Before we start, just a quick request to all the snowflakes out there: be so kind as to just lay back, chill for a moment, and think about my thesis.
I believe the concept of EVE and what it tries to be, as a sandbox MMORPG, has been difficult to understand and to accept since the beginning. You may wonder where am I going with this vague claim. Well, to be quite frank, players enter a world full of opportunities with very few boundaries, but EVE players have increasingly imitated the structures of real-world governance and political infrastructures.
In an automatic and unconscious drive for security and especially power, players organize into corporations, which in turn form alliances, which form coalitions and create big power blocs in nullsec. They dominate, dictate, and organize space and resources, driving forward a certain narrative. All this is common knowledge, but is this conglomeration model good for EVE, as it has become a ruthless and unforgiving sandbox experience?
What we have, but actually nobody needs
We should get rid of what we know, and which we have copied from the Real Life Political System into EVE and adopt another idea of how to run things in the space. The hype-train pings and news articles about the newest record-breaking fight between mega-coalitions read well and make you fantasize about these amazing huge battles, but everyone who has taken part in such battles knows the reality. They are a mere waiting game with horrible TIDI, client crashes, and are not much fun, except granting participants the right to brag about having been part of them.
OH, supercap pilots, I know; I hear you already starting to scream and throwing stones toward me, but behold! A quick and simple disclaimer: I don’t intend to say that caps and anything bigger are the issue here. No. They are simply not. But they are the adopted and lived mindset of the Cold War era, where power blocs stopped waging war and just tried to get their blue donut under control, which was definitely a better outcome for the Real World. However, EVE does not profit from standoffs, threats of nuclear strikes, blue balls, and a lack of content and destruction.
What we need, but few seem to want
What we need is a different mindset, perhaps going back to the dark ages or the times of cutthroat ruthless clans and tribes, constantly fighting for power, loot, and a good workout.
So, to get back to my cap and supercap pilots. Let’s go and risk our caps in random small and fun skirmishes. The attitude of most of the big alliances seems to be to hold back the big and fun toys, for just mere ship-spinning. This show of potential power isn’t what makes the game fun and engaging for anybody.
How to solve the Issue
There is not one simple way to solve this dilemma. Big bloc leaders and their followers will probably continue to form and shape EVE to mirror real-life political and social systems. It really doesn’t matter what alliance, coalition, or other powerful names you drop; they are just a temporary title for an ever-existing system or syndrome.
I m tempted to say – for the sake of EVE as a real merciless sandbox with more content, fun, and engaging activities – stop holding all your ISK and assets! Fly what you think is fun. Stop the mentality of “don’t fly what you can’t afford to lose.” Go ahead and lose it as long you have fun and get back into the grind for what we love and hate EVE. Don’t just stand by, like thousands of other players, on the sideline and watch the game and the players who enjoy the punch-in-the-face experience which EVE should be.
