EVE-Online, Community and Metagaming

I have introduced EVE-Online in a previous post and will continue on, discussing elements of the community and metagaming.

Community

The nature of MMO’s is that the player community is an integral part of the game experience. Many aspects of this sort of games are even impossible for single players to accomplish. The community consists of all players but usually players like to group up. Lines are drawn around groups of players, sometimes they’re called a guild, a clan, a fellowship and in EVE’s case, a corporation.

The player’s identify with the name of their group, the values on which the group is based and create friendships with the members of their group. Within the group there are sub-groups consisting of players with special roles within the corporation or depending on the time of membership or contribution to the corporation.

This is all nice and well but where EVE-O separates itself from the other MMO’s is that corporations can combine into alliances within the formal system and rules of the game. They can act as one, control territory and the market within a region of the game. They can erect their own space stations within the borders of their territory. They can declare war on other alliances and fight to acquire new territory or defend their own turf.

Social Contract

The formal rules of the game in relation to corporations and alliances create a sort of social contract. It specifies the type of game play the players should or shouldn’t partake in as a code of conduct and the general objectives and values of the corporation and the alliance. It builds trust and provides safety. Whoever accepts this contract will be respected within the community and will receive help if in need. However, if the player betrays those within the group he will be expelled and most likely hunted down and killed, in-game of course.

Metagaming

It is impossible to keep communication and organization of such large groups of players contained within the game itself. It is common for a corporation to create a website with a forum to help players to keep in touch and remain up to date on current affairs related to the game. Discussion of game politics, coordination and organization of events, role playing and trade of in-game items can all take place on these forums.

Players adept at programming usually attempt to combine the in-game and out of game channels of communication with varying success. The game allows for certain information to be exported and downloaded. Web applications that help with manufacturing, market research, book keeping, mining, banking and event planning are popular and the game provides an internet browser (with limited functionality) to interact with these applications. Players in the game deal with the same real-time data as the ones who aren’t playing because they’re at work or otherwise unable/willing to play but like to browse the web and play around without actually playing the game.

In the next major expansion of the game, the developers plan to integrate several of these applications directly into the game. While some parts might make sense to be integrated, such as fleet coordination, attack / defense planning and so forth, others won’t be used as much. The reason is that for some tasks which are important for running the community and corporation/alliance, it is simply more convenient to just perform them in a browser than having to load up the game and go trough the game interface.

Betrayal often happens by one player trading sensitive information to a alliance or corporation that is at war with his own corp/alliance. Espionage is an interesting manifestation of metagaming. Some players will stay with a corporation, gaining their trust but have their own hidden agenda. They will gain access to important information which is stored out of game and use it to their own advantage just a the right time. It doesn’t just have to be text, sometimes it is even a case of interception and relaying of voice communication which is often used to coordinate in-game battles (using Ventrilo, Teamspeak, Skype, etc).