BB35, no such thing as bad publicity...is there?

Now approaching its tenth year, the EVE Online player community has matured into an intricate and multi-faceted society viewed with envy by other game developers, but is frequently regarded with suspicion by the wider gaming community.

Is this perception deserved? Should "The Nation of EVE" be concerned by its public identity and if so how might that be improved? What influence will the integration of the DUST 514 community have on this culture in the future?

[Unrelated and random bonus question sponsored by EVE News 24: What single button would you recommend be included on an EVE-specific keyboard?]

Other Blog Banters

• BB35 by Xander @ Crossing Zebras
• BB35 by Drackarn @ Sand, Cider and Spaceships
• On the Outside Looking In by Kirith Kodachi @ Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah
• For the Nation! (EVE Nation that is) by Lucas Rox @ Torchwood Archives
• BB35 by Harrigan VonStudly @ Gun Turret Diplomacy
• Through the Lens of Past Experience by Emergent Patroller
• Eve and the people that hate it by Urziel99 @ Urziel's EVE Chronicle
• Growing Up by Grimmash @ Warp to Zero
• The Emperor is not as forgiving as I am... by H @ Aggressive Logistics

There are not many other games that have been around as long as EVE Online has and with its steady development and unique attributes it looks to still have a long life ahead of itself. Not only by retaining a lot of the current player base but also through the appeal for new players this game continues its growth year upon year.

Developments in the new-player-experience-area have made the game vastly more accessible compared to several years back, an important improvement that has also increased the new player retention. The vast number of play styles available and the increasing number of different new aspects to the game, hand in hand with improving graphic content keep even the more experienced gamers tied in.

The steep learning curve is indeed a scary prospect, but its unique composition is part of the addictive nature of the game and surely part of its success.

And finally there is the community in its many forms that contribute to the growth and upkeep of the game as a whole. Bloggers, artists, youtubers, streamers, and so on ... For no other game are there so many player made fan-sites, support networks, guides and genuinely amazing applications and website than for EVE online.

There is a lot of good stuff out there promoting EVE, positive stuff, things that make our virtual universe look amazing and wonderful, produced by either CCP themselves or by fans. On the flipside there is also the ‘negative’ and ’bad’ stuff that comes out and get a lot, if not the most attention. I hyphenate ‘negative’ and ‘bad’ as this is merely a point of view or one’s opinion, not mine. It’s virtual news and drama; ganking and robbery, thievery of entire alliance funds, rigged political events, piracy, tears…

All of these things just point out the enormous freedom we have within the game, the power and the effect we have on others. A real life, financially measurable effect, our actions do mean something; our choices do make a difference. The butterfly effect...EVE is real…

Imagine that power within the safety of a pixelated environment, there is no such thing as bad publicity…

The launch of Dust will only help propel EVE onto an even bigger stage. As far as I can tell the game looks stunning and certainly will be one of the best RPG’s available for a few years to come. The interactivity between two gaming communities will only grow bigger and stronger as the two games get intertwined more in the future. If both games end up having the effect on each other as intended more friends will make friends and enemies will make more enemies. There will be even more stuff to force peoples collaboration and in the same breath there will be more stuff for people to betray each other over.

I shall be spectating and participating…

What button would I like to see on my ‘EVE-Keyboard’? … a button that transforms my PC into a PlayStation3 of course.