CCP Seagull once said that EVE Online players are “creating the world’s largest living work of science fiction.” This work is experienced in many forms, whether directly through our time in space, or indirectly through the stories we share as a community. Stories are not only entertaining, they are also instructive in how we play. The interviews in the Why I Fly series will dive into how and why players live in New Eden. It will highlight who they are and what they do, whether they lead a large coalition or fly solo. I will try to keep the answers in each player’s own words with minimal editing.
For this first interview, meet SamuraiJack, affectionately known as SJ. He has played EVE since 2004. While SJ may joke that he is in “semi-retirement,” he is still one of the most active and helpful members of our corporation, Tritanium Industries and Technology. Given his impact on many areas of space and wealth of knowledge, there was no better pilot with which to kick this series off. My questions are presented in bold text, followed by his answers.
What is your current space job?
Co-Ceo, Logistics King (yoloing freighters a specialty), Explorer (even though I hate wormholes), crazy inventor (runs own labs for both research and invention), T2 builder, Herder of Cats (L5 30x skill).
What were your previous Space Jobs/Career Highlights?
Ascendant Frontier [ASCN] high command, Fleet and Alliance FC. CEO of Celestial Horizon Corp. [CLS]
Ex-King of Paragon Soul (basically because I hot-dropped hostiles with carriers to save local industrial guys from TRIBE).
How long have you spent in the EVE Client?
I play about ten hours a week now. But in all the years I played, I have a five-hour-per-day average.
How long do you spend playing EVE outside the client (comms, forums, dev, etc…)?
Almost all waking day, really. I’m constantly on Discord and Slack talking with corp and ex-alliance friends. I’m never far away from a laptop or my phone. Hazards of being a tech guru.
As a leader, what is the ideal balance of “space management” and “flying in space?”
To be honest I used to do a lot more flying than management. I think it’s fair to say I spend most of my time now doing management rather than flying. I’m hoping to start flying again instead of being a grumpy old man on the porch bemoaning the good ol’ days.
One word that describes your current preferred type of gameplay in EVE:
Lurking.
Besides the EVE client, which apps, tools, and spreadsheets are critical to playing the game?
Discord, EVEmon, DotLan, http://www.eve-cost.eu/ (invention, building, research, manufacturing), http://eve-marketdata.com/, http://evepraisal.com/, Pyfa, and EFT.
What is the most critical factor to the success and sustainability of an EVE organization?
Good leadership and clear goals. Your people make the corp. If it’s not fun they will go elsewhere or even play other games.
Encouraging others to join forces to make your vision come true can be hard. I never really wanted to become CEO but apparently I’m good at leading and people will follow me. EVE is what you make of it. I do feel that CCP could make better changes to encourage smaller alliances to take their own space. At present the game is very much blob vs. blob. While it’s possible to corner some space to yourself, it’s very hard if a much bigger group moves in.
Which space or general leadership activity would you say you are better at than other pilots?
Leading the charge and planning, apparently!
What’s the best EVE advice you’ve ever received?
“People trust you and even if you screw up you make it fun. Just reship and go again.” This was what Cyvok said to me after I whelped a third of a multi-coalition fleet while besieging EC-P8R. I miscalculated and sent reinforcements to the wrong gate. We held ours. The other gate fell and hostiles got out. Ten minutes later, the other gate had reshipped and we chased them up the pipe and wiped them all out. I went to Cyvok after it was over and offered my resignation for the screw-up. He refused and gave me the above advice. And twelve years later…I’m the one telling others similar things.
What has been your favorite change over the years? It could be mechanics or a general aspect of player culture.
I like the new mining changes. They have been long overdue. Also, putting up a POS [player owned station] in under an hour, instead of taking 24 hours.
EVE can often feel like a high pressure environment for a game. Are there any other games or activities that you use to “get away?”
I used to play FPS games, also games like Neverwinter, Civ IV, Xcom, World of Warships, and Tanks.
Do you listen to music while you play? If so, what services, genres, or playlists do you prefer?
Now that’s a good one. I listen to everything from classical to death metal. My current favourite is Gunship, so it’s mostly ’80s New Wave at present.
Editor’s Note: This submission comes from the Imperium News community. Questions have been edited minimally for readability, but except for that and minor proofreading corrections, content has been left unchanged.
