Kawaii

Let me state for the record that TWP will never  become anything even close to TEP. Let me also say that the idea that if TWP adopts a Japanese theme, that does not and should not ever be seen as a bad thing that will lead to an influx of memers, disrespectful types of any kind, or any kind of individual that we wouldn't normally banject on the reg. I think too many people have let the bad "weeaboo" kids ruin the image and idea of a Japanese theme, but it's important to remember that there's more to Japan than Anime and J-Pop, just as China isn't all about kung fu and Mauism. :^)

I had an idea to adopt a fun and promising environment that reflected Japan's Bubble Economy of the 80's, complete with the aesthetics as you can see by my flag. (And I'm aware that's not exactly "imperial Japan but it's what I was feeling so I went with it lol.) To give some background on the general culture of the Bubble Era, it was a time in Japan when its economy was at its peak and commercial success was high for many people. There are a certain feel and mood that's strongly present in many media depicting 80's Japan, that paints a picture of the good old days. It wasn't too far off from what the 80's was like here in the US.

I wanted to try and take the key aspects that made Bubble Era special and incorporate them into a theme, allowing us to leave a good first impression with those who come to our region. I wouldn't have sold them short either. I would do anything to give them something reminiscent of the high spirits and energy that was everpresent in 80's Japan. This coupled with a nice retro look would pull in many people. Especially as it relates to Japan. A lot more people now than ever are falling in love with Late 20th Century Japanese culture, it's been growing in popularity for over the last decade, and doesn't show any sign of stopping; nostalgia is very easy to market.

Now with all that being said, TWP wouldn't be "80's Japan," it would be TWP but with the characteristics and overall environment present in 80's Japan. I agree with keeping our coastal beach idea, but adding in a more fun, active, and promising vibe to it along with retro imagery.

Anyway, that's my two-cents as it relates to my theme. I know the other two are quite different. But now I've spilled my beans and explained my thought process with my theme a bit, hopefully, it may be to more people's liking.

Let me state for the record that TWP will never  become anything even close to TEP. Let me also say that the idea that if TWP adopts a Japanese theme, that does not and should not ever be seen as a bad thing that will lead to an influx of memers, disrespectful types of any kind, or any kind of individual that we wouldn't normally banject on the reg. I think too many people have let the bad "weeaboo" kids ruin the image and idea of a Japanese theme, but it's important to remember that there's more to Japan than Anime and J-Pop, just as China isn't all about kung fu and Mauism. :^)

I had an idea to adopt a fun and promising environment that reflected Japan's Bubble Economy of the 80's, complete with the aesthetics as you can see by my flag. (And I'm aware that's not exactly "imperial Japan but it's what I was feeling so I went with it lol.) To give some background on the general culture of the Bubble Era, it was a time in Japan when its economy was at its peak and commercial success was high for many people. There are a certain feel and mood that's strongly present in many media depicting 80's Japan, that paints a picture of the good old days. It wasn't too far off from what the 80's was like here in the US.

I wanted to try and take the key aspects that made Bubble Era special and incorporate them into a theme, allowing us to leave a good first impression with those who come to our region. I wouldn't have sold them short either. I would do anything to give them something reminiscent of the high spirits and energy that was everpresent in 80's Japan. This coupled with a nice retro look would pull in many people. Especially as it relates to Japan. A lot more people now than ever are falling in love with Late 20th Century Japanese culture, it's been growing in popularity for over the last decade, and doesn't show any sign of stopping; nostalgia is very easy to market.

Now with all that being said, TWP wouldn't be "80's Japan," it would be TWP but with the characteristics and overall environment present in 80's Japan. I agree with keeping our coastal beach idea, but adding in a more fun, active, and promising vibe to it along with retro imagery.

Anyway, that's my two-cents as it relates to my theme. I know the other two are quite different. But now I've spilled my beans and explained my thought process with my theme a bit, hopefully, it may be to more people's liking.

Let me state for the record that TWP will never  become anything even close to TEP. Let me also say that the idea that if TWP adopts a Japanese theme, that does not and should not ever be seen as a bad thing that will lead to an influx of memers, disrespectful types of any kind, or any kind of individual that we wouldn't normally banject on the reg. I think too many people have let the bad "weeaboo" kids ruin the image and idea of a Japanese theme, but it's important to remember that there's more to Japan than Anime and J-Pop, just as China isn't all about kung fu and Mauism. :^)

I had an idea to adopt a fun and promising environment that reflected Japan's Bubble Economy of the 80's, complete with the aesthetics as you can see by my flag. (And I'm aware that's not exactly "imperial Japan but it's what I was feeling so I went with it lol.) To give some background on the general culture of the Bubble Era, it was a time in Japan when its economy was at its peak and commercial success was high for many people. There are a certain feel and mood that's strongly present in many media depicting 80's Japan, that paints a picture of the good old days. It wasn't too far off from what the 80's was like here in the US.

