Power to the Masses... What could possibly go wrong?

Bold Pilot Log, Entry 26#

After Hilmar's apology to the player base, I couldn't stop thinking. I believe there are a few things we must  consider carefully about this situation. Some blogger already took the letter apart, but as much as I try to avoid being redundant, I will need to examine it for the post's purpose.

The first part is taking responsibility. With this, Hilmar openly states that the driving force beyond the last two years' stumbling was him. A vision that still lives, but the road to that vision was misinterpreted. This 'I've bitten off more than I can chew spans a few paragraphs, detailing how he presumably got carried away. This part closes with the big admission. I applaud him for this, just as many people do, but this is one thing that got me thinking. More on that later.

The next section explains that he understands the error in trying to sell the present Incarna content as a full-fledged expansion, especially in a game that revolves around entirely different things. The letter also shows that they are aware of the way they always overestimate their capacity in regards of development. It is also made clear that beyond the little result we saw there were much technology development that should have been built upon much more.

Then he moves on to the virtual goods fiasco. After a short recap of how they have erred on that, he restates and confirms their current standpoint towards virtual goods. It should be a relief for many people, but there are things that never change. Let's move further.

The next part of the letter speaks again about Incarna, and how it ties into the CCP vision of EVE. The general principles are outlined with a promise that Incarna will not be prioritized over the crucial space improvements. This seems a good thing, too.

The last section is where the letter becomes almost cerebral in tone. Hilmar personifies EVE, and boldly goes where few dared to go before: he promises to listen more to the community, to have their voice taken to heart, and the will to mine the full potential of the EVE universe.

Now, this is all good and nice, but let's be a bit realistic here. The company that we knew as CCP has grown rapidly from a garage inc. to a 600-people company. The growing pains we all felt. They had to build a corporate culture, and probably they are still trying to find their way around being able to operate as a large entity. Their CEO seems to have comitted himself to the new culture, he (or the one helping him) writes:

 The greatest lesson for me is the realization that EVE belongs to you, and we at CCP are just the hosts of your experience. When we channel our passion for EVE constructively, we can make this vision a reality together.

So his vision of a corporate culture is where the whole corp works together with its customers, the capsuleer community to achieve its goals. As much as this is heartwarming,  it has some prospects we need to be aware of. Going from the back of the letter to the front, there are a few concerns that my thinking revolved around.

The last part of the letter remains to be taken as truth, but if it is, it means we, the players will be given the power to change the game. Depending on how they plan to achieve this, it has an interesting aspect. Greater power means greater responsibility. My bet is on the philosophy 'look at the way you use something, and try to help', which has worked great in the past and probably is the easiest to make a policy of. That said, it will be interesting to see if the very vocal players would really get a word in the development of the game.

Incarna is considered a failed thing by many players. There's a good chance CCP is monitoring the rate of clients that have it turned on. I don't think that rate is very high. Regardless, we mustn't forget about Incarna. It's rightly a part of EVE, only, it should be a working part, not the tick we knew it to be. And for that, ladies, gentlemen and capsuleers, it requires no less than development resources! I know many of you would happily play around in your fragile bodies out of their pods. The ideas need to be transformed into actual work, and for that , CCP needs us desperately. Incarna won't be real until we make it real, just as with everything else from EVE.

Virtual goods are one thing people tend to be very sensitive about. Basically, if you're already paying for a service, you shouldn't be forced to pay for another service to make the first one enjoyable. That's what Hilmar promises. I, just like many others resent the idea of purchasing game advantage with real money. It just feels dumb. You could argue that you already RMT with PLEX, but the truth is, with plex, you buy other people's playtime that he or she used to make ISK, nothing else! In this regard, we too have responsibility. If the players buy it, they will continue to sell it. It's not that it cost much to create...

The second section of the letter is about expectations. The hype, the way they got everything riled up and screaming we want it is only possible because the people en masse act like they usually do. So the lesson here is that we too should step back and do some soul searching. What can we do to prevent scandals to break out? Shouldn't we try and be more constructive? Shouldn't we HTFU? Hysterical responses have their use but they are effective only so many times. Let's stop being the screaming mass of idiots and start carrying ourselves as real stakeholders, shall we?

And this leads me to the heaviest sentiment. The apology. In that letter, the CEO of a corporation apologizes to a bunch of players calling a box a box, balls to the wall.

Will we, can we, as a community, admit when we are wrong, with the same honesty, the same sincerity?

Sessym out.

Blog Banter 29: EVEmersion

Bold Pilot Log, Entry 25#

A week ago, Seismic Stan on Freebooted put up the question for the 29th Blog Banter. Somewhat late, but ladies, gentlemen and capsuleers, feel free to enjoy my part of the Banter:

"EVE Online is renowned for its depth. Its backstory, gameplay and social aspects are all qualities that draw players in. What does immersion in EVE Online mean to you?"

Immersion is a word that's thrown around a lot these days in the EVEosphere. Now, I could look up the definition for the word but the question here revolves around exactly what it is for the players. So, this topic ties in closely with the 'seven souls of EVE' I have mentioned before. I shall take a look and examine what immersion in and with a game can mean.

For many games, it is  rather simple, even shallow. You think about the game, you think about how you will try things, and that is all. But EVE is somewhat different. When someone is immersed in EVE, he or she does one of the following things:

• The things that you love to do for some reason. This usually triggers a flow experience at some point.
• The things that allow you to do the things you love to do. This creates an atmosphere of anticipation, which is a very real and tangible feeling.
• The things that other people (sometimes not even present or real) make you do. Caution is a big driver of acts.

