The question asked of the EVE blogging community was this;
"EVE Online is renowned for its depth. Its backstory, gameplay and social aspects are all qualities that draw players in. What does immersion in EVE Online mean to you?"
Many and varied responses were written, but at the end of a pretty bleak week for this particular corner of EVE society, I reckon an uplifting tonic is required. So I have shamelessly sifted through all the banters looking for the inspiring and positive reminders of why we are all associated with EVE Online. After all, there must be something that keeps us coming back for more of whatever it is they keep dishing out.
"When I started out playing EVE, I was immersed in how fascinating the game was, the sense of vastness, the unknown, the exploration, experimenting, and the myriad of goals available for you to chase down." - EVE Hermit
"I didn’t just pay a monthly subscription to shoot people in space for no reason. I continued my account because I was a character in the grand story that is EVE Online...We are EVE Online, and our story is infinite." - Adainy Gwanwyn
"Eve is not a game. It's a simulation... so complex, so encompassing, and so "real" that is is easier to get pulled in to a very large degree." - Kirith Kodachi
"There's always the risk of something unexpected, always the chance for an adrenaline rush, exhilaration, joy, raw anger and disappointment, great achievements and monumental losses..." - Sered Woollahra
"When you are successful you feel satisfied as if you have dined on the finest roast and the finest wine. When you fail it feels like you've been stabbed, trampled, beaten and bled dry." - Cozmik R5
"...the biggest immersion factor for EVE Online is that every action has a reaction, or the freedom to get one." - Myrial Arkenath
"EVE requires only your participation that it may mold the universe around you." - Truen1ight
"We don't play Eve, we take part in it." - Drackarn
"...the game was a sandbox, and the content was largely created by people. There were no shards, so your actions resonated and genuinely changed the game world..." - Bel Amar
"The single universe, New Eden...When you hear about an event in EVE... It isn't some random event that has no chance to affect you in any way." - PyroTech03
"The many options EVE shows us give us the feeling that we control our own path..." - Kenza
"...comparing the immersion experience to past games I've played, Eve Online is by far the leader... Eve Online is pretty deep and varied." - Yosagi Yojimbo
"When I log in, I'm someone else - which makes Eve a happy distraction from all the bull." - Ranis Garr
"In a way I feel cruel to sit back and let them waste ISK or ships on things I could have helped them on, but to do so would break my cover and ruin the very experience I am very much enjoying." - Akinesis on staying in-character.
"Betrayal is not a long quest line in New Eden – it is a heartbeat away. Strength, innovation, and results are rewarded in New Eden, not just following a formula or guide." - Ender Black
"When I am in the middle of a confrontation, my focus sharpens and I am in the zone monitoring the FC, yellow boxes, distance, tracking, asking for reps, and all the other battle minutia." - Jaggins on macro-immersion.
"We feel every impact of an enemy projectile as if it broke our very own skin...we know that the survival of our ship is dependent only on whether we would be able to outsmart our very human enemy." - Druur Monakh
"I’m killing bad guys, fighting to free my people from the shackles of an Evil Empire, all that good stuff." - Kuan Yida
"Immersion is where the story meets the experience... The gripping overarching story of New Eden..." - Scitor Nantom
"We don't need every detail spoon-fed to us... just plant the seeds and let fertile imaginations immerse themselves." - Seismic Stan
"There’s just something about this universe and this community that is immersive." - Katia Sae
"I'm not here because of the spaceships. I'm here because everything else that goes with them..." - Sessym
"Immersion is also chatting to your corpies on teamspeak and in corp chat, discussing ship fits, the movie you just watched, whether or not you have wife aggro..." - Keyanu
"...here I am, on Twitter, as part of the #tweetfleet, getting involved with other people from the game, and it is SO MUCH FUN!!" - Ligand Nital discovers the EVE metaverse.
"Immerse yourself. I owe no one an explanation. I have jumped in. And I damn well plan on swimming further out to sea." - Rixx Javix goes Cpt. Ahab on us.
Thank you to all contributors for your inspiring words and the reminder of why we immerse ourselves in this nihilistic, schadenfreude-fuelled craziness.
We are EVE Online.
Labels: Blog Banter, blog banter review, community