Wednesday, November 26, 2008

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:

9 comments:

Carole Pivarnik said...

Funny, I have not gotten into the fiction as much as I thought I would have. Could be because I do so much reading online already, reading MORE just gets shoved to the back burner. If there were a podcast featuring EVE fiction, with good narrators, I bet it would be a winner. It would certainly be on my iPod. Had I more free time, I'd undertake the project myself.

Good post...do you ever regret having been born 100 or 1000 years too soon to be able to become a pilot in our presumed Star-Wars-like future? I know I do.

Bahamut said...

That podcast idea ROCKS! Definitely keeping that in mind for when the EVE bloggers get more organized. I have a good voice for radio and some training in radio and drama.

I regret it, and so does my mom. She always says I was born in the wrong time/universe.

Seriously, she could ask me to explain something like wormholes and I'd go on for an hour. I'm her geeky party entertainment.

Anonymous said...

OH god, an Eve fiction podcast! Yes! I have very little time to read, so listening to audiobooks/ podcasts in the car to/from work is ideal.

Good writeup. I wish I'd stuck at my dream of becoming a pilot in RL, but crap eyesight took the wind out of my sales :(

Bahamut said...

I'm sorry to hear that. Have you looked into laser correction?

Yeah, the more I think about the podcast idea the more I like it. Hopefully I can pull something off.

If anyone wants in on it, let me know.

CrazyKinux said...

An EVE Fiction podcast. The Gods have escaped from Olympus!!! Maybe it could be a community effort, where we share the burden of reading those Chronicles.

Let's pursue this discussion via email folks!

Bahamut said...

Great idea! I await your +1 emails of win.

Anonymous said...

Everyone stealing my good ideas...

The next version of Capsuleer will have all the CCP newsfeeds available PLUS all the EVE Blog Pack feeds.

That enough EVE fiction for you on the go Mynxee?

And as for the fiction podcast ... we shall see what the future holds.

Bahamut said...

You want in on the team Roc?

Anonymous said...

You know, I think I just might. Let's talk about it more ingame.