A date for the reset has finally been announced, courtesy of a picture posted on Facebook, BSF2000's profile and the Facebook page for Bootleggers. But this picture seems to have some hidden messages included. There are also some obvious ones so let's have a deeper look into the words on this picture and what it could mean for the future of the game and what we may be able to enjoy in round eight!
Let's start, first of all, with the full slogan written across the top! "From the ashes of the past, a new round arises. For those most determined, an empire is theirs to rule. For the one most relentless, a crown awaits to be won..." It seems very strangely worded. The sentences are fractured and not very detailed! At first glances it seems to hint at deeper meanings without revealing too much. But if we probe deeper, perhaps we can tell some hidden clues?
"From the ashes of the past" seems to indicate that history will be written anew. Clearly a new round is all about new beginnings but this phrase brings to mind images of a Phoenix, a bird which lives many times coming back to life every time it is killed. Being that this is round eight maybe we can assume that this phrase is saying that BSF2000 has learned from his mistakes and won't let this round die out again and that he will ensure that the game of Bootleggers will be even greater than it ever was. The final phrase in this sentence, "a new round arises" again brings images of that Phoenix. Could this be a hint that the crew will come back? Or does he just want to paint an epic picture of what awaits us all in order to keep us in suspense?
Let us move on to the next phrase. "For those most determined" could be seen as an attack on players who don't play this game in order to dominate. It could be a direct insult on players who beg or just make up the numbers and don't compete for domination. Or it could be a way to try to inspire the players that there is more to the game than most people realise. The next part of this sentence reinforces this idea: "an empire is theirs to rule." Is he talking about Bootleggers as an empire? Or is there a different meaning for the phrase empire here? Could he mean the position of Nation Don or even the position of the top crew? A difficult part of the slogan to understand to be sure! And let us not forget the words "those" and "theirs" in this sentence! Could this be a simple way of saying that teamwork is the only way to play?
The final part of the slogan is the most confusing! "For the one most relentless" would counter the previous thought of teamwork being essential! Here we are being told that only the player who never gives up, the player that keeps on going and sticks to their plans will gain the prize. But what is the prize? What does "a crown awaits to be won?" mean? Is this again hints at the role of nation don? Or top crew? Or is there going to be a new achievement next round, a new top reward for only one player? Could this be a hint at a shorter round with a specific goal and end date before we even begin? Or that in dominating the game crews will be able to bring about the end of the round much sooner?
So let us look at domination! In previous rounds small underground groups have dominated this game from beginning to end! Is this a good thing? Most players would say no... But think about this: if nobody dominated this game, the round would never end. If a group of players didn't play smart and gather so many resources that they became unstoppable, would the game pose any challenge? Would this still be the Bootleggers that we know and love or would this instead be a happy group hug game where we have a nation don, 9 state dons and everyone is friends? Perhaps domination is a good thing and we should appreciate those groups that bring the game to an end and allow everyone to start all over again with a new group of friends and a new set of crews! As always, good luck and happy ranking!
