Player Features and Ideas Discussion

So, few problems with this.

First off, time and expense on CCP's part. Producing something like this that's at all comprehensive is time consuming and difficult. Even just compiling all the material would be a massive undertaking and that's without even getting into the cost of producing the actual videos.

That leads into the next problem, which is that of perspective. A certain alliance and their leadership ran into this problem fairly recently. If you're going to tell a story in Eve it's by definition going to be biased by your own perspective and experiences. CCP can't avoid this except to avoid taking a role as official chronicler entirely. Otherwise anything they publish that so much as mentions winners and losers will be seen as taking sides.

That, IMO, pretty much kills this dead right there. CCP can't take sides among players or the whole idea of a player driven game goes out the window.

On top of that precisely because this is a player driven game the players need to be the ones to carry and pass on these stories. As someone interested in Eve history and something of a collector of stories and trivia myself I don't think it's for CCP to be doing this. There's always one more perspective, one more event, or one more old forum post you haven't read on a subject. Letting players carry forward this history is also part of the game and part of the history itself, and that too is not for CCP to **** with.

I think a lot of content could be found without much work on CCPs part by using the amazing stuff the players produce.

And it would make a lot more sense to offer hooks where players could anchor CCP vetted content...

I got it written up as part of my CSM campaign here, if you are interested.

Many of the #myEVEstory clips where made in collaboration with the eve community. Moreover youtube is bustling with very good video's made by the player base. CCP can use a mix of these video's in order to flesh out the content in the most economical way. However it is also important to note that the content I mention doesn't need to be added in all at once in an expansion. In fact aside from perhaps some video's core to the NPE, its best to add them in over time as part of the company PR strategy.

I have some experience and background in business marketing. This strategy is not cost prohibitive and would not cause much of a change in the existing marketing budget required for the health of the game. The objective for CCP is to attract and retain new players building on their business and mitigating their churn. These video's are multi purpose and when integrated into an overall marketing strategy enrich the player experience in game, improve new player retention through stronger integration into eve's culture, and provides a shifting communications theme to be used on social media and the occasional commercial if budgeted.



You see we have opposite perspectives here.

Yes the stories will have Bias from one perspective. That's great and those perspectives are what makes up the tapestry of this game and spark the conflicts that drive this game.

I would approach this by having a video from the perspective of the victor, and have video's as "Easter egg" collectibles hiding in the region/or system for the other faction(s). This adds a richness to the game, and allows a story to be told from different points of view.



Like it or not it is also in CCP's best interest to tell the story of EVE. Stories have been used for centuries to provide warnings, inspire people, or transfer knowledge. Stories improve retention, and their nature helps the communication of a complex message. Eve is a very complicated game that is difficult for new players to understand. The MMO market is also far from new and a player discovering it for the first time will come with an understanding and bias framed by the games they played in the past.

Quick video's told through a player story or experience serve both the purpose of imprinting the culture of EVE into the minds of those giving it a shot. For example one such video can be used to communicate the golden rule "Don't fly what you can't afford to loose" However because it was a story it framed the message in a way the new player can identify with. It tells the player not only the rule, but why its important. Its a cautionary tale, but the story is told in a way that is more engaging than scary.

The end game of these stories and the best interest of CCP is to encourage the player to be part of the game and make their own eve story. It doesn't matter who's story gets told and what side you where on. We all win every time a new player watches a video, tries the game, and becomes part of their own eve story. These video's are as much a part of the game as the ships themselves. They are the only insights into the real game, and help the new players avoid the biggest pitfall. They learn in every story that how they interact with the community IS the game. Not your skill points, the ship you fly, or the isk in your wallet.

This image is true in so many ways. That is why we need to do our best to guide our new players to integrate themselves into the community and be part of their own eve story.

Two problems with this. First off, the "myEVEstory" clips are, in Eve terms, more or less completely apolitical. They focus on one player's experience, not a major event in Eve and not on any of the major organizations.

On top of that they're relatively few in number compared to the size and scope of Eve history. I'm wondering if you actually appreciate how many events various people consider to be major in this game. I can think of a few dozen at least just from the time I've spent in the game, and there are even more from before my time.

I think you may also be overestimating the appeal of dozens to hundreds of videos on Eve's history. The "myEVEstory" videos focus on a single player and a defining experience they've had, and are thus much more relatable to the average player than massive Alliance or coalition level events which tend to be told in terms of fleets and systems with a few major individuals mentioned as major actors, not in terms of individual participation.



I think you may have missed my point a little here. Even declaring one side the winner in a conflict isn't going to be a popular move with the players. I'll point you again to the recent drama over a certain book, and then the drama over CCP's own fairly impartial blog post on the war that spun indirectly out of that other bit of drama.

I am telling you, with both recent events and my own personal experience as evidence, that there is no way for CCP to write an official history for the game without unleashing and unholy ****storm of drama the moment they so much as use an adjective that enough people disagree with.



We already have this stuff, in the form of player focused stories rather than historical organization focused narratives.

Historical narratives would be a poor advertising tool. They require context that only a veteran player can have, or failing that a long winded explanation to provide that context. Trust me on this, I tell these sorts of stories a lot and even people who have played for a few years now don't have the context for a story that happened 8 years ago.

They also wouldn't do anything to ameliorate the 'learning cliff' that Eve is known for. Those things can only be taught by a solid tutorial giving a grounding in the basics, not in history, and then solid practical experience getting the player out into the universe and participating.

Chronicles, every Intro sequence, and personal investment in the history are the best way to get new players to learn.

Cade Windstalker thank you for your feedback and concerns on the subject.

At this point I would ask that you allow others the opportunity to say their piece. You have posted 4 times out of 10 replies prior to me writing this and I think you have expressed your concerns. Please allow others to also have their opinion presented here as it is bad form to argue with absolutely every other point of view overwhelming the thread.

This post started with a constructive Idea that did not claim to be perfect. I would ask that if you choose to contribute further you submit your idea's on how it can be made to work in a way you can agree with. If you cannot find it in yourself to contribute in that way then please let your already plentiful point of view stand as it is already presented.

If CCP wishes to have a more serious discussion on this idea and possibly intends to adopt it I am sure they will give you ample opportunity to provide feedback. Until then your continued posting in this thread only serves to suppress another persons idea.

If you truly want to discuss the topic help brainstorm how to make it better. Not shoot it down.

Thank you for your cooperation