Summer is Ending Soon.
THE FUTURE OF THE STARS & STRIPES DEVELOPMENT HUB
To my followers, in the past and present, the Stars & Stripes Development Hub will not be updating its store content by May 30th of 2026.
What started as a way to share unfinished and discontinued community project maps has now turned into a full-blown store with content that entertains and benefits the education of hundreds of people. We have given people the tools to create communities and to foster intellectual growth. To be apart of that process, whether directly or in-directly, has been a huge blessing.
As some of you may know, the founder of the Stars & Stripes Development Hub, R. Donovan, had discontinued his interest in communities on ROBLOX on 27th November, 2024. Since then, he has descended into a permanent rest and has no intentions of rejoining the larger political (or any) community as he pursues his higher education and earning a Masters Degree.
He has been contacted in August recently to re-produce a virtual recreation of Washington, D.C. and its greater area for general audiences to enjoy as a law enforcement, political, and civilian centered role-play map aimed at becoming a front-page experience. Joined with developers at a new-founded studio, Next-Generation Interactive (NGI), Donovan is working on his "greatest work yet." With the permission of NGI, contents from the recreation will be available for sale on this shop as a final good-bye and thank you to his past and present followers and patrons. He hopes this will be his final work and has bequeathed NGI access to all content within Stars & Stripes for their development pleasures.
As a final message to his past and present community members, followers, and patrons, he writes this:
"I have had the pleasure of creating experiences with all of those who engaged in my communities. From JUSA, to American Politics to Kalington County and to Living+, I cherish the memories we've made, the minds we've forged, and the friendships created. Although these communities may not have lasted long, their impact on the greater ROBLOX political community will forever endure. I have created from scratch a genre that moves beyond mere role-play, but in-depth legislative analysis and virtual application of ideas. These principles are ingrained in dozens of communities. People generally refer to this as "POLSIM" or "political realism" communities."
"But as we approach the end of summer, I want to leave the community of those who care about my words with a final message: I'm sorry. Reflecting on those good memories made, there had also been a personal reflection on my treatment of others over the years. I was downright nasty. Conniving, mean, indifferent, elitist, backstabbing, and careless. These are not things I am proud of. I have, in many ways, been trapped in a version of adolescence while on this platform. I was learning along the way, yes, but not growing. I've invested countless summers on this platform, and each day I grew separate from reality and clouded in a pit of my own self-delusion, which, in the end, was my destruction. So, I say to those who listen: Self-delusion is our greatest enemy. And this platform breeds it. Do not get stuck. Like a plague, it will come for you too---I say this as a person who was chronically online. I understand this platform is an escape from reality for those who live unfortunate lives. Sometimes, escapism is a good thing; it allows our minds to be at ease for just a moment. But do not live in that escapism. Do not delude yourself into thinking this screen in front of you is more important to your growth, intellectually or otherwise. I often had a confident and arrogant presenting face, but beneath the layers are towers of insecurity and anxiety. But at the turn of the year 2025, those towers have come crumbling down because I decided to take control of my life. Those close connections I made with people have been the greatest friendships of my life. But in my delusion, in my childishness, in my poor judgment, I had hurt them. And not for the first time either. But I'm thankful for the experience. It was necessary for my growth. It had to happen. And in my guilt, in my shame, in my pain, I had grown closer to God. I looked back and was thankful for the grace I was shown, thankful for the experiences of my connections, and thankful for the opportunity to truly grow. I think it also helped them out in a way. I don't know what any of you may be going through, but I know that confessions like this are not publicized in any fashion by any online personality. But one thing I know for certain: If this is your escape, it will be your eventual destruction."
"In one of my communities, living+, we attempted to create a large-scale recreation of the United States to simulate all aspects of American life. In this simulation, a lot was going to be demanded of you by the community because the game was designed to be fully player-run, operated, and supported. To simply enjoy the game, you'd rely on other players to manufacture and deliver items. This game was supposed to be the pinnacle of escapism. We had planned for it to be that way. In our announcement that rebranded the community, we had floated the idea of advertising on different platforms just for our specific game, because it had everything you needed without going to any other experience on ROBLOX. I'm relieved it did not come to fruition."
"Real life needs you. The reality we are currently living in is depressing. People are more than ever feeling disconnected, alone, and desperate. We cannot afford to live, dream, or even hope. So we turn to escapism to build and picture a better life, an ideal life. My friends, we can do so much more. We can be so much more. We have to unplug and wake up. Reality will hit you like a pack of bricks, and you want to be locked in when it does."
"To my adversaries reading this, you will laugh and mock. You will spit and disparage. But understand this, what I went through is a present reality for hundreds, maybe thousands of teens and young-adults. Hell, you chased a version of escapism if you ended up in my communities."
"But under this deep message, I leave a seed of hope. All of us will enter and exit phases in our lives where we feel hope, and we feel despair. To those of you without a light, without a reason why, I tell you to turn to Christ. Accept him as your Lord and Savior. Looking back without giving my life to him, I see anguish and despair. Looking at my present life, I feel peace, hope, and joy. And more importantly, my fire burns brighter than ever. My will is stronger. He is the rock beneath my feet, and I hope for you; he is the reason you persevere."
"Thank you if you read this. As you read my final proclamation, I hope you learn something and then forget me. The face we present online is dramatically different from the one we hold in real life."