Making my way across the narrow straight between the lands, I found myself at a fine apparel store, Les Soldats de Napoleon. This store specialized in military uniforms. The owner appears to be an enterprising soul, as he is willing to suit both sides of a military conflict. (This must make for some awkward moments as Napoleon's troops come face-to-face with their British counterparts in the fitting room.) Some ladies' wear is also available.
Mozart plays in the courtyard for my pleasure. A quiet chap.
The large, ornate church was empty when I arrived, so I took a moment for prayer and reflection.
Versailles? Whatever it is, this might be the longest residence I have seen in my travels.
Another view of the building, which is too large to capture adequately in a single shot.
A single ship floats in the fortified harbor. Few people were about when I visited, and most of those appeared to be sentries. I did see several British officers, no doubt planning strategy. As I had no desire to be press-ganged into a conflict, I decided discretion was the decidedly better part of valor and reversed course.
The sims are not entirely dissimilar in theme to the Magellan lands - waving one's hands a bit, they are all 18th to 19th century western European in flavor - but I was not clear on the purpose of RP sims being physically connected to Mr. Magellan's, ah, less martial lands. (Then again, the purpose of New Brunswick or, until recently, Atlantis Rising being physically connected to Caledon is unclear to me.)
As an aside, I find it interesting to see role players with such specific historical characters in mind. This Journal had an earlier entry on Marie Antoinette's Escape; here, we have the Napoleonic Empire. (I saw a young lady with a tag "Der Fuhrer," but I will assume that was simply a joke in poor taste.) We know what happened to these individuals, which would seem to create a problem for role playing, except perhaps as an alternative history. In contrast, Caledon has a vague back story involving Queen Victoria, but as the queen is off-stage the entire time her subjects are free to invent scenarios. New Babbage is even less tied to a specific historical person. Steelhead is meant to evoke the 19th century Pacific Northwest, but, beyond the buildings, has no specific town or series of events in mind. Even Deadwood, which may be the most hard-core historical RP area around, has created an environment where the story can evolve naturally, rather than being tied to historical events. A little vagueness goes a long way.
3 comments:
I think I may be able to demystify a couple of aspects. Miss Delacanardiere Pera told me the large building in Napoleonic Europe is based on Palacio Real de La Granja de San Ildefonso. It seems that not only the building but also the formal gardens have been quite accurately recreated.
I think the key activity in these sims is to be re-enactment, as opposed to role-play. The distinction is pivotal, and may answers some of your questions. Mr Alonzo Rosca used to have a painstaking recreation of the site of the battle of Waterloo on his old sim in Antiquity, and by all accounts he is very particular about la vérité.
Ooo, I like the look of that! Thanks for the pics and heads up :)
Thank you for the clarification and information, Mr. Magellan. I'll confess that I never would have guessed the building!
The idea that the sims are there for re-enactment rather than straight role-play makes sense and, indeed, those who enjoy re-enactment are sticklers for veracity.
Post a Comment