This is a departure from the usual type of article; but, I thought it was a unique enough perspective, rarely championed, that merited publishing. This comes in a time in which concerns over certain actions are legitimate game play or not. We’ve all heard the stories about the scammers, spies, thieves and liars. The fact that Eve allows us to play those roles is what attracted many to the game in the first place. It may not be that we even want to play those roles; however, the fact that we can adds levels of diversity and uniqueness like no where else in the MMO world. While I do not advocate changing that at all, I would like to share some opinions concerning players acting as moral and ethical people.
Don’t get me wrong, this is not a call for people to go be white knights or to stop suicide ganking, or scamming. By all means, carry on if you so wish. However, I would like to bring up the strategic advantages of being someone of good moral and ethical standing within Eve. This assertion isn’t out of some misplaced sense that people are good or bad based on what they do in Eve, for the most part. After all, you could be taking care of your sick grandmother while in the next room you’re carrying out some deep infiltration asset heist from some major wormhole alliance.
There are many misconceptions about playing nice. People often think that if you play nice you’re allowing people to outsmart and trick you, and that it is required for you to be as cutthroat and ruthless as possible. The “meaner” and “bad” you are the better of an Eve player you must be. However, nowhere does it say you have to hand over all your assets, real name and social security number in order to be nice and pleasant. Even to the people to shoot, it costs you nothing to be classy. There are countless stories where an enemy turns friend simply because of how one acts towards them.
I can give a personal example for this that was quite recent. A few months ago, my own alliance moved into a low sec region of New Eden and began a war with the local alliance that was in power. It’s difficult to push an entrenched enemy out of their holdings but, after several months, we managed. I had joined only as the campaign began; but, I soon took on the role as a sort of unofficial diplomat. Some people have this misconception that being a diplomat is about breaking people’s knees, threatening them or coming up with some sort of scheme. I did none of that. All I did was talk to them. Sometimes there were factors brought up to ensure we understood our relative positions. If you do X, Y is a likely outcome. Other times we simply talked about personal history, Eve and otherwise. I simply provided a point of contact that was not abrasiveness. Today this “enemy alliance” has mostly splintered and reformed under other smaller groups. The interesting thing is some of those entities are now allied or friendly with us. Even the staunched opponents of my side, now have some sort of treaty that benefits our group.
No one can either confirm or deny the motivations of one’s heart so it is pointless for me to say that I did any of that out of some genuine, altruistic, sentiment or some devious, deceptive, plan. All one could truly say was that I understood the power dynamic in the specific context and applied contact. I was empathetic to their situation so adopting their perspective was not difficult.
On the flipside, I could have been totally abrasive and talk smack. However it provides no advantage, nor is it my nature to contribute to that sort of interaction. I frown upon smack talking not out of some “carebear can’t we all be friends” notion, but because it is a strategic liability. Some would argue the contrary, that being unpleasant to the enemy is a way to drive down their morale and embarrass them. I would say that the method I outlined allows greater options. Besides, there are other ways to embarrass an enemy and to drive their morale down.
So the question becomes, why do people smack? The same reason people rage. An individual’s inability to deal with the emotional stresses brought about by a situation causes them to react in such a manner. It’s the same reason we scream “FUCK!” when something doesn’t go our way. It’s a way for us to mentally cope with the situation. Once you begin to realize the inefficiency in dealing with stresses in such a manner, the reaction becomes comical even to yourself.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: I absolutely adore the concept of asymmetric warfare. The concepts that go behind using leverage to make an impact upon a larger entity gets my endorphins rushing. I have spent much of my time in Eve flying a cov ops ship and “ruining the gameplay” of others by being a constant presence in other people’s systems. What sets that sort of gameplay apart from people who grief, is the purpose behind it.
My action had a strategic goal. In the situation I’m referring to, my goal was to drive down the ratting of an enemy alliance in their systems and grab whatever kills I can get. The sense of accomplishment and pleasure originated in me applying those concepts of asymmetric warfare.
