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EVE Evolved: It's election time in EVE online
The month of May is election time for EVE Online as players vote for members of the game's democratically constructed Council of Stellar Management. Voting opened on May 5th for all players with an account older than 30 days and continues until May 19th. Once assembled, the council is tasked with bringing the concerns of players and ideas for game improvements directly to CCP. Players propose issues on the official EVE forums and the rest of the player-base can give the thread a thumbs up to show their support. Issues that get enough support from the general EVE community are elevated to the regular CSM meetings, in which the issue is discussed and voted on by the council members. If the council deems the issue important enough in a meeting, they'll add it to the list of items they plan to discuss with CCP. In this week's politically charged EVE Evolved, I look at the role of the CSM, how it's changing with this fifth term and the impact the council has had on EVE's development.
EVE's 4th CSM election results are in
Election results for EVE Online's 4th Council of Stellar Management (CSM) are in. The CSM are players elected by the game's subscribers, given the responsibility of representing the collective interests of the playerbase to EVE Online's developer CCP Games. The hope is that future game changes and features will be in keeping with how the subscribers like to play EVE. The announcement from EVE developer CCP Xhagen earlier today lists the election results by real name, character name, location and number of votes:
Former LucasArts president making Congressional bid
Jim Ward is best known for being the no-nonsense president of LucasArts from 2004 to 2008 -- a period where the company seemed to dust itself off, and start making good games again. His claim to fame might change in the near future, however -- he's currently running to represent Arizona's 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 2010 Congressional Election.Ward's fairly conservative viewpoints are evident in his campaign website, but regardless of how you feel about his policies, he's got to be a staunch supporter of the gaming industry. Plus, he might just be the only person who can push legislation through mandating the re-release of Day of the Tentacle.[Via GamePolitics]
EVE Online's 3rd CSM election results are in
The Council of Stellar Management (CSM) in EVE Online is a body of players elected by the game's subscribers to represent their interests before CCP Games. We've seen no small amount of debate on the CSM in the comments here at Massively, which is actually indicative of the lengthy and contentious discussions on the CSM that take place on the official forums and unofficial forums alike, as well as on player blogs. We'd already mentioned that the 3rd Council of Stellar Management elections were under way but now those election results are in. Two council members from the 2nd CSM were-elected -- Vuk Lau and Omber Zombie. Dierdra Vaal, who sat on the first CSM, has been elected as well. In fact Vaal garnered the most votes in this election (2967) and is thus the new Chairman of the Council of Stellar Management. 9.7% of EVE Online's playerbase voted in the 3rd Council of Stellar Management election.
Election results from EVE Online's second Council of Stellar Management
EVE Online is notable among MMOs for having a system where players elect other players to become part of a representative body known as the Council of Stellar Management (CSM). The main purpose of the CSM is to represent the interests of the playerbase before the developers at CCP Games and, hopefully, keep the game of EVE in step with how subscribers actually play it. All four of the first CSM delegates who ran for re-election were voted in for the second council. Eva Jobse (aka 'Ankhesentapemkah'), Charlie Eriksen (LaVista Vista), Sean Conover (Darius JOHNSON), and Marcell Tóth (Tusko Hopkins) are all returning for another term. The CSM's new Chairman, having garnered the most votes in the election (2033), is Vuk Lau from 4S Corporation, of Morsus Mihi alliance. Joining them are four new delegates: Valentine Obasuyi (Pattern Clarc), Jeremy Jankie (Omber Zombie), Michele Boland (Issler Dainze), and Ryan Hamilton (Bunyip). According to EVE developer CCP Xhagen, the CSM's first order of business is to elect a vice-chairman, secretary and vice-secretary.
EVE's Council of Stellar Management elections end tomorrow
Tomorrow is the last day for EVE Online players to cast their vote for the Council of Stellar Management (CSM) candidates. Members of the player-elected council act as representatives of the playerbase, bringing issues with the game before the developers and working towards keeping EVE Online a game that reflects the interests of those who play it.EVE's Council of Stellar Management is one of the first significant implementations of a democratic process impacting both the players and developers of an MMO. Other titles and developers have taken smaller steps towards this in the past, but the first CSM was a first for the industry as well.
A look at Election Night ratings: ABC gains, others lose
We already gave you a shot to voice your opinion on which Election Night broadcast was supreme, but now it's time to dig into the cold, hard facts. With all four of the broadcast networks holding nothing back in order to offer a whiz-bang high-def presentation, it looks as if ABC can be most proud. According to data from Nielsen Media Research, ABC's viewership increased by 9% in total viewers compared to four years prior, and it drew an average of 13.1 million on the eve of November 4th. NBC remained competitive with 12.02 million viewers, but that still represented a loss of 18% from the last election; as for CBS, it notched just 7.83 million watchers and saw its election-over-election results slip 14%. For the full list of numbers and percentages, check the read link.
