Talk:Nation leader
From an Animus perspective[edit source]
Given our IU style of writing this article is in need of some serious work. The topic is "Nation Leader", doesn’t specify which nation, so this page technically should cover heads of state from any nation in any period. But if we do that we basically lose the concept of how it applies OOU. I know I’ve been lax on my project (really struggling with the prose, guys), but I think we could solve the issue by treating this as an Animus archetype. It would allow us to focus just on how they appeared in Odyssey and exclude anyone else that would normally Ben considered a "Nation Leader" like Washington or Queen Elizabeth. I know this is a controversial proposal and that we need to be careful how far we take the concept but I think in some cases it might be necessary, especially with how convoluted the canon between games and lore is getting. Lacrossedeamon (talk) 03:36, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- I think "Nation Leader" should be treated as an Animus archetype. Since "Nation Leader" is only used in Odyssey anyway to denote each regions leader, we shouldn't apply it to other individuals like you mentioned above. Other option is to make it a "position held by various leaders of the Greek poleis during the 5th century BCE." That way it'll only be limited to Odyssey. V i l k a T h e W o l f (talk) 09:08, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- I agree, we should probably restrict this to Odyssey. - Soranin (talk) 12:06, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Right but what method do we use to restrict the topic while remaining IU? Lacrossedeamon (talk) 12:43, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Idk, something like "Nation Leader was the term used by the Animus to refer to the leaders of the Greek poleis during Layla Hassan's session"? - Soranin (talk) 12:52, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Yeah that sounds about right. We have to make clear it is only referring to the archetype within the simulation. If needs be, we could evevn have a little BtS section clarifying that Nation Leader is a term particular to that session, and analogous to other randomised "district leaders"/ Templar captains from the earlier games. — Zero-ELEC (talk) 00:37, 24 October 2020 (UTC)
- Idk, something like "Nation Leader was the term used by the Animus to refer to the leaders of the Greek poleis during Layla Hassan's session"? - Soranin (talk) 12:52, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- Right but what method do we use to restrict the topic while remaining IU? Lacrossedeamon (talk) 12:43, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
- I agree, we should probably restrict this to Odyssey. - Soranin (talk) 12:06, 23 October 2020 (UTC)
At least write that Nation Leaders didn't exist only in the Animus. Restrict this to Odyssey, I retreat. But until there. Just leaders like Kleon and Perikles were historical and not only in the Animus. This at least takes the profession title. Nation Leaders existed also in reality during the timeline of Odyssey. Just edit A Nation Leader or simply Leader is a title of a person that is given in charge of a polis. GodGamer GodConsole 20:19, 29 October 2020 (UTC)
- I have just rewritten the article, and I will clarify the changes I made here as well as my perspective on this discussion.
- First, I agree that the concept of nation leaders for our purposes should be restricted purely to the Greek poleis.
- Second, the fact that it is need not mean that we have to so specifically describe it as an "Animus designation". Nation leader here can be conceptualized as a specific term used within the universe for the leaders of Greek poleis without needing the clarification of "it's an Animus designation that doesn't refer to other state leaders". Misnomer it may be, it is not unrealistic for it to be a misnomer within the universe. It helps that nation leader as a term is not used in real political science (instead the term "state leader" is used), making it more believable that it's just a context-specific term Layla Hassan came up with.
- Be that as it may, I feel the need to remind everyone to make a greater effort at avoiding gameplay language when writing articles like this. Even if we present the subject as something we, in-universe, have only encountered within an Animus session, we need to explain it in greater finesse than a definitive claim it is unique to the Animus session and speculative notions of its "gamey" functionalities. I strongly suggest refraining from leading subjects like this with "it's an Animus designation" unless absolutely necessary going forward.
- You guys may check out how I have rewritten the article's language to remain faithful to the consensus here about noting its specificity to Layla's Animus session while avoiding hard claims about it being an Animus term or "archetype". Sol Pacificus(Cyfiero) 01:33, 19 May 2023 (UTC)
- I forgot to add that nation leaders as used in the game actually doesn't necessarily mean "heads of state" but rather a de facto highest authority (whether or not they derive that power from a de jure position). This is illustrated by the fact that Perikles is the nation leader of Attika, but while he was the de facto state leader of Athens at the time, he was never its head of state. The heads of state in the complex Athenian democratic system wielded little power and were chosen by lot, hence why Perikles was able to rise to power as Athens' unofficial leader by virtue of being repeatedly elected as a general. Posed in an IU-context, "nation leader" here therefore still never refers to an actual title but just a conceptual category. Sol Pacificus(Cyfiero) 01:38, 19 May 2023 (UTC)