Thursday, December 13, 2012

Elitism & perspective

     I guess it's a pretty standard thing for "older" people to remember how they had to walk uphill both ways and seemingly forget that at one time they didn't know everything and couldn't do everything.  In Eve, how they had to push the frigates out of the hangars, by hand, in bare feet.  They look down on any new/young person if the youngling can't do what the vet can do now, and the vets don't remember what it was like at a time when they knew as little as the n00b.

     Eve is certainly no different in this regard.  The vets are way out to sea on the ocean of Eve, and many look back with disdain at the players just starting to wade into the surf.

     One of the biggest problems with Eve is that many new players get their first taste of Eve by getting fucked over in a scam or being blown up.  The elitists explain that the new players "should know better", but there's no explanation of HOW they should know better.  The vets have no cogent answer, because they don't remember how they figured out not to be scammed, or they DID get scammed and don't want to bring up the hypocrisy of their current point of view.

     When the elitists started, there were no PLEX (didn't come in until about 2008) so they really don't give a shit how many different ways there are to spend PLEX now, nor do they care about the rising cost of them.  From their lofty heights, the vets are oblivious to the fact that paying customers (yes, even if they buy PLEX with ISK from the market, they're still paying) who can't afford the inflated PLEX prices will stop playing.  This elitist view is held by some of our CSM members too, notably, Karde of Noir mercs.  Not really representing all the players, apparently, only the "have" players that pay for subscriptions with real cash.

     I read and hear all the disdain from "experts" who laugh at all the "fail fits" that show up on kill boards.  Somehow, the rest of the players, the "fails", weren't born with innate knowledge of Eve ship fits like the critics.  Apparently, any trial and error fit experimenter is somehow supposed to also know that they were supposed to "ask someone" about the fit.  How and where that someone was to be found, for someone with a life who doesn't obsess over a game and the whole meta aspect of it, is not answered.  The standard "they should have known better" is all that's proffered.

     Contrary to the angry pvp perspective, any player that goes through all the tutorials, learns the basics of how to play Eve.  It isn't all about pvp, because if it was, there would be more reference to that in the tutorials.  But there isn't.  Granted, it's pretty damn hard for NPCs and AI to simulate pvp, but pvp is far from "all there is in Eve" like the elitists like to preach.  If it was "World of Tanks in Space Space Space®"(to be said with suitably booming and echoey voice), there would be nothing but NPC markets full of spaceships and gear.  But there isn't.  Curiously, it would appear that there is a huge layer of player activity underneath the destruction where players actually CREATE all the gear for/in the game!  Also, conveniently coincidentally, there is an equally huge layer of in game resources and mechanisms that allow the creating of all the shit getting assploded!  Just like in real life though, all the people that build all the shit, and do all the base level, boring, repetitive jobs that generate the raw materials, are looked down on by all the "cool" pvpers in the game.  Anyone who doesn't do pvp, according to the elitists, is either;
 a) an automatic target
b) needs to start doing pvp immediately
or c) needs to leave
Can't imagine why Eve subscription increase is drying up . . .

     The problem, is lack of perspective.  Non-chip-on-their-shoulder players, of which the MMO world is apparently majorly populated by, can understand hard core pvpers.  The world is full of angry, aggressive people that want to "get even" for their life, and so look for any means to lash out.  Non-pvpers might not like these people, might not even understand them at times, but they accept their existence.  Pvpers, on the other hand, are far more narrow minded and short sighted.  It's their way or the intarpipe highway, especially in Eve.  Anyone in Eve that doesn't do pvp, just hasn't been "enlightened" yet.  they think just about anyone can be "converted", hallelujah!  Possibly, the huge chip on their shoulder is blocking a large percentage of their view, or prevents them from looking left or right.  In any case, many/most of them can't imagine why any "sane player" would want to do anything but try to shoot other players.  The elitists KNOW that anyone that doesn't play like them, is doing it wrong.  A "sandbox" like Eve, where any play style at all is possible, is awesome, BUT, only if everyone plays like the pvpers.  A sandbox is only a sandbox if it's all pvp.

     Now, don't get me wrong.  I don't mind pvp.  I do it in many games, just no interest in doing it in Eve right now.  I like HALO and Battlefield 3, I'm in the DUST beta and I spent more time in Planetside 2 than I do in Eve right now.  But, I like all the things I can do to CREATE things in Eve.  From and industrial player's perspective, Eve is very much like many other MMOs.  Improve the building skills, get the materials, build the items, and then sell them.  Even having to get the raw materials in more dangerous areas of the game is not some novel concept created by CCP.  It takes a lot of time and effort, sometimes really fucking boring time and effort, but that is not a big deal for a builder, a creator.  That's just the way it goes.  People who build, accept that.  The people who roll on in after the fact and destroy what was just built, have no appreciation for much of anything other than the possible grief it causes someone else and/or the adrenaline shakes they got.  It doesn't take a lot of time or talent to destroy things in most cases, and Eve has few exceptions for that process.

     The elitists laugh and enjoy intentionally griefing players that are doing things they despise doing.  The elitists have no problem explaining that stupid miners need to stop mining while they grief barges in Hulkageddon, and they laugh when the miners complain.  If miners explained that the griefers would have to stop doing pvp for a month, and start mining instead, the pvpers would lose their shit and likely rage quit.  To the elitists, it's completely acceptable to only support their point of view, due to a lack of perspective.  Granted, not all the non-pvp Eve players have perspective either, but they won't be causing a player to quit Eve due to griefing.  For the most part, the DO have perspective.  They are the majority of the player base.  The players that cause almost all the Eve news, are a minority, and the vast majority of the news is negative.  Because they lack perspective.

    

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