EVE Blog Banter #2: All I Ever Wanted To Be Was A Capsuleer.

This month's EVE Blog Banter comes to us from Brinelan over at The Shard (http://www.theshard.org). He asks: What drew us into EVE, what keeps us playing the game and what brought us back if we've ever left?

I was 4 years old when my mom and I went to visit my grandparents. I was bored out of my head as usual and was channel-surfing. My mom came to sit beside me and grabbed the remote. She'd heard of a show called Star Trek: The Next Generation and thought I should give it a look. She found it for me and left after a bit to take care of something, but that one hour changed my life forever, and I can NEVER thank her enough (Love you mommy!).

From that point on I absorbed any sci-fi I could get my hands on. Books, TV, movies, games, comics, anime... all stemmed from that mediocre first ep of TNG. Even my love of writing was conceived that day.

Fast forward to 2005 and gaming was feeling a little shallow for me. I'd played Earth and Beyond for a bit but was unimpressed. I was weary of getting into another MMO because I didn't want to spend 6 months grinding towards an imposed goal like a level cap. Research became key, and months of it led me to a trial of EVE. The tutorial filled me with fear and loathing, but once I was in open space I started to really enjoy it. After a few months I looked for a corporation and found myself in the "PvP Training Corp" of the ASCN. Turns out it was a big scam to turn noobs into disposable slave labour, and I got shafted for opening my mouth. Disappointed, I quit EVE and refocused on comics and shooters.

Looking back, it was a good thing and bad thing to quit. Bad because I would be BAD-FUCKING-ASS right now if I'd kept at it since '05, but good because it let me step back and grasp the depth of the game and how I would approach it long-term. I kept and eagle-eye on all developments and almost 8 months ago decided exactly how I'd jump back in. I was much better prepared to handle the challenges a capsuleer faces all the time.

EVE grabbed me by the brass because of its sandbox design and single-server universe, but what really drew me and kept me was the fiction. All that pseudo-science is an irresistible draw to someone like me, who tries endlessly to explain super-robot science in hard science terms. There was just too much to EVE to let it go... or for it to let go of me, depending on how you look at it. CCP never fails to impress me as a game company with vision and drive. Even through hard times and mistakes they've always done right by the gamers IMHO.

I knew I wanted to roleplay, and I joined the Ushra'Khan because that's what was promised. I'm a little underwhelmed with the RPing being done at the moment, but there's always room for improvement and I've made a lot of great friends.

The EVE-meets are a unique creature. I've been to conventions but this was a 15-20 person affair. Much more intimate then 40000 split-second faces passing you by. In the end I'd recommend EVE-meets to anyone passionate about the game and community. They're great fun and add yet another dimension to the EVE experience.

For those who want an EVE-meet on boosters, +5 faction implants and beer, there's EVE Fanfest. The party at the top of the world. It's a great event that rivals any single-game event I've ever heard of. They even have the Sisters of EVE program for those unsung heroes of EVE, the friends and family who train our skills when we're not home.

EVE has become a great source of blogging fodder because it's so vast and there's so many experiences to be had. EVE may not have the largest playerbase, but every hardcore capsuleer is with 100 WOWtards. I predict by next Fanfest the EVE blogosphere will get some major recognition.

Now almost 8 months down the road, I'm just finishing up my first major EVE fanfiction to (apparently) good reviews, I've been from 1.0 (missioning) to 0.0 (PvP) and back again, starting lvl.4 missions soon, eye-balling my first battleship and jump-clone, constantly drooling over headlines and expansions, a (hopefully) good member of the wonderful EVE blogging community.

Who knows what I'll be up to by the one year mark. I may have a capital ship, I may have my own corp within the U'K or tried my hand at Factional Warfare. I may have (finally) managed to build up my miner alt and pass control of it on to my wife. My future in EVE is as bright as the stars. Maybe I'll have upgraded my comp so I could use the premium graphics.

Ja.


Participants:

• CrazyKinux's Musing: EVE Blog Banter #2: Space, the Final Frontier...
• Ombeve: OOC Blog Banter 2
• The Wandering Druid of Tranquility: Internet Spaceships is Serious Business
• Semper EVE: The Allure of EVE
• A Merry Life and a Short One: EVE Blog Banter #2 - This Is My Time
• Life in Low Sec: Blog Banter #2: EVE's Enduring Allure
• Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: Eve Blog Banter - What Drew Me Into Eve?
• Roc's Rambling: Blog Banter #2: Staying Power
• Sahirs Journey: Why am I sitting in an internet spaceship?
• Diving into PsychDiver's Psyche: EVE Blog Banter #2: All I Ever Wanted To Be Was A Capsuleer
• Achernar: Just gathering intel
• Sweet Little Bad Girl: Blog Banter #2
• The Ralpha Dogs: The Appeal of the Never-Ending Story
• A Mule in EVE: Mule Psychology : EvE Style
• A Misguided Adventure: Blog Banter - Enduring Allure
• One Man and His Spaceship: Blog Banter 2 - November 2008 Edition
• Letrange's EVE Blog: That Banter Thing
• Diary of a Space Jokey: EVE Blog Banter: How'd I get here ?!
• I May Find Peace Within The Emptiness…: EVE Blog Banter #2: New Eden Bearhug…