Why are you here?

[Rin 197]

As far back as my tenure with my very first player in the league, my biggest problem with the VHL has been some of the hyper-competitive nature that exists at just about every level of member. Don't get me wrong, it's fun to be competitive, and having our fake hockey players compete against one another is exactly the point, but sometimes I feel like discussions surrounding competition warrant some inward reflection about what the VHL provides for us.

 

It's discouraging to see a lack of sim results for not only our players, but our teams at large. It's discouraging to put forth so much time and effort for it not to pan out when it "counts." Time and time again, however, I'll see heated discussion spark over results that don't feel fair enough to those on the losing end. Calls for rule changes, format alterations, accusations of unfair or even completely rigged sims. Crises of confidence as higher earners aren't getting the level of production they expect out of their players. Is this discussion bad? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day, I see so much emotion over text-based simulations that we have such limited control over, and I can't help but feel like maybe we need to step back and think about what we, personally, take away from the VHL.

 

I like some of the wording I used in a response to a different post, which referred to the VHL not as a hyper-competitive, skill-based simulation where time and effort are guaranteed to yield results, but as a collaborative writing and world building project that everyone contributes to, piece by piece. This league is something greater than the sum of its parts, evident by the countless forum posts and extensive portal documenting its history. Write-ups and logs of various players, builders, interpretations of results and retrospectives over the different "eras" of the league at large. It's fucking cool, no matter how you look at it.

 

I know it's frustrating when sim results don't reflect what we expect, but isn't that where the fun is supposed to lie? Are we here to create content and find community over a shared interest in nerd shit, or are we just here to get the Discord ping that says sims are up for a daily ego boost, knowing or player and/or team (deservedly) rolled better at the sim casino today? Why is team and player performance so important to us, and why do we feel so entitled to success over something that, at the end of the day, is entirely arbitrary? Are we supposed to be having fun contributing to something bigger than ourselves? Is it so important to let everyone know how much more Simon loves me as opposed to someone else?

 

This whole thing is cool, I just like stepping back to appreciate that.

[Victor 11,165]

I think it's a classic thing of age and perspective - the longer you do something, the more "big picture" your thinking becomes. The noise almost always comes from those on their 1st/2nd good player - younger members who feel they have more to prove. No harm in that though, we've all been there.

[STZ 5,444]

I get off on 1-1 sims

[Triller 1,731]

I came here to make art and some special members are why I stayed.  I am not super concerned with sim results and as long as my player makes some kind of positive impact to the team they are on I am happy.  I want to keep that vibe going forward and continue to max earn the best I can with the art I make.  I don't get to do much of that at work so it is great to have this outlet and all this source material!