08-04-2014, 02:59 AM
Usual Character Name: Spigot the Bear
BYOND Username: Admiral jimbob
Recommended by (if applicable): Loads of people over like the last year because I've been putting this off for months
Times Available: GMT, normal hours
Reason for Application (300 word minimum):
Honestly, I'm applying for HoS because a few players I know and respect have insisted that I do so, quite a few times over... well, probably for nearly a year. I've been putting it off for a long time because I never really sought power over the station or the badge of honour that some see in the hat/beret/bedsheet, and I'm applying now because I think, at this point in my illustrious space career, I really have something to offer the station as a HoS.
Basically, I encounter too many people that think "security" means "traitor hunter", and it makes the game boring for everyone. There's no point in locking down all antagonists early, there's no point in letting a rampaging traitor go free, and there's plenty of ground in the middle. The more I play security, the more I find myself acting as the referee between power-tripping Captains and relatively harmless traitor gimmicks. And the more I find myself doing that, the more I think – and the more people tell me – hey, this is what the HoS should be around to be doing. So here I am.
I've been playing since late 2012 and am pretty experienced at most roles on the station. I'm no amazing chemistry wizard or hellburning engineer, but I think I can do most things fairly competently – my approach to the game tends to involve creative takes on simple things, like finding the funniest things to mix into a barman drink, making a cake that will take the user on a wild and wonderful trip ending with a spontaneous explosion, killing the x-drone and using my vast amount of money to buy lots of silly presents for the crew, or just being a downright proactive and helpful person of whatever job I happen to be in. I've had a lot of fun here and really like the community, and I guess I like to do my bit to keep it ticking over in a more-or-less functional way; I report bugs, adminhelp shitlords, post terrible and stupid suggestions for new features and tweaks, and just generally try to help fix things that aren't quite right or could be improved.
That's it, really – I like being helpful! I love being a mentor and being able to help out new people or even help out old-timers with stuff that's new to them, I love meeting a new player and coaching them through their first few shifts. I'd like to think that when people see Spigot, they think of an entertaining player who's hopefully doing something silly/fun. And, if I get the HoS beret, I want that to continue, whether it be setting up creative punishments, trials, or having an impromptu security drill yard in the bar.
Security Experience (300 word minimum):
Detective is probably my most played role – I tend to switch between it and chef every few weeks. I've been playing detective since mushroom station, and I enjoy the more laid-back approach that it offers compared to standard security. It's ultimately a gimmick job, and I feel like that gives me good leeway to do what I like on any given round – if there's no other security (often), I can be a standard cop, if there are plenty of officers, I can relax at the bar. In my experience, traitors seem to be more willing to talk to the detective than to normal security, and it's easy to convince officers to let me handle investigations/interrogations. That gives me room to get a feel for the situation and decide what needs to be done with the suspect in question, beyond simply working out whether they're an Official Bad Man or not – you can talk to people and get a feel for their behaviour. Also, since detectives can be traitors, everyone is always faintly suspicious of you, which is great fun.
I guess that brings me back to what I find myself doing most of the time as security, and half the reason for this application: more and more, I find myself in the position of referee. As of late, I've grown more and more annoyed by reckless security staff, vigilantes and crew/heads who insist we kill anyone that's found to be in possession of a moustache grenade because THEY'RE A CONFIRMED TRAITOR THEREFORE THEY ARE THE ANTAGONISTS THEREFORE THEY MUST DIE. People who take this stance annoy the fuck out of me, frankly. I can count on one hand the number of times I've killed a captured antagonist, and those mostly boil down to times when the shuttle was arriving and there was something appropriately funny I could do.
This is a game that ultimately revolves around the antagonists, and it works best if you play along; we all do our jobs as if nothing's wrong, knowing that something will go wrong soon, and that it might or might not affect us. Going out of the way to pick out THE ANTAGONISTS in a black-and-white sense really spoils this. If someone's rampaging in a spacesuit with a jetpack and c-saber, then yes, I'll be the first in line to go full maverick and chase them down at the cost of my own space life (because I am in fact not very good in a fight). But if you get dragged into security on the dire charge of emagging amusing duck, then I will do my best to get you a stay of execution and make sure you get out of the brig in one piece.
In short, the job of the HoS, to me, is keeping a balance and keeping the flow of the round going in a way that looks like it should lead to the most fun for the most people. Once you've been playing long enough, you get a feel for how to approach situations on that basis. I feel like I might be known enough, knowledgeable enough and respected enough that people will listen to me in this position, and I can make a game that's more fun for everyone – where traitors don't give up and suicide when caught, where staff don't fear security quite as much, and where security are maybe, just maybe, following a coherent and organised strategy.
In your opinion, what are the flaws and benefits of the current security layout (brig, cells, security room etc): The current brig is good, I think; the general population cell could be a bit more intuitive to use and isn't as straightforward as the previous individual cells, but when you work out how to use it, it's a huge improvement that can lead to more interesting situations. There should maybe be a sheet of paper in the brig like the engineering guide giving a quick rundown of how the cells and floor flushers work, as well as a general sentencing guide. That's probably the only thing I'd definitely recommend adding - I know I took too long to start understanding the system and just chucked people in and out manually. Which is fine when you remember to do it, but not everyone does I guess.
