Bold Pilot Log, Entry #28
'Tis a new month again, and our favourite British Minmatar Keeper O'Records Record-A-Worthy, put forth another two questions to banter posts for his keeping o'records. The first question cometh:
"With the Winter expansion possibly being named 'Crucible', it certainly is a melting pot of refinements and tweaks aimed at making the EVE experience smoother and more wholesome. If the developers suddenly found themselves some spare resources and approached you for an additional feature to include before release, what single concept would you pitch them and how would you implement it?"
You probably already know that I'm a lazy person, so I'll just point you at my previous post (funny how I answered the question before it was asked, huh? ). I'll wait patiently until you read my Letter to Sansha Claus, then, if you still want more rants, welcome back here.
For bonus points, the one thing lacking from this "patchwork" of iterations is a cohesive storyline to package "The Crucible" together. How could this expansion be marketed to potential new customers?"
Now that, ladies, gentlemen and capsuleers is a good and hard question. Exactly the ones that I like! So let's start dissecting it. So we want something that makes 'Crucible' make sense. I'll answer with another word. "Embrace". The whole excpansion is about breaking stagnation and embracing a new concept. To hold something close that's so dear to everyone. And that thing is violence and change. Let this expansion be the finger that points up: it gets only better! So how about this narrative:
"There are things that never change. Or this is that some want to believe. But they are wrong. We all were, at some point, wrong. The absence of change is something none desire. Change is your test, your challenge put forth by the universe. We, capsuleers are the cavaliers of change. Creation, destruction, violence, compassion - they all serve the same purpose. The world is merciless, harsh. Despite this, the whole has a purpose - and that purpose is ours to shape..."
I would certainly enjoy a trailer with something like that. It could be a nice sequel to the "I was there" episode saying that "we are capsuleers, we are the symbols of change".
I must however, put forth a disclaimer before continuing. When looking at new players, I'm very picky. I'm not content with 'any players will do'. This may seem an elitist attitude, but don't get me wrong. In my belief, there are people that have no need of the EVE universe, and it's probably better off without them, too. I know some of those people, and I'm certain you know some. These are the people that cannot enjoy the game for the same reasons long-term EVE players do. This is mainly because if you're living on a wormhole colony or something and hadn't already noticed, we have a say in where the game develops.
There are voices that should and shouldn't be heard. Those that don't play, those that can't accept the parts of the game they don't like, those that are not prepared to stay with the game - they'll probably never shut up... but they can be ignored in my opinion. I know that's a bit harsh, but so is EVE, and I like "her" that way. If I need love, I go to my wife. If I want violence and challenge, I'd prefer to pixel shoot pixel people in pixel spaceships than real fights.
And guess what? Crucible is a very good name - a well defining name. There are all kinds of people doing all kinds of things to each other. Because they want to. Because they can. And the heat of it all, the challenge, the test is yours to jump in. With a little care and clever design, CCP can show the world a new class of marketing: the active, interactive, immersive one. The "we'll give you what you want" message is well received from the existing players. And in my opinion, CCP should build on the tight community, keep it that way. Inflated subscriber numbers may not be as good as the beancounters think. EVE is not about fun - it is about complexity, longevity, planning, understanding, learning - the things that really define a hobby. Many people look at it that way - and that is what CCP should look to achieve. Because favourites, games are cycled throughout the lives of people - usually in a seven-year cycle - but hobbies persist. You never really quit hobbies. These are the things you enjoy spending your time on - and EVE should always provide a lot of opprtunities to reward the time spent on it.
There's something in marketing that many sales specialists build on when advertising: perceived vaule. In this world, in this economy, soon there will be only one thing that has substantial perceived value by the 'simple' people: longevity. EVE is good at it, but not as long as the database is running on Tranquility (and its descendants) - only until people consider the game to be worh talking about and the players worth helping. Do you really think they should ignore that?
Sessym out.
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