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EVE Evolved: The end of EVE Evolved
By now, you will have heard that Massively is being shut down along with Joystiq and countless other blogs run by AOL. That unfortunately means this will be my final article for Massively and marks an end to the nearly seven-year run of the EVE Evolved column, which now holds over 350 articles on topics ranging from ship fittings and opinion pieces to guides and expansion breakdowns. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your readership and to express just how much playing EVE Online and writing for you really have impacted my life. I've been asked by so many people over the years for tips on breaking into the games industry as a journalist or MMO blogger, but the truth is that I lucked into this gig. When a post on the EVE Online news page said that some site called Massively was hiring an EVE Online columnist, I almost didn't bother applying. I was a prolific forumgoer back then and had written some guides for EON Magazine and my own blog, but I wanted to get into game development and had very little confidence in my writing ability. What I didn't know then was that writing for Massively would help improve my writing skills immeasurably and even help give me the confidence to launch my own game development studio. Massively gave me a platform on which to talk about EVE Online and an eager audience to share my game experiences with, but it turned into something much more profound. There have been low points dealing with trolls and organised harassment and tough times with budget cuts, but there have also some incredible experiences like attending the EVE Online Fanfest, investigating monoclegate, watching CCP redeem itself in the eyes of players, and collaborating with some of the best writers in the games industry. In this final edition of EVE Evolved, I look back at the start of the EVE Evolved column, break down my top ten column articles of all time, and try to put into words how much this column has meant to me over the years.
DUST 514 community manager CCP Shadow steps down
In February of last year, Massively writer James Egan joined developer CCP Games as a community representative for EVE Online under the name CCP Shadow. He went on to become the community manager for upcoming MMOFPS DUST 514 and an integral part of CCP's customer relations department. In a lengthy post on EVE's off-topic forum, James let everyone know today that he will be leaving CCP at the end of this month. His replacement as DUST 514 community manager has already been picked from the existing team, and James will be taking a much-needed break before deciding whether to return to writing or take a new career direction. In the forum thread, James remembers the good times he's had over the years thanks to the EVE Online community, both as a writer for Massively and as a community representative for CCP. While he wasn't part of the recent 20% staff layoffs, he relates that many of his friends were. While James will no longer be present under the name CCP Shadow, he will still be playing EVE Online on his normal character with the goal of killing everyone in sight. Everyone here at Massively would like him the best of luck in whatever career he decides to pursue.
Three years of Massively: Celebrating the alumni
Over the past three years, we've seen plenty of faces come and go through the doors of Massively. I can honestly say that I'm proud of the current team and it's been a pleasure working with such a diverse crowd since I started. Some former writers went on to work in the industry itself, either on the community or development side of things. We wanted to spotlight those Massively alumni with this article detailing their accomplishments. As an added bonus, a few of the former staffers answered some questions regarding their new gig. Follow along for more!
E-ON Magazine issue 19 hits the shelves
In Autumn 2005, EVE Online became one of the only MMOs out there with its own dedicated print magazine. Under contract from CCP Games, MMM Publishing has worked tirelessly ever since to produce EVE's official magazine "E-ON." Four times per year, we're blessed with a dose of the latest and greatest things from New Eden in a comfortingly solid format. The magazine covers everything from strategy guides and ship fitting advice to sneak peaks at upcoming expansions, interviews with CCP staff and incredible fiction set in the EVE universe. E-ON differs from other game magazines in that they don't any make money from advertising. In an effort to keep the magazine all about EVE, they've taken the unusual but apparently successful route of publishing full-page adverts from in-game corporations and organisations. Advertisers buy space in the magazine with ISK, the in-game currency, and adverts must be for strictly in-game purposes. The ISK is then used to pay volunteer writers, who create most of the magazine's content and produce important things like guides from a true player's perspective. There's even a scheme in the works to reward advertisers with discount coupon codes for the magazine to gift their corpmates. Now nearing their fifth year of publishing, E-ON issue 19 has recently been released. As usual, this issue is absolutely packed full of everything we've come to expect from the mag. Skip past the cut for a run-down of what you can expect in issue 19 of E-ON Magazine.
Meet the Team: James Egan
Once a week our writers will give you a glimpse into their lives, to let you get to know them and the characters they play a little better. Click here to read more Meet the Team.What do you do for Massively.com?I'm a Contributing Editor at Massively and am focused on our day-to-day news coverage of the MMO industry. While I cover pretty much anything that happens in the MMO world, I'm largely responsible for our EVE Online coverage (beyond Brendan Drain's excellent column here, EVE Evolved.) So I hit much of the big news as it relates to EVE, either from an industry standpoint or (what I much prefer) a player's standpoint. I also conduct most of Massively's interviews as they relate to this particular sci-fi game, whether it's with the devs or the players themselves. Of course I don't just write about EVE though and I'll cover pretty much whatever captures my interest. While I've enjoyed some fantasy games, namely Warhammer Online, I have this kind of disconnect with the fantasy genre in general and am more drawn to sci-fi titles and their lore. More often than not, when you see my name beneath a headline at Massively, it's in connection with something sci-fi. The impending wave of science fiction and post-apocalyptic themed MMOs means this is a great time for me, both as a gamer and a writer, and I hope I'm carrying this over to my work here.%Gallery-33889%
One Shots: A favorite first faction ship
There's nothing quite as thrilling as seeing a cool piece of gear, then targeting in on it and achieving it. It's those kinds of rewards that keep many playing games; from fancy mounts and vanity pets to gear and titles. Today's EVE Online One Shots is of just such an item, and comes from our staff writer James Egan. James included the following story about this image for us: This is a Daredevil, a pirate faction ship from the Angel Cartel in EVE Online. In my first days in EVE, I caught sight of one of these aggressive-looking frigates and just had to have it. As a 3-day-old noob, it was a lofty goal at the time. I suppose it was anticlimactic when I obtained one shortly thereafter, that goal being nowhere near as lofty as I'd envisioned, but it's still a valued part of my collection. It also represents the first major bit of gear I lusted after in an MMO. Those trinkets, titles, pets, mounts, ships and awesome gear are cool, but it's always more fun if you share your accomplishments with others. So if you've had that one thing you lusted over and achieved, why not grab a screenshot of it and send it in to us here at oneshots AT massively DOT com. It only takes a few minutes, and you'll get to tell the world about how exciting it was to finally attain! We look forward to hearing (and seeing) your stories. %Gallery-9798%
WRUP: Business as usual edition
Is it just us or are people settling into their habits lately? Age of Conan is a standby for a lot of folks since release, while WoW remains a constant favorite among MMO players. EVE may have seen a little boost in the ratings lately thanks to all the buzz around the expansion (ditto for DDO), but there hasn't really big a big shakeup in the MMO game in quite a while, seems like. Nevertheless, it's Friday, so it's time to ask you, dear reader: What aRe yoU Playing?Massively's own James Egan is one of those diving back into EVE Online, presumably to blast some nubs out of the sky. I continue to be fascinated by World of Warcraft -- my Hunter is continuing the climb to 70, even if it's slow going lately. And Tateru Nino still hangs out in Second Life and City of Heroes.So things are pretty business as usual this weekend -- would it be wrong to start asking for an MMO release that actually shakes things up? Have you recently broken ground on a new and exciting MMO, or are you standing by your old standbys this weekend? What are you up to?
