When I say "popularize political roleplay", I don't really mean restricting that type of thing to political parties, as the majority of players wouldn't really care about a few simple parties being created that have no real effect on them. I mean that the server should have an active role in creating and developing the in-character conditions of Los Santos. Political groups should be able to have long lasting effects on the future of Los Santos, government political parties should be able to pass ideas that realistically affect the way the server is played (i.e. if a certain party wanted to increase or decrease funding to certain jobs, create harsher restrictions on products available for consumption, etc.), and the server should be able to create a basis for new ideas to flourish, like opposition movements and large scale protests. 

 

I get that there is already a "government system" on the server, but I would absolutely love to see it expanded upon so players can actually feel the impact of choices made by said government, and react with their own roleplay. For example, if the government made actions that caused inflation, the players should be able to see prices go up for certain goods like gas and food and react with protests or some form of political opposition.

 

I realize that this seems like a big job for the administration team (which it totally is) but I still think that a server-sponsored political system that inspires creativity to people who are interested in it would make the server feel a thousand times more believable and interesting. A political system could mean factions, legal or illegal, would begin to form in order to support or object to governmental decisions, perhaps even becoming corrupt or influenced by outside organizations.

 

What are your thoughts?

[HaveADream]

I definitely agree with all your points here, politics in general has a big role in our actual lives and I'd love to see that emulated here. What this would require, in my own opinion, to kick things off is for people to show an active interest in government and political roleplay. In what I do with my characters, you can see the effect that the media has on government decisions, especially with the recent controversy regarding the LSFD - and I hope, as government roleplay grows and more and more become interested in this, this will also have a knock-on effect - not just for media factions, but other assorted legal and illegal factions. For example - if a government comes in and tries to legalise weed, how will the many factions of southern San Andreas react?

 

The government, as it exists, does a very good job of what it does currently, but as you said - the political side of it is missing, hopefully we can all work together to achieve that in the future.

 

[ThatDutchPerson]

I said it before and I will say it again, the complete lack of an elected legislative branch like a Senate or City Council renders the government faction illegitimate.

[Notbond]

This is planned and referenced in this post (see elections): 

 

 

We're a little behind schedule unfortunately but it's definitely on the way. 

 

[mj2002]

29 minutes ago, Notbond said:

This is planned and referenced in this post (see elections): 

 

 

We're a little behind schedule unfortunately but it's definitely on the way. 

 

Thanks this is good news!

 

Will players and factions be given sufficient time to organize before the election day? Any hints as to when that would be?

[Notbond]

3 minutes ago, mj2002 said:

Thanks this is good news!

 

Will players and factions be given sufficient time to organize before the election day? Any hints as to when that would be?

 

Yes, no public date at the moment but there will be a good period of time from announcement to actual elections. 

[mj2002]

4 minutes ago, Notbond said:

 

Yes, no public date at the moment but there will be a good period of time from announcement to actual elections. 

Thanks!

To the question of the OP, will politicians in power be able to make changes to certain mechanics (see the first post) that will actually make a difference?

 

* Pricing of script items (perhaps things are taxed a bit higher or lower)

* Insurance rates

* Changing new car prices (slight adjustments in taxes)

* Script job government paychecks

* Support for players that only rent (or whatever)

 

These are just some random examples. I understand that these are all touchy settings, but a government that can make some actual changes (within reason) would likely generate a lot more interest in this system.

 

[jcat]

Government policies take years and years to have effects normal people will feel.  Monetary policy is set at the federal level.  If the government squeezes the life out of the economy with fees and taxes, it still takes a decade for businesses to start leaving the state and unemployment to become noticeable.  The political system itself is designed to be slow moving to prevent drastic changes.  To start making fast drastic changes would really strain credulity.  Nothing would be predictable election to election.  People, especially business owners, would start realistically start voting for stability.  The whole point of a political scene would become futile, because people would vote for stability.  I think that state and municipal government policy is something that is much better left in the abstract.

[Lucie]

I'd love to see an active goverment faction, but not with the power to change prices or scripted things, just creating roleplay, and hiring people with public funds. Public events like a music concert, a museum opening, a community center aimed to help people in poverty, sports competitions, etc

[jcat]

An election that might make some excitement is Sheriff.  The Sheriff is a directly-elected position, and Sheriff Department policies will have a fairly immediate effect on people.  Then again, if we do elections, we'll have to keep track of who can vote.  Anyone with a felony conviction loses the right to vote, and there are a lot of characters with convictions.  I think this will open up a bigger can of worms, like how to keep a small group of players from manipulating the election system to get into office and set policies that enrich themselves, than it will solve.