Your opinion of Shrek (5 word minimum): Wonkmin turned me into Shrek once and I died because my cursor was also Shrek and I couldn't click on anything, please don't trigger me
Previous Bans (While this will not affect your application lying about it will): None
BYOND Username: Admiral jimbob
Recommended by (if applicable): Loads of people over like the last year because I've been putting this off for months
Times Available: GMT, normal hours
Reason for Application (300 word minimum):
Honestly, I'm applying for HoS because a few players I know and respect have insisted that I do so, quite a few times over... well, probably for nearly a year. I've been putting it off for a long time because I never really sought power over the station or the badge of honour that some see in the hat/beret/bedsheet, and I'm applying now because I think, at this point in my illustrious space career, I really have something to offer the station as a HoS.
Basically, I encounter too many people that think "security" means "traitor hunter", and it makes the game boring for everyone. There's no point in locking down all antagonists early, there's no point in letting a rampaging traitor go free, and there's plenty of ground in the middle. The more I play security, the more I find myself acting as the referee between power-tripping Captains and relatively harmless traitor gimmicks. And the more I find myself doing that, the more I think – and the more people tell me – hey, this is what the HoS should be around to be doing. So here I am.
I've been playing since late 2012 and am pretty experienced at most roles on the station. I'm no amazing chemistry wizard or hellburning engineer, but I think I can do most things fairly competently – my approach to the game tends to involve creative takes on simple things, like finding the funniest things to mix into a barman drink, making a cake that will take the user on a wild and wonderful trip ending with a spontaneous explosion, killing the x-drone and using my vast amount of money to buy lots of silly presents for the crew, or just being a downright proactive and helpful person of whatever job I happen to be in. I've had a lot of fun here and really like the community, and I guess I like to do my bit to keep it ticking over in a more-or-less functional way; I report bugs, adminhelp shitlords, post terrible and stupid suggestions for new features and tweaks, and just generally try to help fix things that aren't quite right or could be improved.
That's it, really – I like being helpful! I love being a mentor and being able to help out new people or even help out old-timers with stuff that's new to them, I love meeting a new player and coaching them through their first few shifts. I'd like to think that when people see Spigot, they think of an entertaining player who's hopefully doing something silly/fun. And, if I get the HoS beret, I want that to continue, whether it be setting up creative punishments, trials, or having an impromptu security drill yard in the bar.
Security Experience (300 word minimum):
Detective is probably my most played role – I tend to switch between it and chef every few weeks. I've been playing detective since mushroom station, and I enjoy the more laid-back approach that it offers compared to standard security. It's ultimately a gimmick job, and I feel like that gives me good leeway to do what I like on any given round – if there's no other security (often), I can be a standard cop, if there are plenty of officers, I can relax at the bar. In my experience, traitors seem to be more willing to talk to the detective than to normal security, and it's easy to convince officers to let me handle investigations/interrogations. That gives me room to get a feel for the situation and decide what needs to be done with the suspect in question, beyond simply working out whether they're an Official Bad Man or not – you can talk to people and get a feel for their behaviour. Also, since detectives can be traitors, everyone is always faintly suspicious of you, which is great fun.
I guess that brings me back to what I find myself doing most of the time as security, and half the reason for this application: more and more, I find myself in the position of referee. As of late, I've grown more and more annoyed by reckless security staff, vigilantes and crew/heads who insist we kill anyone that's found to be in possession of a moustache grenade because THEY'RE A CONFIRMED TRAITOR THEREFORE THEY ARE THE ANTAGONISTS THEREFORE THEY MUST DIE. People who take this stance annoy the fuck out of me, frankly. I can count on one hand the number of times I've killed a captured antagonist, and those mostly boil down to times when the shuttle was arriving and there was something appropriately funny I could do.
This is a game that ultimately revolves around the antagonists, and it works best if you play along; we all do our jobs as if nothing's wrong, knowing that something will go wrong soon, and that it might or might not affect us. Going out of the way to pick out THE ANTAGONISTS in a black-and-white sense really spoils this. If someone's rampaging in a spacesuit with a jetpack and c-saber, then yes, I'll be the first in line to go full maverick and chase them down at the cost of my own space life (because I am in fact not very good in a fight). But if you get dragged into security on the dire charge of emagging amusing duck, then I will do my best to get you a stay of execution and make sure you get out of the brig in one piece.
In short, the job of the HoS, to me, is keeping a balance and keeping the flow of the round going in a way that looks like it should lead to the most fun for the most people. Once you've been playing long enough, you get a feel for how to approach situations on that basis. I feel like I might be known enough, knowledgeable enough and respected enough that people will listen to me in this position, and I can make a game that's more fun for everyone – where traitors don't give up and suicide when caught, where staff don't fear security quite as much, and where security are maybe, just maybe, following a coherent and organised strategy.
In your opinion, what are the flaws and benefits of the current security layout (brig, cells, security room etc): The current brig is good, I think; the general population cell could be a bit more intuitive to use and isn't as straightforward as the previous individual cells, but when you work out how to use it, it's a huge improvement that can lead to more interesting situations. There should maybe be a sheet of paper in the brig like the engineering guide giving a quick rundown of how the cells and floor flushers work, as well as a general sentencing guide. That's probably the only thing I'd definitely recommend adding - I know I took too long to start understanding the system and just chucked people in and out manually. Which is fine when you remember to do it, but not everyone does I guess.
Your opinion of Shrek (5 word minimum): Wonkmin turned me into Shrek once and I died because my cursor was also Shrek and I couldn't click on anything, please don't trigger me
Previous Bans (While this will not affect your application lying about it will): None