One day nearly two years ago, I found my way into an alternate universe: a universe mesmerizing in its scope, breathtaking in its physical beauty, compellingly rife with opportunities for success as well as disaster, populated by personalities as diverse as there are stars in the sky. But none of that was particularly obvious at the beginning. I had done little research and therefore knew next to nothing of New Eden's history, politics, or social landscape. I stepped into that reality as an 800K-skill-point industry and trade persona with an extremely myopic view of the options open to me. Oh, how staggering the depth of my ignorance was back then!
Yet, either because or in spite of this, I undocked with a great sense of excitement once Aura had released me from her tutelage. I looked at the options open to me, made a plan, and took my first tentative steps--by warping to the nearest asteroid belt to mine. I dug ore out of a space rock with the equivalent of a teaspoon, killing or running from belt rats as seemed advisable. Each time my hold was full, I scampered back to a station to deposit my precious cargo. How nice to see the evidence of my hard work piling up in my hangar! Meanwhile, the inherent drudgery of this task was completely lost on me. I was absorbed by the market, the contracts window, chat channels, ships and fittings, skill training options, the EVE user interface, and countless external resources. Everything was so unfamiliar, so relentlessly interconnected, so confusingly detailed. There was so much to learn, to digest, to do. And...there were so many skills I didn't have that were needed to do them.
It began to dawn on me: this universe was frickin' gigantic. Deliciously complex. Amazingly open-ended. Frighteningly unpredictable--filled with thousands of other people who might do anything at any given time, according to their whims. Even in my state of unconscious incompetence, the long-term possibilities seemed astonishing. I was sucked in, entranced, enthralled, utterly hooked. It was Day 3 of my free trial. I had completed the tutorial, trained a few skills, done a little mining, worked the market, upgraded the fittings on my ship, been approached by a friendly fellow in an asteroid belt, and accepted an offer to join his corp. It took a mere 12 hours of actual time in-game to convince me to buy a 3-month subscription. That, I thought, would be enough time to see if the fascination would hold.
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Fast forward to now. My enchantment with...dare I say addiction to?...EVE Online has not diminished in the slightest. If anything, it is stronger than ever. Of course, innocent, wide-eyed wonder has been replaced with savvy familiarity. Uncertainty has been replaced with calculating confidence. Uninformed narrow perspective has been replaced with knowledgeable immersion into the milieu that is New Eden. My characters have become highly focused in their career choices, have completed numerous relevant training plans, and are working steadily toward future objectives.
The allure of the game is further boosted by my relationships with other players. The social nature of the game is probably its primary appeal for me. I grow rather attached to my in-game friends (some of whom have evolved into real-life friends). I am unhappy when drama damages those relationships or when contact is lost due to breaks from the game, shifting focus, or other reasons. Just as with the many friends I have in other areas of my life, I care about my EVE friends' lives, families, jobs, health, school, interests, etc.
All these factors add up to a sense of being heavily invested in EVE Online. That investment has several components:
- Time. I have spent countless delightful hours playing, learning, and thinking about the game. While these hours might have been spent more fruitfully in some other endeavor, the same can be said for any hobby to which one is devoted. My EVE time is pleasurable, productive in terms of game goals, and therefore worthwhile. Admittedly, my non-gaming friends don't really get the "why" of this perceived productivity, but then, my non-artist friends don't get why I create visual journals for my own pleasure, nor do my non-riding friends get why I love to saddle up one of my mules for a leisurely walk through the woods at 6:00 a.m. on misty summer mornings.
- Character development. Having created Sey and Mynxee from scratch and nurtured them both every step along the way, I am a little in love with them. I feel a strong connection with them--not surprising considering that many aspects of my personality are reflected in their personas. It is wonderful being able to "become" someone else who is both like you but also better than you in ways unattainable in the really real world. The two characters are focused very differently; as a result, their personas feel quite distinct from one another. Although I do not roleplay them, it is amusing that I can feel my attitude shift somewhat depending on which character I am playing.
- Hellcats concept. The creation of Hellcats and my ongoing activities to brand and market the corp to potential recruits and the EVE community at large has dug me deeper into the game than ever. It is fascinating to see just how far you can grow brand equity for a fictitious enterprise that exists only in a game. (Wait a minute. If Hellcats exists--even if only in a game--then it's not really fictitious, is it? Or does being set in a fictitious universe make the corp a fictitious entity as well? Oh, dear. I'm feeling dizzy. Let's save that complicated question for a future blog post, shall we?) The sense of commitment to my corp mates, my plans for the corp going forward, the connections within the player base that Hellcats has enabled...all of these have increased the game's appeal by a magnitude for me, making me feel even more invested in New Eden.