I wanted to try and take the key aspects that made Bubble Era special and incorporate them into a theme, allowing us to leave a good first impression with those who come to our region. I wouldn't have sold them short either. I would do anything to give them something reminiscent of the high spirits and energy that was everpresent in 80's Japan. This coupled with a nice retro look would pull in many people. Especially as it relates to Japan. A lot more people now than ever are falling in love with Late 20th Century Japanese culture, it's been growing in popularity for over the last decade, and doesn't show any sign of stopping; nostalgia is very easy to market.

Now with all that being said, TWP wouldn't be "80's Japan," it would be TWP but with the characteristics and overall environment present in 80's Japan. I agree with keeping our coastal beach idea, but adding in a more fun, active, and promising vibe to it along with retro imagery.

Anyway, that's my two-cents as it relates to my theme. I know the other two are quite different. But now I've spilled my beans and explained my thought process with my theme a bit, hopefully, it may be to more people's liking.

Let me state for the record that TWP will never  become anything even close to TEP. Let me also say that the idea that if TWP adopts a Japanese theme, that does not and should not ever be seen as a bad thing that will lead to an influx of memers, disrespectful types of any kind, or any kind of individual that we wouldn't normally banject on the reg. I think too many people have let the bad "weeaboo" kids ruin the image and idea of a Japanese theme, but it's important to remember that there's more to Japan than Anime and J-Pop, just as China isn't all about kung fu and Mauism. :^)

I had an idea to adopt a fun and promising environment that reflected Japan's Bubble Economy of the 80's, complete with the aesthetics as you can see by my flag. (And I'm aware that's not exactly "imperial Japan but it's what I was feeling so I went with it lol.) To give some background on the general culture of the Bubble Era, it was a time in Japan when its economy was at its peak and commercial success was high for many people. There are a certain feel and mood that's strongly present in many media depicting 80's Japan, that paints a picture of the good old days. It wasn't too far off from what the 80's was like here in the US.

I wanted to try and take the key aspects that made Bubble Era special and incorporate them into a theme, allowing us to leave a good first impression with those who come to our region. I wouldn't have sold them short either. I would do anything to give them something reminiscent of the high spirits and energy that was everpresent in 80's Japan. This coupled with a nice retro look would pull in many people. Especially as it relates to Japan. A lot more people now than ever are falling in love with Late 20th Century Japanese culture, it's been growing in popularity for over the last decade, and doesn't show any sign of stopping; nostalgia is very easy to market.

Now with all that being said, TWP wouldn't be "80's Japan," it would be TWP but with the characteristics and overall environment present in 80's Japan. I agree with keeping our coastal beach idea, but adding in a more fun, active, and promising vibe to it along with retro imagery.

Anyway, that's my two-cents as it relates to my theme. I know the other two are quite different. But now I've spilled my beans and explained my thought process with my theme a bit, hopefully, it may be to more people's liking.

Let me state for the record that TWP will never  become anything even close to TEP. Let me also say that the idea that if TWP adopts a Japanese theme, that does not and should not ever be seen as a bad thing that will lead to an influx of memers, disrespectful types of any kind, or any kind of individual that we wouldn't normally banject on the reg. I think too many people have let the bad "weeaboo" kids ruin the image and idea of a Japanese theme, but it's important to remember that there's more to Japan than Anime and J-Pop, just as China isn't all about kung fu and Mauism. :^)

I had an idea to adopt a fun and promising environment that reflected Japan's Bubble Economy of the 80's, complete with the aesthetics as you can see by my flag. (And I'm aware that's not exactly "imperial Japan but it's what I was feeling so I went with it lol.) To give some background on the general culture of the Bubble Era, it was a time in Japan when its economy was at its peak and commercial success was high for many people. There are a certain feel and mood that's strongly present in many media depicting 80's Japan, that paints a picture of the good old days. It wasn't too far off from what the 80's was like here in the US.

I wanted to try and take the key aspects that made Bubble Era special and incorporate them into a theme, allowing us to leave a good first impression with those who come to our region. I wouldn't have sold them short either. I would do anything to give them something reminiscent of the high spirits and energy that was everpresent in 80's Japan. This coupled with a nice retro look would pull in many people. Especially as it relates to Japan. A lot more people now than ever are falling in love with Late 20th Century Japanese culture, it's been growing in popularity for over the last decade, and doesn't show any sign of stopping; nostalgia is very easy to market.

