Development Blog

I’d love to write about Eve Online for your site.

I already do a great deal of writing about Eve Online, often for very substantial audiences.  The most obvious is in my role as a director of the in-game Goonswarm alliance, where I am second in charge to the Mittani (author of the “Sins of a Solar Spymaster” column on Ten Ton Hammer).  Arguably the most influential alliance in Eve History, Goonswarm has some six thousand members, and part of my role is to provide them with update posts several times a month, explaining what is happening in Eve and within the alliance.  I am therefore well-used to writing on a deadline for large audiences and on a regular basis.

My alliance updates are shared in many places, and a conservative estimate would suggest that they reach readerships of over twenty thousand readers each time.  EveNews24, the largest news site for the game syndicates them, while they are invariably cross-posted to Kugutsumen and the alliance forums of many friendly and hostile alliances, from Test Alliance to Pandemic Legion.  I should hope that many of those readers would choose to follow any column I wrote, elsewhere.

I’m thoroughly immersed in the politics of Eve: I share a (largely unknown and very select!) jabber chatroom with the leaders of virtually every major alliance in Eve, with whom I can speak at any point.  I talk with several members of the Eve Online CSM on a daily basis.  And I discuss key issues with certain Eve developers on occasion.  All of this gives me unique advantages in providing and creating content.

Unlike a great many senior, political figures in the game, however, I actually still log in and play Eve.  In fact, I play Eve a lot.  I also have knowledge and experience of many other MMOs, having played a large variety from Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies through World of Warcraft to World of Tanks.  I would proudly describe myself as a keen gamer, whether the game is on one of console platforms, PC, pen and paper or even on the rugby pitch.  I started gaming on 8 bit home computers, with Elite and Manic Miner, and have never dreamt of stopping.

My role in Eve, my access to key individuals, and my regular time in the game itself lend me a great range of topics upon which to write.  Obviously, the recent turmoil at CCP and in Eve has left no shortage of topics: microtransactions; mass redundancies; restructuring and cancellations; a string of exciting new announcements on in-game issues; new ships and more. Each of these would provide the basis of a column.  But beyond this I can write about the issues that affect your core audience: groups of players of Eve, many of whom are involved in – or would like to become involved in – the politics and wars of Eve.  Indeed, I blogged recently on ways to grow, develop and run a corporation: something which would I have a lot of experience in.

I am capable of using a variety of different writing styles, depending on the occasion.  My alliance updates are satirical, funny and, frankly, scabrous in tone, because that is what their particular audience delights in.  When I ghost-write for the Mittani, to take another example, I adopt a very different style: you can see this in the Goonswarm Recruitment thread on the SomethingAwful forums.  That thread has almost a million views and has yielded us over a thousand applicants, although I have written the replacement for this year (delivered, as ever, on deadline!) with which it will shortly be replaced.

In Eve I am known by the name Marc Scaurus. Scaurus is a bit of a criminal, roaming the gray areas of Eve known as low security space in search of targets of opportunity and profit. He is full -10, unwelcome in high security and scorned by the righteous. Whenever I am not logged in and shooting stuff, I am writing for my blog Wanderlust, recording episodes of Ransoms and Roams (Eve Online’s only pirate-centric podcast), and keeping up with all the events of Eve on Twitter.

All of these things lead me to believe I would make for a great correspondent for Guild Launch’s Eve Online ‘bureau’. I have a proven history of writing clear, concise content. I am connected to the happenings of Eve Online and often provide my opinions on such matters as devblogs, community uprisings and the myriad silly things that happen in Eve. Most importantly, I have a real passion for Eve and love sharing the uniqueness of this game with anyone and everyone willing to give me a few moments.

I have been playing Eve Online for just over four years now, beginning as a miner and mission runner in typical newb fashion back in 2007.  Over the course of those four years, I have spent time doing everything and anything associated with shooting people: high security space wars; null security conflicts both in NPC and sovereignty space; high security ganking (a la Hulkageddon); and of course low sec piracy, which I have found to be my bread and butter over the years.  My knowledge of the game is nowhere near complete. You would have to be a fool to claim a total mastery of Eve. However, in the areas of PVP, low security space and piracy I am quite confident in my knowledge of the game.

Further, I have served as alliance executor in the past as well as corporation director for one of the longest running pirate corps in the game (Monsters, now mostly defunct unfortunately). I am currently the CEO of Sinners. and would be happy to spread the word to those wondering about corporate leadership in Eve, which as many will attest is a completely different beast in many aspects from leading guilds in WoW, Rift, etc.

Finally, I also have an extensive gaming background which would allow me to elaborate, if needed, on certain subjects in such a way that brand new Eve players would understand. While Eve is a different beast entirely from some of the more mainstream titles, certain analogies and comparisons can be made to activities and structures from more popular games, allowing those with a vague curiosity in CCP’s product to glean better insight into the machinations of Eve Online before they ever step one foot in a pod.

Here is another post from our Eve Correspondent contest.  This was written by Kevin, a relatively new player to Eve Online.  See what he has to say and don’t be afraid to give your feedback on this entry.

In eighteen months of playing Eve, I’ve made it a point to explore as much of the game as possible without the influence of established players or the direction large corporations. I came into the game among a group of friends and was inspired by blogs such as the 0.0 Experiment, where people set out to see things from a different perspective than the accepted norm. I’ve tried hard to preserve the sense of wonder that one feels in discovering new things, something many Eve players lose under the tutelage of others who have seen it all before. This brought us to unique discoveries; I’ve learned things that have surprised some of the most veteran Eve players.

At the same time I understand just how much more there is to see in New Eden. So many players feel they’ve seen it all and have settled into just one aspect of this massive sandbox, yet they’ve never been a part of some of the most interesting parts of the game. I have recently entered a new chapter in my Eve experience; with my friends largely moving on from Eve, I went in search of new experiences. After more than a year of industry, PVE, and wormholes, I landed in The Skunkworks, a highsec PVP corp like none other. I’ve started a blog documenting my experiences which may best illustrate my writing style and approach to storytelling:

http://stinkinguplocal.wordpress.com/

Outside of Eve, I’ve been an avid PC gamer since 1991. From the start I spent as much game time flying in space as possible, from Wing Commander and X-Wing to Homeworld and Sins of a Solar Empire. Science fiction is my passion, and most of the games, literature, and movies I most enjoy center around it.

Why would I be a great writer for CCP and Eve? I approach the game with a sense of passion, wonder, and enthusiasm. I can capture all that, taking the reader on a journey with me, weaving a personal story rather than simply retelling events.

Also, I understand the value of brevity without sacrificing detail: this message is just 355 words long.