- Pride of presence. I have two accounts and have kept them actively subscribed since I converted each from the free trial. While I do not consider money spent on entertainment to be an investment per se, I am invested in the idea of keeping my presence in EVE Online persistent. And of course, if I've paid, I might as well log in and play!
- Community involvement. This blog. Need I say more? The act of writing about EVE Online plus my involvement with the EVE blogging community have added untold dimensions of enjoyment to the game, created in me a sense of obligation to the community, and made possible pathways to new friends that I would never have dreamed of when I published the first Life In Low Sec post back in March.
Of course, with all these factors feeding into it, the allure of EVE can be too strong. It is sometimes very difficult to pull away from the game in favor of other recreational pursuits--even those I love. It is hard for me to log in for a skill change without getting drawn into conversations or situations that magically consume an hour or more of time I had not planned to spend in EVE. This is one reason I wish that skills could be changed on the character selection screen. The question of balancing EVE with other interests and responsibilities in life is an interesting topic. I've posed the question on the Hellcats Discussion Board in the publicly-accessible Cafe area. Please feel free to have a look, and to register if you'd like to participate in that discussion and others.
What about EVE's allure going forward? Considering where I'm at now in the game with activities, character skills, and friends combined with the ambulation expansion in March 2009 (check out these amazing screenshots), I see the allure of EVE enduring well into next year and beyond for me. By then, CCP will no doubt have come up with more mesmerizing stuff to keep me hooked even further into the future. Sometimes I think I might just be a puppet on CCP's string. But as long as I have EVE, that's okay. I'll dance. I do occasionally wonder: How long will EVE be there? How long will it hold my interest? I chuckle, imagining myself as a gaming Granny twenty years down the line--blue-haired, rocking-chaired, and still ensnared!
Other Blogs A-Banterin'
(Some links may not work correctly until the associated post is published)
- 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
- Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah: Eve Blog Banter - What Drew Me Into Eve?
- Roc's Rambling: Blog Banter #2: Staying Power
- Sahirs Journey: EVE Blog Banter #2
- 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 Jockey: EVE Blog Banter: How'd I Get Here ?!
- Ramblings of a Bastards: Blog Banter #2: The Tempting Mistress
- I May Find Peace Within the Emptiness: Blog Banter #2: New Eden Bearhug
- Travels of Black Claw: Blog Banter #2: Why I'm Here
- Blackheart Pirate: A Pirate and His Dog
- The Shard: EVE Blog Banter #2
- Flashfresh-The Pirate: EVE Blog Banter #2: The Allure of New Eden
11 Comments:
Wow that was quite the post :) Nice to see your motivations so clearly laid out. I wish I could be that clear :)
Very nice read
Great Post you mule lover you...you clearly describe the trouble that some have, it is indeed a struggle separating RL From EvE.
Excellent post. The only thing that would've made it better was had you mentioned your strong affection for me.
Dear Roc, I had *cough* included words to that effect in my original draft. You are that special *cough*. However, the potential outcry for equal time from all the other blog-boys gave me pause. But you know I ♥ you.
Heya Mynxee .. great post .. you know CCP ought to pay you for advertising .. i don't know how anyone could resist playing eve after reading that
As awesome as that would be, I doubt if anyone at CCP even reads our blogs. I'm sure they are aware of them, but never seen any evidence that they actually have READ any of them. Which matters not, as it's an effort by and for the players, not CCP.
A truly EPIC post in every sense.
You are one of the greater members of the EVE community, and I consider myself privileged to call you friend and fellow.
Cheers to the future!
Great post girl!!!! I liked reading your history. It's refreshing to see what many of us know already, that pirates do in fact think and learn to become better players. We are not mindless killing freaks.
Nice post, every one of these banter posts I read, I think "oh damn, I should've mentioned that in mine"!!
The thing about making your own mark in Eve is of course an important factor for a lot of people, myself included :)
And 20 years from now, I'll also be in my rocking chair swearing at the pirate who just got my ship! The EVE Community and the EVE Blogging Community in particular is a big part for me as well.
Great article Mynxee!
CrazyKinux
Firstly, you should get that cough checked out.
Personally, I find the Hellcats to be very interesting. Of the members' blogs I have read, there are some very good adventures, some deep introspection, and always an enjoyable read.
Whatever you and the ladies are doing, it's working.
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