The Game of War and Peace
The world is made for war and conquest only so that it may bring prosperity and peace. The world is not a struggle of ice and fire, but rather a struggle between the lands of freezing fire, the lands of sorrow eternal, the struggle for the cool, winter sun and the warm touch of summer's ice. The world is a war for the impossible, and some say one day the world shall emerge victorious and others speak of a fall into oblivion. A war between Mother and Maiden Merciful, and Father and Princeling Strong.
So, that in mind, I have decided to create a game. A great game to mirror our world. Some would say that my vision mirrors existing titles such as Risk, Diplomacy, or Axis and Allies. I would argue against this assertion. Although the games outdo each other in complexity from first to last, they share very a very similar objective: Conquer all who would oppose you. Two of them present a task of World Dominion, partial or complete, without a mention of actual allies. Only one presents even an option of foreign policy.
The main diversion from those titles will be the objective. Below are some samples I have compiled. Although the context will be unclear, note that they are not all necessarily goals to conquer.
I. Create [Culture (___) III-V] in three provinces.
II. Liberate all ethnic ____ians under foreign rule.
III. Reach Technology Level (4•Year)+10.
IV. Expand your population to 30% of the world.
Of course, some objectives will still involve territory, however I frame them so that they do not inherently involve conquering and are more specific than a land percentage:
I. Acquire your nation's Holy Land.
II. Acquire a provincial income of 50•.
III. Acquire five World Wonders.
I still have a long way to go. I am cooking up a map and some military specifics, however I don't want to go too deep only to be burned when nobody shows up.
So, anybody interested?