5 years of EVE.
Feb. 12th, 2010 11:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sobriqueSo, today is the 5th Anniversary of when I started to play EVE. I thought I'd take a little time to ramble about it, because to some it seems incomprehensible that someone might spend 5 years playing a game. Here's the thing though - I've been a chess player for longer than I've been an EvE player. I've played tabletops roleplay games for longer than I've played EVE too, and probably spent more money doing Live Action Roleplay than I have on EVE subscriptions.
Playing a game isn't intrinsically wrong - I'd make the argument that the time I've spent playing EVE, others have spent watching their daily dose of soap operas, and I've gained better value out of my time.
You see, people see EVE and see a 'flying spaceships game'. Truth is, that's only a very small part of it. EVE is a massively multiplayer real time strategy game. I've always been a big fan of strategy games - I like the mental challenge that they present, especially when I'm going up against other players - a computer opponent is really no match for a human player.
EVE is ... well, probably the best strategy game I've ever encountered, simply because it's not automatically putting you 'in charge' - you get command and control of one ship - your own. You get a resource stream - your own - and you trade off time to accumulate more resources. Those that think of the game in only those terms - because that's all they've ever seen in other games - are missing the real beauty of it. They accumulate some resources, get bored, move on.
And y'know, that's pretty much why I've got bored with every other game out there, to date.
EVE on the other hand - you're playing a strategy game. You don't automatically get to be 'general' - you have to 'prove' your leadership in order to get people to follow you.
You have pilot morale and skill level to think of - in game skills, and 'hard skills' you need to be aware of capabilites of everyone you're flying with and take best advantage of it.
It has logistics - that resource stream I mentioned, how do you best aggregate it and make good use of it. Where do you base and deploy, how to you keep ships fueled, and starbases operational. How do your organise the construction of capital ships, when you _need_ multiple people to be involved to do it effectively?
You have market dynamics and economics - the market is almost entirely player driven. Anything you buy on the market, another player has taken the time to build and has set a price on it. The price fluctuates... based on all manner of factor, but not least is emerging turmoil in key production areas - 'rich' producers in deep space will slow production when they come under attack, and the economy will shift as a result.
It has diplomacy and politics - I have never seen a game where 'realistic' diplomacy and politics have been implemented. EVE manages it, because it doesn't try and do it, it just sets a playground up, where it makes a difference.
Same's true of propaganda and spying - in EVE, these things matter. They're real and relevant.
You've got intelligence to think about - what you know, what you don't, and what you need to know. How to deal with the unknowns.
And in all that, in working together with other people you get to know them really very well indeed. Because you have to - because it's important to how the game unfolds to know that one person is a bit impulsive, where another is calculating. To know that one person is good at being friendly and personable, and so is a better person to conduct diplomacy than the other guy who's just there to blow up other spaceships.
It really is quite a breathtaking amount of depth and freedom, in a way you don't get anywhere else, barring perhaps real life itself. But I think I would get in trouble in real life if I were looking 'play' real life the way I 'play' internet spaceships.
Playing a game isn't intrinsically wrong - I'd make the argument that the time I've spent playing EVE, others have spent watching their daily dose of soap operas, and I've gained better value out of my time.
You see, people see EVE and see a 'flying spaceships game'. Truth is, that's only a very small part of it. EVE is a massively multiplayer real time strategy game. I've always been a big fan of strategy games - I like the mental challenge that they present, especially when I'm going up against other players - a computer opponent is really no match for a human player.
EVE is ... well, probably the best strategy game I've ever encountered, simply because it's not automatically putting you 'in charge' - you get command and control of one ship - your own. You get a resource stream - your own - and you trade off time to accumulate more resources. Those that think of the game in only those terms - because that's all they've ever seen in other games - are missing the real beauty of it. They accumulate some resources, get bored, move on.
And y'know, that's pretty much why I've got bored with every other game out there, to date.
EVE on the other hand - you're playing a strategy game. You don't automatically get to be 'general' - you have to 'prove' your leadership in order to get people to follow you.
You have pilot morale and skill level to think of - in game skills, and 'hard skills' you need to be aware of capabilites of everyone you're flying with and take best advantage of it.
It has logistics - that resource stream I mentioned, how do you best aggregate it and make good use of it. Where do you base and deploy, how to you keep ships fueled, and starbases operational. How do your organise the construction of capital ships, when you _need_ multiple people to be involved to do it effectively?
You have market dynamics and economics - the market is almost entirely player driven. Anything you buy on the market, another player has taken the time to build and has set a price on it. The price fluctuates... based on all manner of factor, but not least is emerging turmoil in key production areas - 'rich' producers in deep space will slow production when they come under attack, and the economy will shift as a result.
It has diplomacy and politics - I have never seen a game where 'realistic' diplomacy and politics have been implemented. EVE manages it, because it doesn't try and do it, it just sets a playground up, where it makes a difference.
Same's true of propaganda and spying - in EVE, these things matter. They're real and relevant.
You've got intelligence to think about - what you know, what you don't, and what you need to know. How to deal with the unknowns.
And in all that, in working together with other people you get to know them really very well indeed. Because you have to - because it's important to how the game unfolds to know that one person is a bit impulsive, where another is calculating. To know that one person is good at being friendly and personable, and so is a better person to conduct diplomacy than the other guy who's just there to blow up other spaceships.
It really is quite a breathtaking amount of depth and freedom, in a way you don't get anywhere else, barring perhaps real life itself. But I think I would get in trouble in real life if I were looking 'play' real life the way I 'play' internet spaceships.
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Newbie comment
Date: 2010-02-12 06:47 pm (UTC)