Alcevious

Alan Moore better sue somebody.

"Even though Chromehounds sports a very impressive level of persistence (victories matter, the map changes according to player input, players can influence the research and development of their nation to add new items into the shop, and dead nations stay dead) it does not qualify as an MMO for one simple reason -- not enough players."

http://www.massively.com/2009/08/14/redefining-mmos-pesky-persistence-pg-3/

Specifically, I think I'm talking about separating the game from the meta-game and how/why it seems to come naturally (at least for me) in a game like EVE Online (even when I am messing around with EVEMon or some other out of character program) as opposed to other (more themepark-ish) MMOs.

I just started playing EVE at the end of last year and I am absolutely loving it. Listening to people on voice and reading columns (like this one) really make the game more comprehensible.

When I started thinking of suggestions for this contest I wondered what made me like EVE so much (to the point where I'd read game fiction, something I hadn't ever considered in any other MMO). The answer, and what I'd like to see talked about in a future column, is immersion.

More so than in any other MMO I've felt immersed in the EVE universe. Thinking about this I can only conclude that it's due to sandbox nature of the game (EVE's greatest strength).

It's less about playing a game than it is about being a part of the game. A week after creating my character I had set tangible goals for him to accomplish, but these goals weren't like my goals in other games (down this boss, get that loot, etc.) they extended beyond the meta-game of what I wanted as a player and they became something my character was driven to accomplish. That's immersion, and just thinking about it makes me want to log in and just stare at my ship in its hangar (can't wait for Incarna).

I know that the EVE community is given a bad rap by a lot of former players or from people who have read about the scams and the pirates or whatever, but this, to me, only enhances the feeling of continuity I get when playing the game. Unlike in other games where griefers hide amongst the playerbase, in EVE they incorporate. Don't like it? Join an anti-pirating corporation. Want to experience it for yourself and not feel like a social outcast who derives pleasure from watching others suffer? Join up with a group of (respectable) role-players.

I want to read about what exactly makes this possible and how CCP's innovation on this front might be mirrored in other MMOs (though that might itself be a different topic). Is it something inherent in the game mechanics? Or is it simply that a certain type of person is attracted to the game? I love the immersion, and I'd love to read pepole's opinions on this slightly less-talked about feature of EVE Online.

Thank you Turbine for teaching us a lesson about not giving away "our personal security" to companies that pay you to advertise for them! Bleh.

Brilliant!

Another 'In defense of the trinity' post?

Heal/tank/dps is not the only way that players can perform a certain role in online games.

The comments from this blog post (http://www.zenofdesign.com/2009/12/23/the-tank-is-the-trinity/) do a good job of refuting the 'without the trinity all classes are homogenized' mantra.

And the opportunity is there, too. Hopefully, as the game continues to grow, CCP will give the awesome story of the EVE universe a bit more dominance. Missions and objectives taking place within solar systems (and eventually space stations) that more immerse players in the game's lore.

All that these regurgitated blog posts do is serve to play into EA's hype machine. They release these lame blog posts about once every month because they know that sites like this will funnel traffic over to their website and keep the game on people's radar.

This didn't deserve its own blog post.