Voting for EVE's second Council of Stellar Management begins
This has been an important week for our American readers in terms of elections, but now that the minor distraction of real-world governance has been dealt with, it's time to focus on governance in the MMO space. You've got to keep those priorities straight, after all.The polls are now open in EVE Online's second Council of Stellar Management (CSM) election, where players can vote for candidates to represent their interests before CCP Games... and potentially impact how the game evolves. We can already sense the impulse someone, or several someones, out there has to comment below: "But why should I bother voting? What do they even do?" And to be fair, it's not been very transparent what the CSM has been up to (aside from the meeting minutes), but more so what effect they've had on EVE and its development pipeline.
Presidential race celebrated in mini golf game
Data Design Interactive, the folks responsible for such titles as Ninjabread Man and Anubis II, decided they needed to make a gesture in honor of the election, and what better to do than use their NotMiis to represent a golftastic throwdown between President-Elect Barack Obama and his former opponent, John McCain? Well, there's not much actual golf in the trailer in question, for Crazy Mini Golf, but there is a victory dance, as well as some dudes who somewhat resemble the politicos.
Check out Snak for free today only
A new President, free software, and a look at an IRC client you probably haven't used yet -- what more could you ask for? Snak is giving out their IRC client today (and there's only a little bit of time left in the day, sorry about that) for free to celebrate the choice of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Whether you support that choice or not, no one would vote against free software, right? Go check it out, enjoy the free download (to get a license, you've got to drop an email note to Obama2008 AT snak.com), and leave the Obama drama for your mama.Personally Colloquy does pretty much everything I'll ever need in an IRC client, and it's already free (although they do appreciate donations if you enjoy the 'ware). But Snak looks like it's got some cool features too, including an "Mp3 list" for... erm... backup downloading, and an "address book" for all your IRC friends. Seems worth trying out, and today at least, you can't beat the price.Thanks, Alex D!
Yes we can haz gamer prez?
What does an Obama presidency mean for video games? 1UP asks the question in a lengthy analysis of Obama's relationship to gaming culture.Obama first entered our scene in December 2007 with comments presented to Common Sense Media on the topic of game violence legislation on his way to being dubbed the most "gamer-friendly" Democratic candidate. But the President-elect is better known for targeting youth voters with a $44.5K in-game ad campaign during the election season. (And apparently, it worked.)Obama did urge us to "stop playing Game Boy" and put down the Wiimote (see screencap above -- from his Election Day ad), but the sentiments were geared toward encouragement rather than scorn. 66 percent of voters ages 18-29 (you know, gamers) supported Obama yesterday, according to CNN. Forget a puppy, the next US President can show some love back by bringing Wii to the White House.
Poll: Which election night broadcast impressed you most?
Election Night 2008 brought about an unprecedented amount of HD coverage, and while we're all in absolute agreement that CNN's "holographic" interviews were the comedy for the evening, we're interested on your take on how networks as a whole did with their high-def presentation. Was CBS' polished graphics set enough to overcome those embarrassing audio gaffes? Did ABC / FOX have the edge? Where did you find yourself tuned to most of the night? Drop your vote (hey, there's a concept!) below. %Poll-21926%
Election '08 coming home in HD like never before
Sure, not every station's pulled out the Star Wars / Iron Man-style holograms for the 2008 election, but they're all trying to put shiny new HD studios to full use and get as many eyeballs as possible until things are decided. NBC & ABC immediately jumped out front at 7 p.m. with data pouring in on the widescreen edges of their HD feeds, with CNN waiting until states were decided to begin updating their lists. ABC's chosen to lean on its touchscreen display and forgo side graphics altogether, while despite Fox's claim as "America's Election HQ", with totally bare shoulders and boring sets, we're pointing our flatscreens elsewhere. PBS, despite airing the clearest, most high quality video available of three old guys at a table, has no slick touchscreens or HD graphics packages to speak of. Think about that as you check out the rest of the screens after the break, and during the next donation drive. Big Bird deserves better.
CNN's holographic freakout begins, seems totally bizarre and unnecessary
If you've been keeping your eyes fixed on CNN as this election unfolds, then by now you've seen Wolf Blitzer doing a "hologram" interview with Jessica Yellin. Not only does this technology seem completely creepy, but it's without a doubt one of the most useless and unnecessary pieces of phantasmagoric TV ever enacted. Enjoy some video and two more pics of the weirdness after the break.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
CNN's Wolf Blitzer to interview hologram strategists on election night
As the news networks spend oodles of cash in order to one-up the other with whiz-bang visuals and mind-melting charts, CNN is looking to blow just about everyone else away. As election night officially kicks off in just a few hours, the network's Wolf Blitzer will be conducting interviews with faraway strategists not via the traditional two-pane window, but by hologram. Believe it or not, professionals in Chicago and Phoenix will be beamed live to CNN's New York studios in order to give viewers a look at Wolf and a ghostly counterpart. Granted, this is far from the first holographic / 3D interview we've seen, but it is rather impressive given the scenario. In related news, we're also told that FOX News will be touting a "giant wall with touch-screen technology [that] will provide electoral map results," which hopefully translates in geek speak to "Surface."[Via Hack-A-Day]
Obama leads the Xbox Live voting race
As Election Day (in the U.S.) progresses, local and cable news stations are reporting on the tallies, numbers, facts and polling figures. But news stations aren't the only ones getting in on the election reporting, Microsoft and their Xbox Live election campaign just released the latest Xbox Live presidential voting numbers and Barack Obama is leading the race. According to the number of election gamer picture downloads off the XBLM (where one download equals one vote for the candidate), Obama is leading the race by a whopping 20%. The unofficial Live poll numbers were taken from the weekend of October 31st and have Obama / Biden at 53%, McCain / Palin at 33% and Undecided / Other at 14%. Make the jump to get your fill of pie charts and - if you haven't already - get out and vote. Cliff did.
