EVE General Discussion

Again, this is, and has always been, a silly rationalization, pretty much tantamount to blaming the victim.

It's supposed to matter that you lose pixels, that's the whole point of a roleplaying game - you immerse yourself in a world where virtual stuff matters. Saying "oh it's just pixels" is like spitting in CCP's face, who have gone to all the trouble of making a game that's immersive, that makes the virtual stuff seem real to the imagination, in the game, for the time you're playing it.

Also, you are spending time building things, time out of your life, just the same as you would in real life, so a theft is a theft is a theft; destruction of your stuff is destruction of your stuff (within the parameters of the EULA - i.e. "your" stuff is in reality just rented). If the virtual stuff weren't supposed to matter, by design, and if losing it weren't supposed to hurt, then "HTFU" would be a meaningless statement. What you are hardening yourself to is the possibility that you will lose virtual stuff that you care about, and that it will hurt.

Even hardened players are hurt a little bit when they lose virtual stuff - the only difference is getting used to it, and not letting it throw you psychologically. And sure, in the couse of that bounce-back, "it's just pixels" is a helpful reflection. But if it forms the constant background of one's thought while playing EVE, then one is playing EVE wrong, because one is not roleplaying.

Or, to put this another way, you can hardly blame a player for doing exactly what the game designers intend - i.e. getting immersed in, and invested in the virtual stuff the designers have created. Nor can you blame people for being angry at people who destroy their virtual stuff - they're supposed to be angry, revenge is supposed to be a motivating force in driving conflict.

What you can twit them for is forgetting that they've voluntarily signed up for the possibility of losing virtual stuff that matters to them.

Don't get me wrong, the loss of stuff in Eve is a huge factor which makes pvp and the whole game exciting. My point was if I get blown up by another player and then get told "noob", I still say "gf" and laugh about it because well... it is just pixel...
I had every opportunity to avoid said fight, gank, war dec, suicide gank... it was my actions that got me in that situation.

So getting angry and blaming internet people to the point that I want to track them down is an issue with myself who can not separate realities.

Where in fact it's just easier to laugh, write it off and learn to not make the same mistakes again :)

May be my "it's just pixel's" attitude is wrong for eve no? -.-

What I'm objecting to is the kind of rationalization that people sometimes offer to try and soften the blow of EVE, as it were - to make it somehow seem like we're not being utter ***** when we're being utter *****.

That's not it.

This is, in fact, a game that allows you to be an utter **** - if you want to. It also allows you to be trustworthy and gain a reputation for trustworthiness - if you want to. It also allows you to blow that reputation - if you want to. This freedom is one of the main things that people who play the game love about it. Not the least result of this is the fact that trust is the game's most precious commodity - it's the other side of the coin.

The actions people do in-game, some of them, are actually morally wrong, and morally bad - it's pointless, and philosophically silly, to try and put a fig-leaf on it. If you've spent time building something up, that's time out of your life you can't get back, just the same as in real life. And theft or destruction of that virtual stuff is real theft and destruction of a virtual item that required real time and effort to get.

It's just that the game allows this sort of thing on the basis that we are consenting adults, and if you play EVE you VOLUNTARILY subscribe to having such otherwise morally reprehensible things done to you, as well as the possibility of doing them to others.

And when they're done, they're supposed to hurt, when they're done, you're supposed to be annoyed by it, it's supposed to matter - quite a lot in in-game terms, but even just a little bit in terms of real life.

It's like a fighting sport, or like BDSM. You might get hurt, but its' consenting, it's voluntary, so the consequences that would come from such actions if they were done in a non-consenting context, don't follow. But it's still in a slightly shady, grey area (g.e. some countries' laws frown on BDSM).

In the game, sure, it's just psychological hurt based on virtual loss - but as I said, the virtual stuff is bought in terms of real life time, real life that's ebbed away and can't be gotten back, and it hurts nonetheless, and it's supposed to, otherwise the developers have failed in their job of trying to immerse you in a virtual world.

The voluntary participation is the only thing that makes all of this ok and not subject to real-world moral judgement and consequences. It's the only thing that would make someone coming to your door and punching your lights out for destroying their Titan itself a morally reprehensible and illegal act. Not the fact that they "couldn't separate reality from fantasy". They might have done that, but the real problem is that they forgot that they voluntarily signed up for their pain.

it would be just like living in the projects in brooklyn

If theres a fine line there, I try to ignore it

Edit: Nevermind

I was under the impression that all the promotional material says you can do whatever you like, and to be aware your actions have consequences?

Um its pretty much all over both those pages;

"In EVE, a universe of unbounded opportunity awaits new capsuleers, whether they lust after wealth, crave the fight or simply yearn for adventure among the stars." - You can do what you want

"Discover an EVE destiny that reflects who you are with the help of our personality analysis test." - if you need this pathetic 5 result test to tell you to be a miner, you need to GTFO of my New Eden before I stick my thumbs in your eyes

I wasnt at Fanfest so I havent seen this Prophecy trailer of which you speak

EDIT


Also, I dont recall the Butterfly Effect video having a good outcome for the gankers at the start

Now that's more like it - still a tad overly-glamorous in tone, but centres on player interaction and shows possibilities in a realistic sort of way.

Neither I nor CCP can be held responsible for others stupidity

If you want to know about an MMO you might want to invest in, take the 21 day trial

That's what its there for

Adverts are worthless and reviews are garbage

Your own experience is all that matters