In my list of goals for this summer I've mentally jotted down finishing my History of Eve Expansion series. I'm up to Incarna's release and shall soon dive into its after effects.
Eve's history has taught me a lot about the game. It has changed my perceptions more than anything else I have done. Hindsight is a beautiful thing and the past is meant to be learned from. All the knowledge that you know can be mixed with what you learn to develop fascinating pictures of things you did not directly know but upon retrospect are clear.
But that is the serious side of things. The other side, the side that would be hardest for me as a new player to uncover, is the rest of the history. The small things that existed and then changed. It is things as small as the text in the Tutorial's changing. The gruff and often sarcastic humor of the original writers has changed and will change more. Or if the movement that 'gamer's can't read' is fully embraced will vanish for other forms of stimulation.
I like history. I've always been fascinated by the past. I discovered I had a love of old books when I found the small science fiction section of my high school. It was only a single, two level shelf. There, I picked up books that had last been checked out a year or two after the school was opened. That was twenty years before I plucked them off the shelf to see their date stamps from before my birthday. I think that is when my flood gate for history that you can touch and feel opened.
My dive into Eve's history started as a whim that has grown. Now and then, I am fortunate that some older players share the early history of the game with me. Ancient history in Eve is old in video game terms. I am always excited when I meet players who have been here since the games early days. I don't always do my due diligence and check to see if someone is older then dirt. In a way, that makes it even better when they still enjoy the game and lack bitterness that would automatically have me checking to see their start date.
Alexander get's that title today. He sent me a loss mail from 2004 and one from 2006 which I am allowed to share. I think that they are cute. I know some people would tire of the message but I think I would giggle when I read it and then beg to be able to customize it.
Clone activated
From: Alexander Imperator
Sent: 2004.10.12 01:18
To: Alexander Imperator
Well, since you are reading this, I guess we screwed up, and I died.
Luckily I had invested in a Grade A Clone at Fobiner VII - Moon 13 - Civic Court Tribunal, that clone would be you.
Seems like the clone paid off, no skill points were lost in the reanimation process. Let's hope that I remembered to insure my valuables.
Note to self: Beware of EveOwner ID: 177858806, "OmegaTron". They seem to be out to get us.We still call kill reports kill mails because once upon a time, before my birth, when the universe was still young and innocent, they were mails like this.
And then they changed.
Clone activated
From: Alexander Imperator
Sent: 2006.03.01 05:30
To: Alexander Imperator
So you died? Well you have a Clone Grade Omicron at Allebin VI - Federal Navy Academy School station. Enjoy your afterlife.Eventually they evolved into our current kill reports. Those have been refined as well. Pod kills now show implants. Capitals that self destruct now leave loss mails if players have attacked them. The later has been added since I played. Many a capital kill is recorded only by my own words and battle reports in this blog.
I like the good matured fun of things. I know that Eve is a serious game and it has to appear fresh and polished to compete. That is what I tell myself at least even as I watch things like the damage control icon change because it is silly and does not belong. Sure, it is silly, but sometimes that is fun and joyful. Eve is a harsh game but that does not mean it must be dark and somber and without character or humor. Those qualities can still be possessed in the modern day.
That is an argument I am losing. So, I'll preserve history. I'll enjoy these things I never knew and I will miss the things that have come and gone.
I also miss the humor. I think the devs forgot you can be ultra serious and still have a laugh. The most deadly serious subject in all of human history, war, still has laughs. Some of the darkest and bleakest jokes ever, but it's still funny.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who spent my college years working with dead people, I will testify that you most certainly can deal with very serious subjects and situations and still maintain a sense of humor. In fact, sometimes it's the only way to keep your sanity.
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