One Shots: One thing leads to another
When it comes to sandboxy MMOs, EVE Online offers a rich and diverse set of things you can do -- so long as you're willing to tackle the learning curve and get into a good corporation. While some players may not spend any time thinking about how everything intertwines as they go about their daily space business, today's One Shots contributor Dal'afar, CEO of Arctic Takeover, took a moment to write up his recent musings on just that topic! As it is a bit longer than the normal note, we'll simply say that if you'd like to contribute, then email us at oneshots@massively.com along with your name, the name of the game, and your tale. For now, on with Dal'afar's letter, which continues after the break.
"Today, as I was wrapping up my game time in EVE Online -- docking at a station and unloading my ship's cargo -- one of the members of my corp asked me to help her learn how to trade. Trading is a common profession and a way to make cash fast. So I began to explain how to view the trade goods and told her the best items to trade. As I continued explaining the complex system of the market and how supply and demand are key factors in the in-game economy, I began to realize that CCP has created a very intricate system of buying and selling goods and materials."
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"Once I was done explaining things to her, I looked at my own wallet. Flipping through the long journal of income and expenses, I realized I was selling my three million units of tritanium not just to CCP, but to a real life human. Curious, I typed the name of the player I sold my ore to and private-chatted him. I explained that I had sold him some tritanium through a market order he put up and was wondering what he planned to use it for. He explained he was going to use it to build a Drake-class battle cruiser so he can rat in a nearby low-security system. I thanked the nice PVEer for his time and continued on my way.
"It's just like CCP states in 'The Butterfly Effect' trailer: Thanks to my ore, he can build a ship that he will use to kill NPC pirates. In turn, this will allow miners to mine the belts he clears up more easily. Who knows -- one of these days I could purchase some material from those miners and build a gun that later comes back and blows my best friend out the sky.
"CCP has really impressed me with its complex economy and ways of linking everything together. In other games such as World of Warcraft and RuneScape, when I sell an item to a general store, I sell it to the general store. I hope that other game designers follow in CCP's footsteps and improve the dynamics of their in-game economies. Happy flying."
