So I've been convinced I was voting one way for most of this FTC, and now I'm about to vote another way. That's fun!
Richie, you've played the strongest tactical game and it's not close. But your approach to Survivor as an 'amoral game' is one that I don't want to encourage with a vote. I strongly agree with you that the separation of strategy and emotion is incredibly important and necessary for healthily playing Survivor. But the fact of the matter is that a bunch of people who play these games (particularly on MS) disagree, and a reasonable amount of care needs to be taken to avoid really hurting some people here. I don't think you intended to harm anyone, but in my opinion you cared too much about winning this online game, to the point where you neglected to properly address how your actions have made others feel. For that reason, I cannot give you my vote.
Gustave, I greatly respect your commitment to playing a game that's true to yourself, and I admire the fact that you've treated people as people the entire time. I am concerned that you've had an easier time of doing that than the other two finalists by virtue of being less connected than them, less engaged with the game. I also believe a lot of you being here has been out of your hands, much more so than with Richie and Oracle. It does feel like you've just kind of been... there. So is a really good attitude towards the game enough to earn my vote?
Oracle, you're the player I've enjoyed talking to and watching the most. You seem like you really want to come here and have fun, while also playing as hard as you can. But some of your tactics were really off-putting to me. I think your perception of 'jury management' (as exhibited in your responses to Young Writer) downplays a lot of the reasons why it's important to treat people as people in these games. And the idea of purposefully cutting people in a way they will be upset by just to decrease your threat level feels wrong on a few levels.
I was in the middle of writing my vote for Gustave here, when I went back to find a specific quote from Oracle to express why I wouldn't be voting for him. And in searching for it, I read over Oracle's responses to everyone again a few times. What I see is someone who realises they made mistakes, not just one or two things off-hand, but on a more fundamental level when approaching the game. And I think it takes a lot of guts as well as awareness to come into FTC and literally say that your entire approach to the game up until F7 was flawed. I don't think you're fully convinced that some of the plays the jury disagrees with are poor in their own right, but you acknowledge that you've done goofed. And the thing is, all three of you had some pretty big downfalls in your games. But I do believe you've learned a lot from this; that you've become a better player; that you genuinely took Royal's advice to heart. And that's impressive!
But most importantly, when I think of who I actually
want to see win this game, it's the one who gave it their all and made the game fun in the process. I really enjoyed playing with you, Oracle, even for the short time we were together. That's what ultimately makes me want to give you my vote.
VOTE: OracleSpoiler
ORACLE, THE WINNER OF SURVIVOR: WES ANDERSON, BY A VOTE OF 4 TO 3.5 TO 1.
Congratulations to Oracle and both of our other finalists, Richie and M. Gustave, for a game well played.
