Introduction

"The purpose of the Gameplay Alignment Test is to identify gameplayers (NationStates players involved in regional politics) on the basis of two ideological axes, (1) their military alignment, (2) their political alignment — which establishes a uniquely "NationStates" political compass.

In NationStates Gameplay, there are two dominant military philosophies: Defenderism, which in its ideal form, seeks to protect and ensure the entitlement of natives, and, Raiderism which in its most extreme form, seeks mayhem and destruction without political or justified motivations. Few players follow these ideals perfectly. Many subscribe to other military labels too, perhaps imperialist, bi-gameplayer, mercenary, neutral or independent, who often search for greater complexity in military gameplay. The existence of these separate ideologies is incontrovertible, but the relevance of how many principles and tenets of defenderism or raiderism one accepts is so vital to determining the political positioning and interrelationships of gameplayers in a military gameplay environment that is still dominated by the polarity of these two ideologies that the Gameplay Alignment Test has been designed to focus on the Defenderism v. Raiderism axis.

In regards to political alignment, it has been observed that regional and interregional politics often are divided on the basis of two key political philosophies that govern player behavior, beliefs and values in a political system. Cosmopolitanism dictates that gameplayers are their own individuals and should not reserve themselves for one regional community or conform to the values of their regional peers. At its extreme, Cosmopolitanism can obliterate one's conception of a "regional community" altogether and leave cosmopolitans without a specific regional "home" in NationStates. Regionalism dictates that regions should have strong and concrete regional identities and value systems, in addition to maintaining these political systems with patriotism, conformity, controlled immigration as well as strictly reserving political power for those who demonstrate regional loyalty. At its extreme, Regionalism can descend into an "us v. them" mentality that isolates one interregionally.