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EVE Online's third novel dropping ship in January
CCP's Tony Gonzales is set to unveil his latest EVE Online novel, titled EVE: Templar One, this January 3rd. But for Gonzales, it is a bittersweet moment, as it marks his final contribution to the game world: "EVE: Templar One is a labor of love that began in 2009. For now, it is my last contribution to EVE's fiction as I was amongst the casualties of the recent difficult times CCP endured." EVE: Templar One should prove of particular interest to DUST 514 followers, as the novel reveals the backstory of the immortal soldiers who will make up the game. Gonzales also says that it will follow up on the events of his previous book, EVE: The Empyrean Age. Readers who want to beef up on the lore of both games will appreciate the explanations of how the immortals work and some of the many mysteries that have popped up in the EVE universe. Gonzales concludes the announcement of the novel's impending release with heartfelt appreciation to fans: "Your support over the years has been overwhelming, and I'll never forget it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for everything." Currently the novel is available for pre-order through Amazon.com.
EVE Online novel The Burning Life to focus on pirate factions
For many players, EVE Online is a game where the developers provide the galactic setting of New Eden but it's them, the playerbase, who makes their own stories. They join together or band against their rivals in alliance warfare, drug cartels, pirate organizations, and industrial powerhouses. The complex interplay of involvements that allow the game's players to establish and destroy invariably triggers cascades of drama. This is the point of the sandbox design of the game, what you do in New Eden affects other players on some level. For some players, EVE is just about their interactions with one another and the fiction underpinning of the game is of marginal concern. While not all players choose to immerse themselves in the game's backstory, the setting is actually quite rich -- built on roughly six years' worth of lore fleshed out in the Chronicles, short stories that provide snapshots of the various levels of activity in New Eden.
The challenges of storytelling in EVE Online's player-driven setting
MMO storylines finding their way into books is becoming increasingly common, but typically it's the fantasy titles we see in print. Guild Wars, Warhammer Online, and of course World of Warcraft all have their lore fleshed out in paperback form. But sci-fi lends itself well to novelization as well, and in the MMO scene as it exists today, EVE Online is a prime example. The game's far-future setting of New Eden is known for its sweeping warfare between vast empires, republics, and federations, but the game's lore has also shown there's a lot happening on a much smaller level. That sweeping warfare was the focus of the first EVE Online novel, The Empyrean Age written by Tony Gonzales, and this was tied in with the storyline events leading up to all-out war between the game's races. However, EVE's creators CCP Games will be showing a different side to the game with the second novel, The Burning Life, written by Hjalti Danielsson.
