Game Spot did an Interview called:Sink or Swim: Markets and Money in Online Games. It is about Eve's market and the real market and how much information and happenings flow through our virtual game.
It is an interesting read.
My interest in Eve's market is a bit sideways. I don't have the personality to do that. No more than I have the personality to go and pour in the FW ISKies. I could go and do incursions for ISK with very little effort. But in all of these things I am hindered by one thing: My personal interest.
The serious game of internet spaceships is serious. A lot happens. To accomplish most things you must set forth and accomplish them. Laying in station is not going to bring much to you. But, with no quest item to go and seek every quest becomes a personal one.
I enjoy this a lot. I'm motivated by my own interests. It can be selfish or it can be communal. From the start of this blog, back when I abandoned missioning and had to deal with barbed insults to my salvaging, one of the many reasons I loved Eve was because I could do what I wanted and if I did it well enough I'd be successful at it.
I've never been a successful missioner. Now, when I can run missions, my desire is so low that I'd not be successful at it. I tried level four missions earlier in the summer and I eventually packed up and walked away from them. Easy, no risk ISK that involves a large amount of grinding just did not work for me.
But this is Eve online. Interactions with people can create valid paths. I stopped buying ships from the market for the most part and started to buy them through a friend whom builds things. He does not build everything but he builds a lot of stuff. He puts my priorities first and builds my ships. I make ISK and he gets paid for the ships. They are sold to me at under market price.
He could ply his ships on the market but he does not enjoy that as much as he enjoys making the ships for me. That may not make a lot of sense in a large, technical overview. However, he has more in game satisfaction at building for a reason (my needs) then just to sell (drop on the market). Because of that, his game experience improves as does my own.
It's a connection.
It is something that I like to do. Because of Eve's market and industrial interconnections it is one that a player can do and flourish in.
Another example of this is someone else I have met recently. He has offered me standing contracts for the rare skill books that I find in sites. He offers them at the lowest sell orders. This is where I would sell the books. Because he is a trader, he will move them or work towards selling them at a higher rate and play with margins. I have no interest in this.
So, he now gets first dibs on everything interesting that I find. This is productive for both of us. I could go and ply the market more but frankly, I don't enjoy it. Also, I often am selling items that I have split across my group at current orders. I pay out the fleet and then it is up to me to sell the item to recoup the payout and make my own profit.
My fleet members are benefiting, I am benefiting, the other person is benefiting, and the end buyer still gets his product at the same price it would be on the market. I could squeeze a few more drops out of it but instead of ISK I squeeze out a new relationship path that leads to other things.
Such as that same person hauling some items from Jita for me at cost because they had the room to do it and were making the trip. If friendship is not a good enough reason then the more calculated 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' may rest better.
For some that makes Eve to much like work and not enough like play. It all depends on what play relaxes you. IRL I'm not a billion gorgeous spaceship pilot and aspiring pirate queen.
While I may not care that much for the market as my ISK maker I enjoy being a part of the general economy. Fortunately, I have access to many other people who are amazing at industry, marketing, and general ISK making. I learn my pewpew and I learn the mechanics of the game that I play.
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