A griefer is someone who’s actions may not differ much from my own. AFK cloak a system, set up bubbles to get a few ships to kill, block traffic on a Jump Bridge. Where the difference comes in is where such individual gets their motivation and sense of accomplishment. A griefer will get those things knowing that the player on the other side of the screen feels emotional stress over what has transpired. Their goal is to make them “feel bad” and that is what makes them “feel good.” They don’t care what methods are used. If they could make them feel bad simply by sitting there and pushing a single button that electrocuted them, they would do it.
The fact of the matter is, this sort of individual is a lonely sad and depraved individual. Their wires are crossed and attached to the wrong parts. That is not to say, however, that they have no free will of their own. Everyone has the ability to understand their psychological profile and by doing so, can evolve into a better version of themselves.
So let’s compare and contrast some things by applying the knowledge from above. Erotica1 falls under one of the people that gets their pleasure and sense of accomplishment from making someone feel bad in order that they can feel good. I’m not referring to the scamming of his victim’s assets. This is Eve, this is how the game is played. What I am referring to was the unnecessary stress and humiliation his victim was put through afterward that gave Erotica1 and his group no strategic value. There was absolutely no point aside from making another human being feel bad. I want you to actually think about that for a moment: a human being. An entity made of flesh and bone, some would say a soul, just like you. An individual that was at one point, nothing but a hopeless infant completely relying on the care and nurture of the adults around it. And, just like you, this individual had to go through the trials and tribulations of growing up and dealing with joy and sadness. What possesses another individual to go of their way to make someone else feel bad?
I’m not saying this for to be a sensationalist or to ask you to donate 10 dollars a month so another child may eat. I’m telling you this in order to use your empathy in understanding those factors and others and applying them strategically to the game itself. As deplorable as E1’s actions may have been from a moral and ethical stand point of view, for us as Eve players, we can also simply say it was a poor strategic decision. E1 pretty much warped to the sun at zero and died miserably for absolutely no gain whatsoever.
I also want to discuss how his banning is completely legitimate. Mittens got banned for 30 days for some statements made at fanfest along the lines of “If you want to get this guy to kill himself…etc.” Now I don’t think the “i was drunk” excuse is legitimate. I’m not a heavy drinker but I’ve been completely drunk off my horse before. Not once did I think something was a good or a bad idea that I wouldn’t have thought of the same had I not been drinking. “Sorry, I was drunk” isn’t going to fly when you cheat on your spouse. Truthfully, I think the guy was feeling high and good over having a crowd of people in front of him following along as he presented his story and got caught up in the moment.
While I think he made a bad move, he was no where near as malicious as E1 was. To me it is insane to think that we should punish Mittens for his words while being forgiving to E1. CCP needed to do this, at the very least, for consistency. If E1 should be allowed to continue his actions, CCP should offer a formal apology to Mittens on gold tablets first.
People should consider the advantages of being honest. You don’t need to go out of your way to make enemies. Enemies will exist no matter what you do. If you don’t have enemies, you’re not playing Eve right. The true skill is being someone that is honest, not just for the sake of honesty, but in order to create strong binds with allies allowing you to be effective in Eve. People may think that by being dishonest and pulling a quick scam, they can “make it.” True power and potential doesn’t just mean assets. While one individual may make a quick ten billion isk with a heist, another person through their dedication and smart play style can earn themselves assets which have no isk value.
The best example I can think of his Chribba. I may be wrong, perhaps he has a dark scammer past complete with all sorts of demented tidbits. Whatever the case may be, Chribba, even without being a major alliance leader like Grath, Mittens, or Progod, has real power. He’s universally considered as someone that can be trusted and that’s worth all the faction modules in New Eden.
In the end, Eve is just a game that allows us to explore other parts of ourselves that we other wise may not have had a chance to know. It’s a great human experiment. It’s chess to the maximum power. Be a pirate, be a savior, but through your journey, consider the implications of your actions and how they may come back to you. As my mother-in-law says, “What you put out there, comes back.”
– Seraph IX Basarab
