the opinion of the masses

I feel obliged to fight for the honour of games reviewers (in a limp-wristed non-fighty way*) after reading Blinky’s latest blog entry, which points to a post on the EVE forums where an old review of EVE has resurfaced. The review, from Gamespot in 2003, rated EVE with a rather low 6.6 score out of ten, which has earned it – as it probably did back in 2003 – the ire of the faithful, as well as the contempt of those who believe games reviewers to be either terminally corrupt or blatantly incompetent. Or both.

I can only really speak for myself in this defence but I’ve reviewed EVE three or four times over the years, all of them before my tenure as EON editor. A couple of reviews were for PCZone (89% at time of release, 91% after Exodus – neither of which appear to be online to view, although an old preview of mine is). I also wrote a review for PC Gamer in the US (again after Exodus). I stand behind all of them. I stand behind every review I have ever written. Even my Star Wars Galaxies one

A review is no different to any other opinion. An opinion can be arrived at at different times by different people. The only difference with a review is that it’s by nature a more crafted opinion, and one that has hopefully earned some remuneration by way of manufacture.

It’s true that online games should require a far larger time investment that any other game in order to form an opinion. Sadly reviewers are paid only on their pre-approved output and not on their input. That was the case in 2003 and remains the case in 2008. Either the system should be changed, or the reviewer, fearing they may not be able to give the game the required attention, should decline the commission.

In the case of EVE, I know of no-one that was ever given special treatment or high-end gear in order to help them complete their review. When a game is launched there shouldn’t be any need to. Expansions are more difficult because they tip the balance toward high-end gameplay; where in-game advancement is a prerequisite to being able to amass opinion. Hopefully by that point a publication will have someone embedded – an in-house fan – who will know what is going on. Sadly PCZone lost theirs when he was asked to edit an EVE magazine.

As Blinky correctly says, things are a little different these days, but not by much. Being first with a review is no longer the big deal it once was, but being first with information is. MMO Reviews don’t actually count for much in this day and age, but interviews and first impressions do. Taken as a first impression – which is all a review of a newly-launched MMO can be, the Gamespot “review” is a good one. I suspect a typical reviewer thrown into EVE today would have similar opinions of it. As has been said since 2003, EVE isn’t for everyone.

As much as the review might suggest how much EVE has changed for those of us who’ve been a part of the evolution, it probably hasn’t changed enough for those who haven’t. Greg Kasavin, the author of the Gamespot review, is now working at EA. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s not touched EVE since and he probably has no desire to. I’ve not played Galaxies since I reviewed it. Go figure.

*Also obliged to write a blog entry, since it has been a little while ;)

a forgotten view of eve

You would think that being interviewed for a TV show, even one aired online, would be something you wouldn’t forget in a hurry. In this case I had completely dumped all memory about a show I was asked to be a small part of for Joost a couple of summers ago, back when I was also heavily involved with EVE TV.

Called “Around The Net In 20 Games”, the series was simply a bunch of games journos yabbering on about their favourite interactive vices (it didn’t involve any net navigation). I had expressed an enduring love for a game called Total Annihilation and was invited along to an East London studio to justify my appreciation before a man with a camera and a presenter with impossibly white teeth. When I arrived and announced I also quite liked a game called EVE, I was interviewed about that as well.

(Watch: Around the Net in 20 Games: EVE Online / Total Annihilation)

As I say, I’d totally forgotten about the interviews and hadn’t even seen the shows until receiving an email this evening saying that Joost.com was now browser-viewable. With my memory pricked I decided to seek them out. I’m glad I did. …You may not, since to view them you need to register. However, they are fairly interesting, if only to see an unusually animated Zapatero with long hair and a view of EVE that seems quiant and outdated. How quickly things change… EVE I mean, not my view of it :)

the dark wheel

One of my favourite stories when I was going through the pains and pressures of adolescence was a novella called The Dark Wheel. Written by Robert Holdstock it told the story of a young star pilot forced to blast his father’s assassin with fiery hot laser death. …OK, so not the most original story,  but it came free with a game called Elite and that itself was a big deal at the time. It marked the first time an established author worked alongside a computer game developer. If you’re in the mood, you can read the whole thing in full online.

Anyway, the reason I’m bringing it up here is because The Dark Wheel of the title referred to a shadowy organisation that existed only to rate the so-called ‘Elite’ pilots of the universe. No-one really knew who the Elite were, or what constituted being “Elite”, but those who were the best knew they were the best because they had to be pretty ruddy good to survive in a very harsh world where death lurked around every corner (space is full of it you know). It was kinda like Highlander, but before Highlander, and with spaceships instead of swords. And no Sean Connery… although had there been a film he would have made a good Rafe Zetter… but I digress.

