Buried Alive in the Sandbox

Note: I had originally planned this post as part of Blog Banter 42, but I kept getting dragged away from writing a review of EVE and into more of a review of the community. I figured I'd put it up anyway for people to read, and may still end up doing a BB42 entry.

Note 2: Apparently, Stan thinks that this should go into the Blog Banter anyway. Thanks Stan, you're a sweetheart!

Every time I see any sort of opportunity for the playerbase to review EVE, I immediately think I'm supposed to go into Bittervet Mode, as if there's an expectation of a long-standing "CCP vs. the players" antagonism. Instead, it comes out more like this XKCD comic.

Ever since the epic backpedalling following the Walking in Stations debacle, I've been pleased to note that at least in the broad strokes, CCP seems to be addressing concerns that players bring up. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely - but I'm not convinced that it's CCP's responsibility to make it happen.

Blog Banter 40: Van Damme In Space?

While I'm not sure I'd call this a triumphant return to EVE blogging, the topic of the latest Blog Banter (BB40) caught my eye. Interstellar Blood Sports? Sounds like the everyday life of a lowsec pirate to me, I thought.

No, not THAT Bloodsport. Not even when you count that ECM drones are the blinding powder of EVE.

Upon reading further into the question, however, I quickly discovered that the commentary was intended to focus on tournaments and "eSports" in EVE Online. The next statement that popped into my head was, never mind, that's nothing like real PVP. Normally I'd have let the matter drop there with a smug return to my dinner, but on further reflection, the comment was so stuffed with my own assumptions and pre-conceptions that I couldn't resist poking at it to see what came out.