What’s your dream in EVE?
An early concept for a stargate
Reading another fine character portrait on Massively by James Egan got me romanticizing again about EVE Online. I learned about EVE during a deployment and, unfortunately, I learned about it when handed a magazine on the first day I arrived. Limited internet, no gaming, and no fun for that lovely trip tormented me as I read that same article over and over. The article is lost, but the dream lived on. To forget about WoW, hop in a Rifter, and pirate the night away like Verone and the other infamous characters dotting the nether regions of New Eden, caused me to get off the plane, check into a hotel, download EVE, and spend the rest of the night learning how to fly.
That dream took form, changed shape a few times, and culminated in a happy existence in Agony Unleashed for nearly my entire life as a capsuleer. A miner/trader/hauler on the side maintains my finances while the fighter maintains my craving for excitement. A part of me would still love to get into the seedier side of things, like the drug smuggling mentioned in the article. So what were your dreams when you first logged into EVE? Pirate legend? Business Tycoon? Renowned industrialist? Did you meet those goals or did you find yourself flying down a different route?
Honestly, when I first started I did not know what to expect…so I just explored and of course along with most everyone else I mined. The second time I came back was in March 2007. This time I wanted to be able to fly new ships and do new things, then that changed into PvP after visiting the Vale of the Silent/ Tribute region back in April 2007. Since then I have dedicated myself to proper fighting only, with a fair share of ratting and tiny bit of mining. We shall see what comes in the future
Likewise, I had no idea. When I started two years ago I wanted to be a trader and to roleplay and I would never need any flying or fighting skills. Ha. I quickly realised I was going to be shot at and would need to shoot back or run. So I got all the running skills, then by chance got into racing and eventually went pro with the ISGC -who has been like family! So that became my dream and is what I do now: pro racer (co-manage a racing team, scrounge for rigs and implants, and try find new tricks and tactics) and roleplay
Initially, I started playing EVE with a carebear trade specialist. As I hated doing missions from the get-go, she became highly specialized in exploration and industry. After getting to know a couple of irresistible pirates, I was drawn to that way of life. My nerd toon was a poor candidate for that training path, so Mynxee was born. Bred specifically for PVP–and with pirate friends to show her the ropes, Mynx let me experience the fun of PvP and soon became my main. Then I started blogging about her adventures…then Hellcats was born…and now (thanks to my ever-growing social network in-game), I feel more deeply engaged in the “world” of New Eden than ever.
My dream in EVE is to build a respected women-only pirate corp with members who are considered worthy opponents by the pirates and PvP’ers who themselves are respected in the game. It’s a long term goal–there are skills to acquire, tactics to learn, knowledge to gain, confidence to develop, members to recruit. But that’s my dream.
I wanted to be a combat pilot right from the start after hearing descriptions of combat and stealth bombers from my warhammer friends. Stealth bombers ended up being mostly a disappointment for me but the game in general has exceeded all expectations and over two years later I’m still hooked.
To be able to fund wars for fun and profit.
I wanted something that could replace something that I was missing – I craved a sci-fi game that I hadn’t gotten since the days of Frontier (Elite 2) – I’ve always just liked the idea of piloting a space ship, trading to make cash, and killing things. I’ve never had the ruthless streak to be able to go out and pirate, I couldn’t kill innocents, but coming back from playing Ultima Online, and moving on to Star Wars Galaxies was a step change in gameplay – I liked UO’s open ended system where you could be whoever you wanted to be, and didn’t have to stick religiously to ‘classes’ (SWG was semi-open but you were still limted to I think 2 main groups of skills, you couldnt just pick and choose anything) plus going from a game like UO where PVP was a major factor to SWG which was much more PVE based also brought back a lot of potential fun too.
So in a way, yes… Eve did fulfil the dreams I have of it, and it is continuing to give me new things to try even now, 2 years on.
Glad you liked the Masu’di profile, Xiphos. (Verone’s too, I saw you mentioned that a while back). I enjoy these so much because they’re a side of the game I haven’t experienced yet, although it was exactly the kinds of things they talk about that had me reading about EVE well before I’d even tried it. I never really took the leap into the darker (and I’m sure some of the most fun) aspects of the game, but I’d say I’m teetering on the edge right now.
Man, does that bring back memories. Let’s see? I don’t think one thing in particular attracted me to EVE. I think it had more to do with the possibilities, with the fact that I wasn’t limited by class or race. The setting and visuals had something to do with it also.
I do have to say though that the industrialist-side of EVE got my juices flowing early on. They still are to this day! In that regards, I still have a lot of work to do.
Loved this post. Back when the game was released in 2003 I picked it up but never paid it attention, I got sidetracked with exams and work and never gave it a thought. Time passed… I eventually decided to try the game proper after hearing good things and reading about “epic” events.
Two things stand out in my mind as articles which remind me of how great this game can be in many ways and that get me fired up. The first was an article in PC Gamer about the infamous Guiding Hand Social Club’s infiltration of Ubiqua Seraph and the assassination of their CEO and the second was an article on Rock, Paper, Shotgun entitled “The Great War”. Really gets me psyched about the game talking about those two things.
As for my dreams…I just wanted to find a place, or create a place within the game where I could play with like minded players and get that sense of accomplishment/achievement not often afforded in other MMO’s.
I wanted to create danger or menace in a fun way…Well, fun for me, perhaps “not-so-fun” for others. Initially, with little skills and a steep learning curve, this proved a difficult feat to accomplish. I returned about a year and a half later after stumbling upon and reading Havo’s blog. His stories and relating of events intrigued me enough to re-up my account and attempt to pick up where I had left off. Shortly after I returned to EVE, I had a chance conversation with Good Samaritan. A member of [SCONE], I discovered the way they played EVE was exactly the way I wanted to play EVE.
EVE is a dynamic environment- shaped by it’s subscribers. The Eve sandbox allows ample opportunity for players to generate content, and shape the experience(s) of other players. The fact that a player can swindle or cheat another player, within existing game mechanics, is another intriguing facet of EVE that I have yet to find in another MMO.
I read many of your blog posts. Good Job and very informative.
Keep it up!
Regards
Tom