I’ve often pondered whether a Dark Wheel could exist in EVE: a loose association that traded it’s markings beyond and betwixt the New Eden corporate structure – there to decide who really was the best of the best of the best. …Not necessarily the most skilled, or the richest, just the best. Well now such an organisation does exist, and it shall serve to decide who are deserving of the title of ‘Elite’ among EVE’s good, bad and ugly.

Oh, you want more details? Sorry, The Dark Wheel will never be mentioned again. It was just a boyhood fantasy anyway. Nothing to see here. Move along please, move along ;)

wizards and warriors

No-one knows how long an MMO will last and even as new generations of them appear in their shiny new suits of armour, the old games still manage to survive. It’s easy to see why when you see just how much content is swilling around inside the likes of Ultima Online, EverQuest and, yes, EVE. (Hard to believe it’s almost five years old.)

The elders among the MMO fraternity are like the wise old wizards, with the newcomers the brave knights on their fresh steeds, keen to find favour in the imaginations of the great unwashed. Some will fall early in the battle, others will ascend to command vast armies, and yet, the old ones hidden amongst towers of books seem not to care. With so many games surviving to a ripe old age and new ones arriving almost every month, we have to wonder where all the players are coming from… EA-Land, perhaps?

It’s hard to imagine EVE Online ever disappearing. It’s five year mission thus far has been singularly unique and having enjoyed sustained growth throughout that time, and with such impressive investment in the game’s infrastructure (Christ, I sound like an accountant), the next five years promise to continue along the same trajectory. I do wonder where it will end though. In an interview that completely missed my eye, CCP’s co-founder Reynir Hardarson said “MMOs do not have to age. The nature of a game like EVE is that there is no need for sequels – why shouldn’t it run for fifty years?”

Indeed, why shouldn’t it? Whether there’ll be anyone left alive in 50 years is neither here nor there, but if we humans do happen to survive the great surge of methane that’s apparently simmering under the polar ice caps, EVE is probably the best-placed MMO to ride out the wave of obsolescence that will surely engulf Ultima Online and EverQuest and certain other old wizards. EVE may be nearing its fifth birthday, but Trinity gave it a new suit of armour, one that though perhaps not needed, will stand it in good stead for a good while. Wizards in shiny plate may not be standard issue in MMO Land, but when was EVE ever a standard game?

baby i’m a star

After my supporting role as “Bob” on the WDA podcast last week, I seem to be getting all the big roles. Out now is the latest Witty Ranter podcast, where I was kindly asked to join a panel of professionals to chat about forums and other interactions between MMO developers and their respective communities. Alongside me were the great and the good from the likes of NetDevil (Jumpage Evolution, LEGO Universe),  SOE (EQ, PlanetSide, SWG) and Massively, with me as the unofficial EVE representative. Sadly my connection during the discussion wasn’t the best, which meant that whenever I said anything, Skype freaked out and I ended up having  no idea how the others responded to my inane comments. Still, it’s a step closer to immotaility. (For the record, mine was the only English accent.)

when worlds collide

It’s been mildly irksome to me that developers don’t cooperative with each other as much as they could. It’s a process I’m sure wouldn’t just be advantageous for the collaborators creatively, but perhaps commercially too. CCP especially could benefit from some kind of binary-shop conjugation. I’m not suggesting they should join forces with Valve and create some kind of EVE / Portal hybrid – intriguing though the possibility might be, all I am suggesting is that where there’s obvious synergy between two games, why not re-create one in the image of the other for the benefit of the communities of both (hopefully initiating some cross-pollination into the process)? Publishers do it all the time, only when they want to cash-in on the work of a star studio, they invariably press-gang one of their lesser able teams into the role and results are usually not good.

Reading up on and playing Sins of a Solar Empire has inspired this train of thought; a space game which I still haven’t fully explored and one of obvious depth and beauty. By an absolute stroke of luck Sins also happens to be highly modifiable. With this in mind my question goes thus: Why, when there is so much potential to get something so right, don’t games studios mod something between themselves rather than leave it to chance, or have some mod team attempt the task and lose interest half-way through? CCP are probably never going to attempt a 4X game and Ironclad won’t be all that keen to embark on making a space MMO, so why not do the best for fans of both games and get together to mod Sins of New Eden together? More EVE players would play Sins, more Sinners would try EVE, and if you have both, you get the mod – professionally constructed – for free! Yeah, I know, it’ll never happen. Oh well, I can dream can’t I?