On Games And Speciation

And so it has come to pass that it's been a while since I made my last blog post. For the most part things are the same as always, though there are a couple new things I feel like mentioning. Hence why I'm making this post.

Lately I've been playing a lot of Ragnarök Online on a pretty cool private server (Project Rage to be precise). I gave up trying to make my own as I didn't have enough desire to figure out what diffs are or how to manipulate the binaries on my own to get the client to connect to my own server, even though I did figure out how to get the server side running. Playing the game again has reminded me too on why I wish to make my own MMORPG, as I desire more balance, different classes, other customization ability, and to have it not utilize 3D graphics as they get system intensive and, for a game that focuses on gameplay over eye-candy, aren't really needed. Oh, sure, sometimes it's nice to rotate the camera around, but if the maps are made right it's completely unnecessary.

So, as usual, my mind has been churning around different ideas while I'm focused on something else, such that I've got some basic equations for gameplay calculations, some monster ideas, and have the classes and some other character options figured out, including some skills listed. What I'm needing to focus on now is learning C++ some more, so that I can start messing around with it and get the ball rolling some more. Yes, I know it will take a while before I can actually get to the point of programming it for multi-player capability, and I do plan on first making some really basic single player stuff for while learning the code and hammering out more ideas for the final goal.

I'm also at some point going to need to do a lot of artwork for characters, monsters, items, maps, etc, but in the meantime I'm likely going to just "steal" sprites from other games as I learn how to manipulate images and inputs. I do know that I want to give it a fantasy-steampunk feel, so I'm going to have to do a lot of looking up 19th Century designs for clothes, architecture, home décor, and technology, as well as figure out exactly how my magic system (which I won't go into depth on now) will be integrated into the world to actually be a part of it, not something just slapped in without such consideration.

Onto a completely different topic...

I have found I really don't consider myself to be of the subspecies H. s. sapiens, but for lack of an actual categorization what I'll dub Homo sapiens aspergic. Actually, I view it as being in the process of full out speciation, as left to our (meaning those with Asperger's) own devices we will socialise and interbreed with other H. s. aspergics and not members of H. s. sapiens when given the opportunity. A prime example of this being in Silicon Valley (link). There is a clear delineation with social interaction and behaviour between these two groups, making each completely alien from the other in terms of comprehension. This is brought even more into focus when it is realised that those with Asperger's are able to figure out, through short conversation (~30-60 minutes), whether someone has it or not, simply by how our interactions go. These differences include vocabulary choices, argumentative styles, inflection, body language, social expectations, and the understanding of obsessions even when not shared, just to name what immediately comes to mind.

Also being on the "inside" of the groups, I feel the need to make it clear that Aspergers and Autism are not the same thing. As such they have enough differences to be at least separate subspecies, such as there are with H. s. sapiens. Again for lack of actual classification I will call this other group Homo sapiens autistic.

I do wish to also clarify that I am not dehumanising anyone with these classifications, as we're definitely in the Homo genus and possibly in the same species Homo sapiens. I am also not saying I'm not a person, as I see the words "person" and "people" to more mean "sapient being" than having any requirement for them to be of the subspecies H. s. sapiens.

I will also admit that I am not a biologist, and I am willing to listen to anyone actually trained in the field regarding my amateur distinction. If there is more evidence to strengthen my opinions, awesome, if there is evidence to show that I am wrong, then I wish to know it. I have also run this by someone with a degree in biology to make sure I understand the terms and that I am at least not too far off base with my opinion.