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The Giving of Gifts
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Hir Miriel
Elves In Space
#1 - 2016-12-29 22:48:55 UTC
Over the last decade, or two, various online games have given gifts to their players.

Usually the gifts come with some quid pro quo. Must be a paying player, must log in within specific times, and so on.

EVE does this.

The hidden quid pro quo is time. Time spent logging in to EVE is time not spent logging in to other games. The gifts are a way for games to keep the attention of players during times when rival games arrive on the scene.

Oh, and of course, the gifts are given with the whole-hearted generousness symptomatic of the season. Which is nice.

Virtual gifts are naturally worthless. A few bits of pixel dust which usually remain the property of the game rather than the player, even though the player is theoretically in possession of them in the game. Not sure about the EVE terms and conditions, but they are probably the same as other games that stipulate that they own everything in the game, always.

But players do assign worth to these items. By spending time on getting them, and by selling them afterwards.

The games obviously assign worth to giving these gifts, after all they are the ones spending real time and money making these gifts.

It is this transaction of time to me, that perfectly illustrates what property and ownership is; a virtual concept.

It can seem a little venal, even a little like work, to log in all the time, at the allotted times, to pick up our goodies.

And the uni-directionality of the giving feels a little mercantile, but in part that stems from only CCP having the power to create items. Which is where the gifts vary from player to player gifting. We can give each other money and many players do help out new players in this way, but we can't create something special, something unique. Apart from in these forums, where we can create unique posts out of pixels and give them to others, who may or may not spend time admiring them.

Might be nice to create a little uniqueness in game.





~ ~~ Thinking inside Schrodinger's sandbox. ~~ ~
Freyya
Aliastra
Gallente Federation
#2 - 2016-12-30 00:17:00 UTC
Wow, That's soo....deep...mind blown.
Salvos Rhoska
#3 - 2016-12-30 00:33:43 UTC  |  Edited by: Salvos Rhoska
Player:
-Login on 100 Alphas
--Receive loot.

CCP:
-OMG such login/account numbers!

PvE v PvP <> Old School Exploration <> CODE Licenses <> CODE Special Agent
Celise Katelo
State War Academy
Caldari State
#4 - 2016-12-30 02:44:46 UTC
Hands over some Purple pixie dustPBlink

EVEBoard ...Just over 60million skill points, each skill was chosen for a reason. I closed my eyes & clicked another skill to train... "BINGO...!!!" ... "This time i got something usefull"
Pix Severus
Empty You
#5 - 2016-12-30 03:17:27 UTC
Freyya wrote:
Wow, That's soo....deep...mind blown.


Whoa.

MTU Hunter: Latest Entry - June 12 2017 - Vocal Local 5

MTU Hunting 101: Comprehensive Guide
Amanda Creire-Geng
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#6 - 2016-12-30 05:18:33 UTC
Just how insanely valuable is your time that you can't be bothered to spend 30 seconds to load the character screen and claim your gift?
DeMichael Crimson
Republic University
Minmatar Republic
#7 - 2016-12-30 06:07:13 UTC
Amanda Creire-Geng wrote:
Just how insanely valuable is your time that you can't be bothered to spend 30 seconds to load the character screen and claim your gift?

This 100%. Don't even have to be in-game to redeem the gifts.


DMC

'The Plan' | California Eve Players | Proposal - The Endless Battle
Hir Miriel
Elves In Space
#8 - 2017-01-03 09:23:56 UTC
Amanda Creire-Geng wrote:
Just how insanely valuable is your time that you can't be bothered to spend 30 seconds to load the character screen and claim your gift?


You have misinterpreted the post.

I don't value money or time at all, they are just numbers. How you change those numbers around can give you different results.

I'm wondering if the results CCP are getting, are the best results they could get.

What goals does the current model of gift giving achieve?

I look at websites like 9gag and Imgur and they generate tremendous interest when posters create stuff. Like art, stories, crafts, cars, models, cosplays and so on...

EVE could do something similar in its Eden.

I am sure CCP knows best, and therefore is doing everything the best way, and is therefore getting the best results. But from time to time I wonder about different variations.

~ ~~ Thinking inside Schrodinger's sandbox. ~~ ~
Tyrana McBitch
Doomheim
#9 - 2017-01-03 12:59:17 UTC
I'm not even going to reply to this topic.

Insane.
Marcus Binchiette
Federal Vanguard
#10 - 2017-01-03 14:52:27 UTC
Yes, of course CCP is the only one making money here. When I first started playing EVE Online I wondered how they could possibly be making money if players could simply buy a PLEX and not pay anything. The answer is of course incredibly simple. PLEX are never generated inside the game, they can only be transferred after someone has paid real money to obtain one. The number of players I meet with the ambition of earning PLEX to play Omega for free is simply staggering. Yet, whether you buy your own subscription, or buy a PLEX, someone somewhere is paying for you to play. So CCP always gets their cut.

Though I don't see a real problem with paying to play a game, the notion that a player could eventually play for free is undoubtedly what gets a lot of players hooked into the game. Yet, the thing I dislike most is that many real time hours are spent playing this game - and a lot of it seems more like work than play.
Sonya Corvinus
Grant Village
#11 - 2017-01-03 20:28:31 UTC
Hir Miriel wrote:
I look at websites like 9gag


I can't take anything you say seriously after this