Weekly AAR Showcase: The Christian Kingdom of Sarir - the Forgotten Persian Principality

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This was far from a simple decision; but after consideration, I have decided that the award should next go to Paranoid Tsar's The New Jerusalem: Moskva 1337. You may know Paranoid Tsar for his comedy AARs (such as the Coat on the Floor series), but this is a good example of his abilities at serious AARs as well. I encourage all of you to read it.
 
A richly deserved recognition. Three cheers
 
Oh yes, the man has proved he can do comedy (so very well) and drama at the same time. A wonderful recounting of pre-Russia Russia, his specialty. In fact, I wonder how much vodka he must drink to come up with the plot twists he has thrown into what seems a relatively simple game of CK. It is a treasure, to be sure! Congrats, PT!! It all belongs to...



...Paranoid Tsar!!! ;)
 
Ah, yes. That strange AAR... :wacko:

Congratulations!
 
Thanks everyone for checking out the AAR and for all the encouragement! Extra special thanks to Judas Maccabeus for selecting it as the weekly showcase! It's actually very appropriate, because his "Trees of Autumn" was a major inspiration for me to take the plunge into the dangerous world of serious AARs. :D

A character-driven AAR has always been something I wanted to try, but for whatever reason it was a long time in coming. After finishing "Bearly Surviving" I was pretty much all "one-linered out" and was ready to finally give it a shot.

The original plan, believe it or not, was to write one as Apulia. I decided against it when I just couldn't connect with any of the characters (except for the bastard child). I didn't understand the historical context of all these Normans in Italy either, which certainly didn't help. :D

If I have a motto for AAR writing, it's "when in doubt, Russia." When a Moscow game proved interesting, I knew I was all set.

Each update in the AAR consists of 3 or 4 scenes, each one following a different character. This style of multiple viewpoints and plot lines is a lot of fun to write and I think it gives readers more chances to connect with different characters. Another advantage is it lets me play around with different tones within the same post. The biggest danger is keeping everything straight and continuity: sometimes I have to go back several pages to make sure I'm not making some huge logical error.

I think the other unique aspect of "New Jerusalem" is that there is more of a focus on the human cost of conquest and on individual motives. I wanted to avoid the idea that characters only think in terms of "what's best for my nation." More often characters have irrational personal agendas that come into conflict with the greater good of Moscow. I'm also sometimes surprised at how much a character can grow and become very interesting when given space to do so, so I try to give that space.

Looks like it's time for me to get another update going. Thanks again, everyone!
 
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Another AAR to add to my list. Looking forward to reading it, PT. Congrats!

LD
 
Its a great aar :)


keep up the good work

Tsar knows how to pick 'em ;)
 
Paranoid Tsar's honor is very much deserved. Good job.
 
Thanks again, everyone!

For the next weekly showcase I finally ventured into the Victoria forum. My selection is Union, Justice and Confidence: A History of the Louisiana Confederacy by Seidita. Like "54 40" this is another alternate history of America. In this case, the Louisiana purchase never occurs and this territory ends up declaring itself independent from France. It isn't long before Louisiana is ruining Texas and building an empire.

Congratulations Seidita!

Louisiana.jpg
 
It was bound to happen eventually! :) Looks like it's your week in the spotlight, Seidita. And this is well deserved as well! Congrats again. ;)
 
Congrats, Seidita!
 
Uh oh Seidita, you're weekly showcase, kiss of death right? :rofl:


good work man, its a great AAR :)
 
Well loks like we have a two for one this week :wacko: , CvM with both WoW and Weekly Showcase it must be a double kiss of death. But i'm hoping not to feed into the evil spirit that causes abandoned AARs.

The original idea for this AAR was that France never made the purchase and that the USA launched a war to claim this land in the 1840's the idea then developed into an independent Louisiana Confederacy.

This game has been rather fun since the LC is cursed with a very low population which means that
1. Low manpower during wars
2.Low manpower for industrialization

and as you may/may not know billy bob is continuing the mod into a possibly releasable version. I would very much like to be able to see this and would like to see even more LC AARs from other members of the forums (hint hint).

Its going to be difficult to pick the next AAR but i guess i have a week to decide.
 
I've been meaning to get around and check that out. Congrats Jape!
 
Congrats, Jape!
 
Ahem...about time to pass it along, isn't it? ;)

P.S. Has anyone told the man that he has the honor?
 
I posted in his AAR about it.