Down the Rabbit Hole Progress Update: 8/14/21

SPOILER WARNING

Hello again, everyone. Progress continues relatively smoothly in terms of research.

I mentioned in my last progress update that I had begun playing EVE, but I didn't spend terribly much time discussing what I was doing and how I've been learning.

While I was enjoying myself as a high-security miner for a little while, I quickly recognized that if I was going to make this video in a reasonable amount of time, I would need to dedicate myself to learning the mechanics at a faster rate, and so, I joined EVE University, who offer regular classes on in-game systems as well as practical application of such systems. I also managed to acquire a mentor, who goes by RogueFlight, or often RogueNighn. (If you watch my tea streams on Twitch, you may have noticed that she joined me for one recently to talk about EVE with some of my viewers) Along with guiding me and answering my very basic questions, she encouraged me to join the Wormhole campus, which I did.

Wormholes are a particularly unique aspect of EVE. I'll be delving into some of their complexity and culture in the Down the Rabbit Hole video, but suffice to say, living there makes me feel like I'm in Mad Max. The chain of wormholes themselves alter by the hour and can be manipulated by those with the know-how to do so, creating a labyrinth whose walls are constantly shifting. Despite their danger, living in a wormhole can be relatively profitable and results in quite a bit of action, including the opportunity to go and raid the nullsec empires.

Playing the game myself was absolutely the correct decision; it's opened up doors to stories that neither I nor most other people on the outside suspected even existed. I've made contacts with whom I'll be speaking in the near future to establish some of the history, though of course I'll be speaking with multiple people in every area to get multiple perspectives.

My goal with this video, in part, is to give people the knowledge they need to jump into the game and start playing if they find it interesting, but even if they don't, knowledge of the game's mechanics will help to make EVE seem less unapproachable and distant and will hopefully get viewers more invested in the stories, which are beautiful and fascinating. I want to tell the untold stories, and wormhole society is among those stories.

But I also can't ignore the nullsec empires, whose influence changes the face of EVE Online as a whole daily. The most recent war has been particularly brutal and bloody, and I'll be sitting down next Wednesday with Frost Ees OP to help paint the broad strokes of this conflict that has just come to a fairly unsatisfying conclusion.

I'm also getting ready to meet with Dan Crone, one of the community developers for CCP, who has been keeping track of the company's history for some time. I also want my video will also be the story of the company, since its existence and actions are inextricably tied to the game, and the decisions they made helped shape the game into what it was and is.

I'll be back next week with a report on my progress.

-Fredrik