Thomas Horan
EVE University
Ivy League
6
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Posted - 2012.09.14 16:03:00 -
[1] - Quote
Wow why are there so many pricks on these forums? This guy took the time to write something interesting, something that you might actually have to think about to understand, something on a level above most of the normal forum-garbage and trolling, and 80% of people that respond say "Get back on your meds" or "TL;DR".
Seriously guys? I suppose many of the people who responded in this way aren't capable of comprehending anything that isn't black-and-white - it seems abstract concepts and language just goes right over your head. Maybe people are just ******* around, I sure hope so. The last thing the internet needs is another mean-hearted cesspool of a forum.
I personally think it's an interesting topic. Gaming to me is all about immersion - or to put it another way, escape. Of course, you can't lose perspective that you are still just playing a game, but the more the game sucks you into its world, the more you can connect to your avatar and relate to other characters in the game, the better. They offer a temporary refuge from the dull cubnicle-based existence many of use are confined to from 9 to 5.
MMO's are definitely unique in several ways - as you mentioned, the dialogue of the game, its politics and the big events - are not programmed or scripted in, per se. It all comes down to the interaction between players and between groups of players. For someone like me, who makes the majority of their in-game income trading, it becomes clear that you cannot easily predict what's going to happen, or how the markets are going to change, for example. There are so many human players that there are an infinite number of variables all interacting with each other at any given time.
Sometimes I do wish there was a bit more of a solid cannon of lore. For example, the Mass Effect series does an excellent job pulling you into the game-world. The locations are all unique, the different races are all interesting, and there is a backstory which influences in every way what is going to happen in the game. Since EVE relies almost completely on human players to create the story, sometimes I feel like it would be cooler if there were more developer-seeded events that would affect vast amounts of people. Incursions are an example of this. Maybe we could see more of the Jove, or political events within the different factions would have more bearing on players. Obviously this is easier said than done, but it's interesting to think about. |