Video: Cliff Bleszinski is voting and so should you
Unless you've been living in a media retardant bubble for the past two years, it's Election Day in the United States and that means anyone eighteen and older can and should make their way to their local polling place to cast a ballot. Seriously, it's a presidential election, go out and vote. Whether right this very moment, in an hour or later in the day, just vote. As a bonus, you'll receive an "I VOTED!" sticker.Don't take our word for it, take Cliff Bleszinski's word, because he's voting. In the video above you'll hear a dude asking Cliff about the upcoming election and who he supports. We won't spoil his answer for you, but let's just say "change" sorta has duel meanings. Tricky Cliff.Anyway, if you're in the States, please, go out and rock the vote. If you're in Canada, Europe or any other worldly place that doesn't participate in today's elections, please, go play video games.
Breakfast Topic: Too much politics in your WoW?
I am on record in preferring no outside world topics in my MMO chat and that particularly applies to politics, but what with a major real world political event happening today, politics have been a hot topic in Azeroth. Cinnabunz writes in that he's tired of politics taking over Trade Chat and I can totally empathize with him, even though the Trade Chat in my server has mostly been filled up with "I put my [insert link here] in your mom's [insert link here]" for the past couple of weeks. Last week, I got an invite from a complete stranger to a guild of Ron Paul supporters. Regardless of my opinions as to who should be running the country, I don't want to deal with it in my favorite form of escape. But I know that many of you consider WoW part of your social circle and look forward to chatting about real world topics with your guildies and server-mates.So does political chat belong in Trade Chat? Does it ruin the immersion too much for you or do you feel that something this important should invade even the virtual world? How long do you think it will last after today?
Prepare for Election Day with your iPhone
Here at the TUAW home office, we're quite distracted by the pending election of the USA's 44th President. However, since this is an Apple blog, we can't go all political -- but we can combine our interests.Here are four ways you can prepare for the big day with your iPhone.1. Quiz yourself about the candidatesHow well do know the man who'll receive you vote? Fit 2 Vote [App Store link] displays a quote made by either John McCain or Barack Obama. Your job is to identify the quote's origin. Once you've correctly attributed 50 quotes, you're deemed "fit to vote." Fit 2 Vote costs $0.99US.2. Report on your polling placeVote Report [App Store link] is the mobile end of the Twitter Vote Report, a network of software developers, designers, and others that allows voters to instantly share the conditions at their polling places. Use your iPhone to alert the media, your neighbors, friends or anyone involved about wait times, machine malfunctions, and especially clever signs in the parking lot. Vote Report is free.[Incidentally, has anyone ever, in the history of democracy, been swayed by a posterboard sign viewed minutes before voting? You've got to wonder why those people are standing out there in the rain.]3. Track live resultsBy now the rhetoric has nearly died down and all that's left is the results. Election [App Store link] provides real-time polling results that can be sorted by state, candidate, percentage and more. You can even limit the results to your candidate, and best of all, there's no stumping. Election only reports the numbers. Election costs $0.99US.4. Perform electoral mathVotetastic [App Store link] lets you fiddle with electoral votes and observe the results. For instance, you can select a contested state like Ohio and either turn it "red" or "blue." Doing so moves those electoral votes from one side to the other. Votetastic is really more of a game than a tool, as it doesn't report on real data, but it could be fun to see if your own predictions come true. Votetastic costs $0.99US
Is Azeroth a red state or a blue state?
From comedians Rich Kuras and Sandeep Parikh (who you know best from The Guild, most likely) comes a look at the United States presidential election through the eyes of Azeroth. If all of the 11 million active World of Warcraft subscriptions were US citizens, Azeroth would be the 8th largest state in the union. Rich Kuras looks to find out whether Azeroth would be a red or a blue state. I think the last thing any of us want is political fisticuffs, so just take this video as the light political humor that it is and don't read too much into it.The polling stats at the end are a little silly because the numbers most certainly wouldn't come out that way on a larger scale survey, but that's alright, it's not meant to be super accurate. It's just a silly little thing, and I chuckled at the commentary from the people they spoke to on both sides of the fence. Deep political commentary? No. Mildly entertaining? Yes! And I admit, I smirked at the mention of Mike Gravel.Thanks to all of you that wrote in about this video the last few days!
