Establishing trust in EVE's player-run financial institutions
The player-driven economy of EVE Online is very much a playground for those interested in being financiers, traders, or whatever variant of corporate tycoon their greedy little hearts desire in the virtual space. EVE is a far cry from most MMOs in that its market isn't manned by NPC vendors, it's almost entirely player driven and remains dynamic due to the fact that EVE is a single-world game, where all player interactions can conceivably affect the game's economy. For some players, EVE's economics is where they immerse themselves. Indeed, in some cases it's even where they PvP with their rivals in price wars and market manipulations. To them, the market is where they live and breathe, just as much as lowsec is the ideal environment for many pirates, and lawless 0.0 space is where players interested in large-scale alliance warfare feel at home.
While EVE doesn't officially support a stock market or banking institutions, the sandbox approach CCP Games took to the game has allowed players to establish their own financial ventures in-game. However, without safeguards put in place by CCP Games, and with New Eden being a place where players can act as they wish, there's always the risk of embezzlement in any large-scale, player-driven financial institution. While it doesn't happen as often as most assume, there have been incidents like the EVE Intergalactic Bank (EIB) scam that have eroded investor confidence in such ventures. Fortunately, not all players are daunted by this, both in terms of those with a vision to establish a financial venture and the investors they rely upon. One such visionary in New Eden is "Ricdic", Founder and Managing Director of EBANK.
Ricdic recently spoke with the independent EVE ezine, EVE-Mag. Interviewed by Jacob Mei, EBANK's founder discussed his background as a player, his motivations to build a financial institution in EVE, and the challenges of establishing legitimacy among a wary playerbase. It's a good read, one which offers insight into an aspect of the game that's often misunderstood or simply mistrusted. If you're interested in learning more about player-driven financial institutions in the virtual space, you can't go wrong by checking out Ricdic's EBANK interview over at EVE-Mag.
