Making a video game is hard. Making a video game stay popular and relevant is even more difficult. EVE Online made its debut on May 6, 2003. Since then, it has spawned a base of loyal players that have the freedom to do whatever they want (as long as they don’t want to leave their ships). Because EVE Online has always given the players more room to do what they want, the game has always had an edge over much bigger titles like World of Warcraft or Guild Wars. EVE Online might be fiction, but the politics, the wars, the heists, and the betrayals are as real as they can get.
EVE Online has been a game that I always keep coming back to. As of right now, in the four years that I have played EVE Online, I have taken a break from the game on four separate occasions. Yet, I keep coming back. What always draws me back to the game is the people I have met and the friends I have made over the years. EVE offers some truly memorable experiences for its players. The memories I have made like my corporation’s run to Highsec in suicide-Catalysts to blow up some miners that were streaming, or living in Wormhole space and escaping a POS that was being attacked by mercenaries always keep me entertained. These elements of the game draw me back because there is still so much more to be done that I, as a capsuleer, haven’t done yet.
For new players, EVE Online provides them so much raw potential and freedom. After fifteen years, EVE Online hasn’t stayed alive because the game is interesting, it’s because the people who play the game make it interesting. Some of the largest battles in video game history have been fought on EVE Online, and with the ever-changing geopolitical map that is New Eden, larger battles are bound to be fought that will entrance new players and inspire them to play.
As 2018 begins, try getting a friend or two into the cult of New Eden and let them experience the game for themselves. Let them find their niche and show them what EVE Online truly has to offer. No matter your opinion on the Alpha / Omega clone system, this allows new players to get a taste for the game that the two week – one-month trials never allowed. Help a friend start the new year off right. Let them hop in the cockpit of a newly fitted frigate so they can experience New Eden the right way.
Featured image credit: Razorien
