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.
CCP Ginger explained the reasons behind the decision to incorporate war journalism in EVE Online: "For Factional Warfare, we want our news feeds to capture the raw, tense feeling of an ongoing war. This is hard to do at present, as our reporters have remained distant from their subjects in order to retain their objectivity."
EVE's embedded reporters, who will begin their work with the advent of factional warfare in the game, will be grouped into news corporations that focus on a particular faction. "These intrepid journalists will fly alongside people in their factional militia and report back from the very heart of the action, guns firing all around and missiles roaring past their vessels. Those vessels will be small, modified 'Media Shuttles' with higher agility than regular ones, no cargo holds and no way whatsoever of affecting the action around them," CCP Ginger writes.
While the battlefield reports are primarily intended for participants in The Empyrean Age's factional conflicts, certain news reports will be shared with the general populace of New Eden, providing a look at these events from the perspectives of these embedded reporters in the field. "This is a departure from our usual reporting, and we hope to make it a fun and informative one for all involved," CCP Ginger stated. He added that CCP Games and Interstellar Correspondents are still seeking volunteers who would like to enlist and become part of this ambitious project.