Now with all that being said, TWP wouldn't be "80's Japan," it would be TWP but with the characteristics and overall environment present in 80's Japan. I agree with keeping our coastal beach idea, but adding in a more fun, active, and promising vibe to it along with retro imagery.

Anyway, that's my two-cents as it relates to my theme. I know the other two are quite different. But now I've spilled my beans and explained my thought process with my theme a bit, hopefully, it may be to more people's liking.

Thanks, Dark.
Yes, I re-worked the Manners changes from what I originally had to make it quite clear that the Hall of Peers is advisory only. I do not want a situation like what happened in the past.
... and we will not go with anything weeb or anime, even if Japan is selected. That's all too much for me too!  

Just a note:  What ever you decide, Halo.   ~for the love of all that is holy, I'm begging you; do not go with anime or kpop or any of that weeb stuff.  I can happily adjust to almost anything but that.  I can't bear the discord channels that have been consumed by it.~ 
But in reality, you are the Delegate.  It's your choice.  This sort of seeps into the other area of your changes.  (The desire to add a Senate level to the off-site government structure)
If you are waiting for complete consensus on something, it will never happen.  So, if you think the peanut gallery is being difficult now, just wait until you try to tie legislation to arguments from two separate bodies full of strong, intelligent opinionated players.  I am not passing judgement of right or wrong.  I'm just reminding us all of the difference between expectations and reality.
 

The reason is that things are getting stale in the region. Your changes were terrific, but that was about two years ago.
TWP is, in my opinion, the best region in NS, but we are not retaining the new players and we are having problems with TWPAF recruiting as well.
A new theme ... among other things ... is our attempt to spur interest and reverse the course before it slides too far.

Thank you very much!
 
Semper Pacifica

stocks the wine cellar and pantry

Hail Pacifica!  Welcome to your new embassy thread! Enjoy!

So I am here for one reason only, and it is to practice my diplomacy and politics skills for MUN (to whoever doesn't know what Model United Nations is, it's a program in highschool where you learn and practice debate as a UN delegate) so I'll be doing mainly foreign and military, though I'll try out internal too sometimes. Hoping to have fun here in TWP 

Howdy!
I want to start by saying both thank you and f--- you to Ark, Kawaii and OT for making this a hard choice. I like all three options and will be weighing each carefully in the next couple of days.
But why the theme change at all? Why not stick with tradition? Well, what even is traditional for us? As Westy mentioned above, we have taken plenty of different directions on how we wish to theme our government. We started out as one of the key pillars of the ADN, and proudly were one of the most effective forces in defenderdom, never mind in-game. We experimented with different themes since then, be it a committee-structure when Eli couped that one time to the various themes Westy listed above. We have had a great past couple of years and I don't think anyone wants to tarnish that legacy. Rather, updates and new priorities, such as the theme, peerage, point system, and Ministry of Education, can be made to help make us a better region.
What doesn't change are our core values. Delegate supremacy, meritocracy and community do not change. What matters most is that we have a fun time here and allow newer folks the chance to feel welcome and able to learn from those of us who should honestly be NS dead by now. There is a lot of work to be done on both sides, myself included.
I like the idea of a new theme. Right now as I mentioned above I'm not sure which way I'll vote, but I like having options. Our Delegate has made it clear that not all presented aspects will be included in the final theme design, which is good because we can talk about what is good about the general idea and what might need to be nixed. 
I echo the concerns raised about changing the titles of Delegate and Guardian. I certainly don't mind there to be a title made for them and other ranks, but I probably will still use Guardian as my job title  We don't need to go hardcore on the titles, but it is nice to have our own regional way of describing who we are. What we get with that is more of a cultural identity. I'm not necessarily saying that we'd get up to such status with a theme change, but I preferred the communist-themed Pacific over the bunny-themed Pacific.

That is such a treat, Westwind! Whoa! TWP's history is one of my favorites to hear about. Always do silly and fun.  TWP has always been a region that made things their own, I love it. Also I finally found the other thread people were talking in. xD I just commented on the legislation one. My vote was for Imperialist China. Though now I'm sad no one tried to enforce Klingon TWP, I definitely would have voted for that instead. 
 
I'm really sad to see some of these older TWP folks discouraging this newer generation from making things their own and investing in a vision for TWP on their terms! Badger sees TWP as a laid back beach vibe, but clearly that's not what anyone was going for when TWP was a Klingon crazyland. Giving newer generations an opportunity to invest in their region is really important. If you're not going to grow with TWP, then it can't be the TWP that you envisioned forever. It has to be the TWP that reaches out to the people investing in it right now, y'know? I get the discomfort. But I feel like these new themes do definitely keep classic TWP elements in them - like the colors didn't go anywhere! - while letting the TWP of the present make their own mark on the region. They need a history too.  
 
