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EVE Online Community Spotlight: a Q&A with Chribba
Trust is a rare commodity in EVE Online. Many players are drawn to the game by the fact that almost any form of deceit, betrayal, and outright treachery is allowed in EVE. Not all players head down this path, of course, but plenty do. This element of risk is what makes the game exciting, but even those who are wary of the online personas of some EVE players may still find themselves getting backstabbed and robbed, or worse. Many in EVE have learned to profit from the misfortunes of others. However, this social environment has created certain opportunities for individuals who are able to establish their credibility over time, and through great effort. Among the most trustworthy in EVE Online is Chribba, a player who's very active in the community and provides a number of services to EVE fans, free of charge. Helped by Chribba's efforts, EVE Online has expanded into a game where players become auteurs, creating videos and sharing their in-game pursuits with others, either for their own glory or their organization's propaganda. Of course, his contributions don't end there, as most everyone in the EVE community knows. Massively recently caught up with Chribba and asked him to share a bit about what he does for the EVE player base, and why he does it.
EVE Online's 'Empyrean Age' a first step towards something greater
EVE Online's latest expansion, The Empyrean Age. has largely been a success, both from the standpoint of a number of EVE's players and what it will allow the game to evolve into from the perspective of CCP Games. EVE developer CCP RyanD's recent dev blog confirms that CCP is excited about the directions the game will now be able to take in the future. He writes that throughout EVE Online's five year history, there was a rift between developer-created storytelling and player-driven roleplaying. There were a few prominent storyline events run in tandem by the devs and volunteers in ISD, but while such events succeeded in some respects, they failed in others. The mixed response to the events made them a rarity in the game. But those initial faltering steps have given way to greater storyline interaction in Empyrean Age, as player created content and efforts begin to mesh with the developing story of EVE. CCP RyanD writes, "The path we are on now is really unprecedented."
The Empyrean Age Q&A with author Tony Gonzales
TenTonHammer has done a well-timed interview with Tony Gonzales, Lead Writer for EVE Online, who as of next week will be the published author of a sci-fi novel titled The Empyrean Age. The novel ties in with the namesake game expansion that CCP rolled out just days ago; both the novel and the game deal with the strife of all-out galactic warfare between the four races of New Eden. Gonzales talks about how he began as a volunteer writer for CCP Games, churning out fan fiction a cut above the rest and catching CCP's eye in the process. He discusses the challenges of making The Empyrean Age novel accessible to any fan of sci-fi, particularly those who are not familiar with the setting of EVE Online and the serendipity of 'being at the right place at the right time.' Have a look at the TenTonHammer interview and get an idea of the universal conflict Tony Gonzales brings to readers and gamers alike in The Empyrean Age. If you're interested in a sneak peak before the June 19 release date, TenTonHammer also has an excerpt from the novel at their site. Via EVE Online
EVE Online's war journalists report from the front lines
The creators of EVE Online are going all-out with their storyline-driven factional warfare in The Empyrean Age expansion, which is less than a day away from launch. They're injecting the coming struggle with as much gritty realism as they can muster. Massively has already covered the formation of EVE Online's in-game news organization, called Interstellar Correspondents, but it looks like the staff at CCP Games is setting their sites a bit higher. In a recent dev blog, CCP Ginger discussed the concept of embedded reporting in New Eden. Specifically, there will be war correspondents who report on the events that transpire during the clashes between factions. These members of Interstellar Correspondents will be in the thick of the action and report on world shaping events to the populace of New Eden.
New Eden's virtual reporters
Volunteer organizations directly involved with MMO's isn't a new idea, but the Interstellar Services Department (ISD) of EVE Online is rather unique in the industry. ISD actually works with CCP Games to create and enhance several aspects of EVE. ISD has several branches, including Support Team and Resources (STAR), which provides new player support; Mercury (M), responsible for creating New Eden's fiction; Equipment Certification and Anomaly Investigations Division (ECAID), tasked with solving technical issues; and Interstellar Correspondents (IC), an in-game news organization. The last of those divisions, Interstellar Correspondents, is one that is often misunderstood.
Funcom seeks volunteer forum moderators
Funcom posted a bulletin seeking volunteers to moderate the official Age of Conan forums. The game will be launching in just over a week, so if you're a particularly passionate member of its community, this is probably a good time to jump on board.All you need: strong English language skills, an infraction-free couple of months of history on the AoC forums, "organization skills," and a little bit of forum moderation experience. It's too bad it's not a paying gig, but there's no doubt that there are people out there who are committed enough to the game that they'll help out for free. So if you're one of those people, head on over; Funcom has provided a application for you to fill out.Just don't be too shocked when you end up spending hours every day battling level 80 elite trolls.
The Wikipedia of EVE Online
CCP Games has officially announced a player-driven wiki project called the EVElopedia which is to be integrated into EVE Online, as well as a new division of the ISD volunteer program, The Yulai Archives & Record Repository Team (YARR). YARR will oversee the upcoming EVElopedia- a project which aims to create the definitive EVE wiki. Although there are already a number of sources of EVE-related information available to players, the EVElopedia is CCP-sanctioned. The woefully outdated item database will be revamped through this project, and numerous player resources will be added, essentially creating a Wikipedia for the EVE universe.
