Hmm, paranoia? Aye, ok, I'll give you a bit of paranoia for your entertainment.
Once upon a time there was a man, but no ordinary man. This man was a highly competitive and driven man, he had succeeded in everything he attempted in real life because of this, and the more he won and became successful the more he became addicted to the feelings of power and confidence...
Then one day he discovered an online game called Grepolis. He found that he was very capable as a player and because he was also very wealthy because of his successes he used his wallet to become even better and he fell in love with the game. Over the next few years he mastered his art,
A Grepo Legend was born!!! Then suddenly one day, quite without warning, he found his account banned...
When he investigated and asked the makers of his beloved game (Innogames) why, he was not happy with the reason given and he flew into a rage, and he brooded, feeling betrayed, and his love for the game turned to hate. He swore revenge on Innogames, going so far as to threaten legal action against Innogames, demanding that they return his beloved account to him. But sadly he discovered that the legal case was doomed to failure so he brooded some more...
How could have his revenge??
Finally he came up with a plan, if he couldn't have his way and force the game to love him again, he would destroy it from within and nobody would have it. For if he could not have it then no-one should be able to!
He came up with a strategy to use the games design against itself, finding every loophole he possibly could to kill the enjoyment for as many players as possible on each server, forcing them to quit and find other games to play or to return to real life in frustration and disappointment.
He trawled every ocean in all the worlds looking for suitable people with similar grudges and when he found them he recruited them and installed them as a leadership team, together they joined worlds, and using the man's wallet and strategy to help them they set out to systematically ruin each server they played in. With a lot of success it has to be said, and managed to achieve their goal, players left the game in dismay. Each time another group of players tried to counter the strategy, they would adapt it, find another loophole and exploit it to the fullest, frustrating the enemy and demoralising all who stood against them.
Innogames actually inadvertently helped them achieve this, because as player numbers dwindled and the financial return on their moneymaking game began to drop, they dreamed up more and more ways for people's wallets to make a difference in an effort to maintain the profits. But this just played into the man's hands as he was so wealthy he could afford to spend more and also help out his fellow conspirators more than any of those who opposed them.
It became a vicious circle until now, when the game is on the brink of destruction, caused by the man and his overwhelming desire for revenge...
Copyright Tongue in Cheek Publications 2015