Also I agree with Dark about confusing names and keeping them clear at least on Gameside. Regions with hard themes are great, but hard to decipher for FA purposes or for new people if they're not pretty well spelled out in like, RO titles or at least a Dispatch somewhere. 

More old Graphics....I'll spoiler them to spare the thread.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Nice!
Everyone ... the theme will be fun and TWP will still be wonderful because the same people will still be here.
YOU make TWP what it is, not some theme.

One point that I made in my original post that has also been reflected by Ark, I want to stress.
No theme will eliminate the unique TWP-ness of our region. We will not be slavishly following one of these themes.
They will be a framework which we will alter to suit the needs of our residents and the character of our region.

Anything that drives healthy activity is a good thing IMHO.  I see nothing wrong with an attempt to give the region a cultural theme and I applaud the creative work being done by the region's residents.
That said.  Can we get an option for an in-game theme that doesn't involve memorizing new titles, please?  Can the Delegate and Ministers still have titles that clearly state what they do?  the one thing that really irks me about the themed regions is the crazy titles everyone has.  I need a glossary to figure out who has what job in Osiris for example.  
 

The guardianship and cabinet have considered the pros and cons of a theme change at every step of the way. We knew that some people would be iffy about stepping away from "traditional" TWP. We want you to know that what you came to and stayed in TWP for, whether it's relaxation, a career, or just a place to enjoy some snark, a theme change won't affect your ability to do that. I personally love all the proposed themes and I can't wait to see how the Hall votes. As far as changing the flag, one of the few instructions Halo explicitly gave us was to make the flag still reflective of TWP's current flag design, either through the color scheme or the sunburst. The flag will always feel like TWP regardless. The reason we settled on the Hall was covered by Halo, but I'd also like to bring up that having the entire region vote on a theme doesn't make all that much sense when most of the nations that would be voting are only gameside, which is 1/3rd of the areas the theme would actually affect (the other two being discord and forum obviously). I understand the traditionalist stance, of course, but sometimes it's okay to step away from tradition, and take a leap in the hope that the region will be better for it. I am very confident that this theme change will do nothing except provide another fun aspect to TWP and make the region a better place for a variety of player personalities to be in. 

I am 100% pro-imperial China.  

I've always enjoyed the laid-back theme (or lack of such) in TWP as well, and I respect the opinion of those who wish to uphold it. But having the theme change generates some excitement, and having a set theme in general incites interest in newcomers. 
I'm thinking back to when TWPAF unveiled the new pirate theme. Before Altino took over, we lacked a clear theme there; closest thing we had was the omnipresent anime and pinkness. When the pirate theme was unveiled, even our existing members renewed their interest and got more involved. Alti complimented this with effective recruitment drives, and TWPAF was in better shape than it had been in a while, with new stars rising through the ranks.
By embracing a new theme, any theme, we would have a clearer direction and a way to engage newcomers. Have to remember that most new NS players come from my generation, and we're famously bad at staying interested for long. We need to give them a reason to be interested.
</rambling>

A lot of hard work was put forth by OT and Ark, and they've really blew me away. I feel like I won't be able to compete with them haha!  Nevertheless, I'm glad to have had a chance to pitch in. It's really nice to be able to change it up a bit. You run with the same thing for too long, it loses its luster with too many people. I have full faith that this will help garner more activity and get us more citizen applications.

It was my initial intention to have all of the residents in TWP vote on the theme, but after many discussions, we decided that the citizens are the most active residents and they should be the ones making the decision.
Several other themes other than the three presented were also considered, but we thought these offered the greatest opportunity for advancement and recognition, while still reflecting some of the key elements of the region.
I think all three themes are terrific!
Many thanks to Kawaii, Ark and OT for the work they put into developing these!

Try that out.  I moved some things around and added an officer's mask.  If I need to go to Minister level, give me a poke and I will fix it.

NationStates Nation Name: Lady Miss Madeline (I need to double check)
Discord User Name: maddiefayee (I’m Missy Mac in the server)
Your Local Timezone: I think I’m in Central right now
Regions You Have Active Nations In: 
KoGB
Alvaris Confederation
NSUK
NUK
TBK
CoFN
MT
HYDRA
sorry I’m on mobile, basically any combination of Madeline Norfolk with a Miss or a Lady is probably me!
Any Diplomatic Experience: 
I used to be the head of exec and an ambassador for the Galactic Order.
I used to be an ambassador for The Versutian Federation.
I’ve written KoGB’s last three foreign updates (any post on the new GP thread is me)
I’m the Head of Exec and an ambassador for KoGB