So what exeactly is immersion? It is a state of mind, a flow of thinking that lets you interpret the depth of the world you are in. Immersion is not about entertainment. It is about learning. By embracing this artificial yet very natural world, EVE immersion is about learning things about yourself. What would I do if... That is the question immersion answers over and over not by words, but by experience. EVE online is in a unique position in this.

When Hilmar, CCP's CEO looked at the ISK Guide, his reaction was: 'God, what have we created?'

They, CCP, are a company that created a new place of immersion. Once you start to 'get EVE', you'll feel that you are a part of it. Your actions will affect things in many different ways. You may not be aware of their significance, but back in your mind there's always the looming feeling that you may have just ruined or made someone's day.

Once you understand these things, once you feel that you get real value out of a game, you are immersed. The value thing may or may not be true, but you must always remember: in EVE, the things are what you make of them.

I know I make a lot of EVE. I think about all the things I see in game, and try to imagine how would this look like if it was 'real'. Human imagination has its ways with creation. According to some beliefs, anything can exist that you imagine. I am immersed in EVE when I imagine myself in the place of the character that represents me. Stories are to be told here, millions of reasons, wills and deeds.

I love that CCP tries to look at a universe as a whole, not just take one perspective and stick with it. In that aspect, I can fully appreciate their intent to expand the game beyond spaceships. I'll be honest. I'm not here because of the spaceships. I'm here because everything else that goes with them. They let me talk with people I never would have known. These conversations arc through cultures and generations. Immersed in EVE means that you're no longer playing a spaceship game. You're part of a virtual world that is very similar to your own, because the people you play with are real. Thus, immersion in EVE begins with understanding the sentence: "EVE is Real."

Sessym out.

Wounded

He maneuvered the camera drone softly around. The look of the site was spectacular but he was much more concerned about the red crosses Aura marked his adversaries with. The Wolf class advanced frigate, now labeled 'Flameburst' was taking ages to reach the warehouse. Ages, as in ten or so seconds. The capsuleer quickly brought up the cargo trasfer interface, and the robotic arms pulled in the reason for him entering this deathtrap.
-Watch the heat sink! - yelled Kem, as the Wolf, propelled by the extreme power of the oversized afterburner drifted towards the warehouse, nearly scratching one of the weakest parts of the ship. Fortunately the kinetic barriers kicked in, and the frigate bumped off with almost equal velocity. The capsuleer turned the warp drive on, and within seconds the fickle Wolf was leaving the deadspace pocket, the angry Serpentis still trying to achieve a target lock until they realized no one's there anymore.

The station was one of the few permanent homes for the capsuleer. The dock coordinator smiled at the timely return, and then sent the little ship to the capsuleer's favorite hangar. The amarrian design provided a magnificient view of the station interior. The pilot did not leave the ship, but contacted the agent he was working for. High security space was always busy, and a lot of people meant a lot of criminals. There's always a new job for the venturing capsuleer, provided he or she climbs the ropes of official corporate trust. The capsuleer was well known in this station, at least in the official circles. Sometimes people would knock on his room right next to the dock. In the age of nanites and people not dying because of some gadgets and computers within their bodies, who in their sane mind would think to register a knock on a metal door in any system? Those people who did knock usually had something fishy in mind and wanted the capsuleer to take care of them. Kem marveled at the extent of some of these requests. Simple deliveries of small trinkets and leading large scale military operations alike. The capsuleer had well-tried crew for these runs, including the lead engineer, Blake, who was sometimes harsher than a brutor farmer boy, but Kem really didn't mind the attitude. The man always pulled his weight and beyond all the cursing and spitting, he had a heart, and women like Kem had a good eye for that. Her thoughts shifted back to the capsuleer as the elevator carried her down to his hangar.

The man talked not a word more than was necessary. He always seemed to be suspended deep in his thoughts. Kem did not question him about his past - the wrinkles around his eye and the pale reflections in his iris told all she needed to know. Some people become capsuleers to leave their proletarian roots behind. Many dream of profits and challenges unknown to planetside people. Some others try to break free of the traditions their nations are entrenched in. And some, probably the most, have something they'd rather leave behind. No matter the reasons they admit, each and every one of them is trying to escape something. This particular capsuleer seemingly had multiple things to escape from. Who she saw was a man without fears and regrets. He probably lost his family to something horrible, she mused, because he never talks about them, nor does he reveal his family name. The capsuleer always introduced himself by his callsign, and with subordinates preferred the address 'pilot', rather than any fancy ranks or titles. This appealed to the seibestor woman, though she noted that for an amarrian - and a khanid of all kinds - the capsuleer was awfully humble and very kind in his own way. Some of the crew were slaves before the 'mighty Empress' decided to release them to the four winds - without food and jobs. The capsuleer took these stragglers in, and gave them work and hope. He actively encouraged them to seek ties with their families. In case they died when he lost a ship, he sent the remainder of their belongings to their families, along with their remaining pay to help ease their grief. It wasn't much, but it was a nice gesture. The pilot actually took care of his people. The small battleship and cruiser fleet he maintained gave them homes and employment. In return, the rules were strict. He always undocked with a skeleton crew, no errors, no slackers permitted. Rather dead than useless is what he believed a crew member should be. As much as he approached the people casually, he demanded complete attention and precise work. This duality is a marker for a kind of people who Kem could refer to with only one word: wounded.