Ten Ton Hammer's Managing Editor, Cody 'Micajah' Bye writes about EVE Online in his latest editorial, 'The Temptations of a Unique MMOG.' The piece -- the first of many to come -- is an exploration of a game where that standard MMO skillset, employed in virtually all of the industry's dominant fantasy titles, no longer applies.
Bye cites a few aspects of EVE that drew him to the game: depth, no level caps, no class restrictions, skills not determined by grinding time, and open gameplay. He also notes that EVE is becoming a game where players can (slowly) begin to change the rules and systems of the world. In these respects, EVE is largely free of many of the limitations found in other MMOs. However, he notes what many people on the outside looking in lament: EVE can be a very complex game.
Bye describes how he overcame that barrier and dove right in (after much hesitancy). He read the usual suspects -- The Great Scam and about other more brutal actions taken by players in EVE... actions they are allowed to take. Bye acknowledges that there's much more to the game than these notorious events, though, and is beginning to learn about the systems at work beneath EVE's skin. The game's complexity, Bye notes, isn't a drawback after all. It ensures months of gameplay, whereas a simpler title might feel somehow empty by comparison. So far, his impression of the "open sandbox, skill-based, PvP-friendly, MMO game environment" that is EVE Online has been largely positive, or at least optimistic.
Cody Bye will continue to immerse himself in the game and write on the experience (both good and bad) in future editorials, while trying to make the pieces accessible to fantasy MMO players. Bye admits that die-hard EVE players may not necessarily get a lot from what he will convey in the coming weeks, but this blogger suspects that even veteran EVE Online pilots may find something of interest in the forthcoming articles.
