EVE-Mag.com

The EVE Philosophy

Published on 15. Oct, 2009 ... written by Samekh Mem, Tags: Articles

Picture credit: Wotlankor

Philosophical Foundations

EVE is unlike anything out there – it’s an incalculably unique game. To me EVE is quite like a real-world simulation of sorts – if on an infinitely small scale in comparison. It is, however, big and complicated enough to allow us to play out incredible fantasies of mass-warfare, corporate espionage and piracy. On that very important note, I urge you to start looking at EVE more as a simulation than a game – at least in some respects, which brings us to …

Anyone can start a corporation in EVE with the appropriate skills. That is not important. What’s important is understanding how to create a successful corporation. If you go to Google.com right now and do a few searches you would probably be overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information on how to, say, set up a network of jump bridges, use beacons to advertise your corporation in lowsec, etc. – the real question is, “Why would Capsuleer A, B and C choose my corp?” I am not concerned with retention here, that comes later. Neither am I concerned with resources, tax, etc. – there are other guides for that. What I am concerned with is helping your eve-mail inbox to become overwhelmed with corp applications. This can be accomplished with a firm philosophical foundation.

Foundations

What do you want to accomplish in EVE? Going back to my insistence that you start seeing EVE as a simulation rather than a game, consider about your motivations, your values, just as you would in real life. If you want to, say, start a corporation hell-bent on mining out every last gravimetric site in the unknown universe, stick with it! If you need time to decide, take it. If you need money, be patient. This is no cake walk – the core of EVE is corporation/alliance relations. Always be considerate of scale when assessing your goals. Once you’ve decided what you want to do, it’s time to study…

Philosophy

So you’ve decided to create the very best pirate corp in New Eden, how do you go about recruiting the masses of EVE into your own warm and inviting wedge of space. Well, to begin with you need to have values and aesthetics.

Values

Values? In an internet spaceship game? Yes. Values are everywhere. You, me and the Spaniard who popped your pod in his HAC last night have values. It’s important to look beyond the game [simulation] and see the person sitting behind the computer. I am not going to join a corporation without the right elements, just as I would not in the real world. If my Masonic Lodge did not contain people I liked and respected, I would find another Lodge.

Are you leadership material? In terms of hard statistics, you probably aren’t. If you’ve never been a Fleet Commander, for example, what business should you have running a corporation with possibly hundreds of people depending on you for direction? If you can answer this question without hesitation you should proceed to determining what your corporation’s values ought to be. Plainly, they really should echo your own values. If you’re an anarchist at heart in real life, running a military dictatorship would possibly be a bit of stretch.

Your first job should be to examine the values of other corps. These can be found in mission statements, codes of conduct, etc. Focus on the large and successful corporations. You will most certainly find that they all have rules or values. For example, the simplest could be said to be NRDS/NBSI. Corporations under the CVA alliance, for example, adhere to a strict NRDS policy – CVA maintains a tirelessly-updated list of KOS/Red’s and allows neutral players access to their system if standards and good behavior are met. CVA also values roleplay. if your corporation has little-to-no interest in roleplay, it would be pointless to try and attract players who are heavily invested in roleplay.

Exclusivity

Every major corporation has it. Would it be pompous of you to put your elitist foot down from the get-go? Absolutely not! If you take away one thing from this article I want you to understand that applying your values to recruitment is THE most important step in becoming successful in terms of sheer numbers. Have I lost my mind? Elitism brings people in rather than shutting them out? Read on…

Consider this. You’re a new pilot in EVE and there are only a few corporations to chose from and out of those choices only three of them are PVP-focused:

TruMENACE
Come blow stuff up with us! We take anyone – no trials. Douchebaggery is not welcome. Members all part of the Facebook Yellow Mustard fan community
Membership count: 1900
Corporation Age: 3 years.

LOLShips
Everyone is welcome. We’re kewl. LOLCats FTW!
Membership count: 3
Corporation Age: 1 month

Caduceus Mercs
Tightly-knit community of friends. 10 million skillpoint requirement, specializing in PVP. Vent interview – if we wouldn’t drink a beer with you, we don’t want you here. All of us RP – if you’re not invested in RP turn away now. 90% KB efficiency required. No liberals welcome.
Membership count: 100
Corporation Age: 6 months

The above three examples are pretty typical stereotypes for three types of EVE group: The community-based, catch-all and The clueless catch-all attempt; The specialists.

What you should aim to be is a specialist. Why? Think about it. Out of all three corps you’d probably go for Caduceus because, first and foremost, they seem to know their stuff AND they are selective. If you chose a corp that has strict requirements catered to your own tastes and values there is a very good chance that you will be flying with people like yourself. This is appealing for obvious reasons.

So at this juncture it would be important for you to consider, if you do choose to create your own corporation, that there are people out there in EVE that are very similar to yourself. You will only attract them into your ranks if you are unafraid to establish your independent values immediately and to be unafraid of separating the wheat from the chaff and so keeping your standards high.

Aesthetics

A short word on aesthetics. They’re important. how you present yourself is important. If you’re a man and have a wife you understand this better than anyone. If you’re not shaving every single day, your wife will probably complain that you look messy and not want to go out with you in public. If you walk into a club in your pajamas, they won’t let you in. And so, if you use Geocities.com to host your website and you don’t put the time into getting forums, a KB, etc. up and running you will be very un-presentable and turn people off. Get a good website up and running as soon as possible. Put time and effort into your description and consider very carefully all of the above points.

To summarize, I feel that anyone can create a successful and attractive corp with effort and creativity as long as they understand the necessity of specialization and establishing a clear set of ideals. And most importantly, no-one wants to fly with tards