Illyria … pirate or ambassador?

Tis not only Nature that abhors a vacuum.The minimilism of this site has got the Digerati (and SMH) all a-quiver. So what is Illyria and what will it yield? Lacking patience and in the absence of anything good on telly, its time to weave a spell, spew out some hocus pocus and basically polish off the ol’ crystal ball.

As a massively multiplayer online game, Illyria enables thousands of players to come together online and battle against the world and each other. Players from across the globe can leave the real world behind and undertake grand quests and heroic exploits in a land of fantastic adventure. At long last, the world of Illyria is realized in glorious detail and ready for the arrival of millions of prospective players. So step upon the hallowed shores of this embattled world, and see what journeys await for those who would plumb this ancient realm’s many secrets. (Apologies to WoW)

It has possibilities. Splitting the massive community into two factions then into tribes would yield: The small brave tribes of pirates that surround Queen Teuta form an alliance to fight the internet hungry, acquisitive hordes of Rome. The pirate Alliance hack and slashdot their way through gigabytes of downloads of pirated movies, songs and games, while using the free blogs. The Hordes, slower but more powerful, follow their artful dodging in an attempt to find a way to make money and force them into serving the might of .. Rome.

Oh! its all too exciting! How will it end? Well, you are just going to have to choose a side and play yourself. It pays to remember, fantasy games are non-zero-sum. Both sides can win. Thanks to Queen Teuta the expanding empire of Rome had learned the military route to the Balkan peninsula. The pirates showed the horde how to publish music online, how to aggregate or alternately, syndicate content and, if they learn Napsterish lesson, how to sail the next wave of Web2.0.