Monday, January 25, 2010

The EVE Blog Banter Special Edition: Why we love EVE Online Contest


Welcome to this special installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by myself, CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to me. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!


When you've been roaming New Eden as long as I have, it almost feels like home. That's how familiar it has become over the last 5 years. Not that I have done everything or touched every aspect of this most amazing of virtual world, far from it, but it just feels as though it's always been there. And always will be.

Whether you've logged into the game every day since its launch in 2003, or you've taken one or several sabbaticals from your capsuleer career, you've always come back to New Eden don't you. Why is that?

We know the EVE Online Community is unique in so many ways, and that EVE Online is like no other MMORPG out there. But what makes the game special for you?

What is it that makes this particular virtual world so enticing, so mysterious and so alluring that we keep coming back for more. Why is EVE one of the very few MMOs to see a continuous growth in its subscriber.

To put it simply: Why do you love EVE Online so much?

The Contest & The Prizes
Write an article letting us know why you love this game so much and get a chance to win one of these 10 amazing prizes courtesy of CCP Games!
  • 1st Place: $100 in EVE Store merchandise
  • 2nd Place: $50 in EVE Store merchandise
  • 3rd and 4th Place: $25 in EVE Store merchandise each
  • 5th through 10th Place: a 14-day EVE time pass each
The Rules
I'll be judging your articles based on their quality, structure, approach, originality. Other criteria are as follows:
  • Contest is open from now until Sunday January 31st 11:59 PM EDT, 2010
  • Submit your article (title and URL) in the comments below, before the contest expires. I will be using the date and time of your comment as the time stamp for the contest.
  • No offensive or racist language will be allowed.
  • You will need to link back to this post in your article introduction, as in typical EVE Blog Banter fashion.
  • The winners will be announced on February 8th, 2010.
As always, I'll be adding a list of participants to the end of this article until the drop date next Sunday. Don't worry if your article doesn't appear immediately after you've posted your comment. As long as it's in the comments before the drop date, you'll be entered in the contest. And for those asking, the next regular EVE Blog Banter will be in mid-February!

I'll be waiting anxiously for your submissions and look forward to reading them.

Let's have some fun folks!

Friday, January 22, 2010

Friday Video: Mass Effect 2 Launch Trailer

Well, seems I'm an emotional guy. Either that or game trailers are getting really damn good. Probably both statements are true.

Mass Effect 2 comes out next Tuesday for us folks in North America (and the 29th on the old continent). And though I'll be away at a sales conference for the reminder of that week I still pre-ordered the game at EB earlier this month.

When I watch, and re-watch a trailer like the one below, I have to admit I get goose bumps.


Video games creating emotional responses. Who would have believed that 30 years ago!

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

EVE Blog Banter #14: A beginning is a very delicate time...


Welcome to the fourteenth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by none other than me, CrazyKinux. The EVE Blog Banter involves an enthusiastic group of gaming bloggers, a common topic within the realm of EVE Online, and a week to post articles pertaining to the said topic. The resulting articles can either be short or quite extensive, either funny or dead serious, but are always a great fun to read! Any questions about the EVE Blog Banter should be directed to crazykinux@gmail.com. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
The first banter of 2010 comes to us from the EVE Blog Father, in which I ask the following: As we begin another year in New Eden, ask yourselves "What Now?" What will I attempt next? What haven't I done so far in EVE? Was it out fear, funds, or knowledge? Have I always wanted to start my own corporation, but have never dared doing so? Is there a fledging mercenary waiting to come out of its shell? Or maybe an Industrialist? What steps and objectives will I set myself to accomplish in order to reach my ultimate goal for this year? EVE is what you make of it. So, what is it going to be for you?
Beginning anew. Well sort of. You see, 2009 wasn't the best of year for my career as a capsuleer. Not that I did not a lack of motivation or a will to try out new things. But circumstances outside of New Eden forced me to put aside most if not all of these goals and for the better part of the year I, for lack of a better word, stagnated. Literally.

I feel out of touch with the game. That might sound funny to some of you, but it's a fact I've had to come to grips with. I'm like one of these ol'war vets who due to some traumatic event, have lost all acquired abilities. Or maybe I'm just outdated, following the last few expansions.

But 2010 will see this situation change. If I may remind you of a post I made back in May of last year, this fellow capsuleer is going to start living in the shadows. As a carebear, I spend most of my time trying to avoid conflicts and dreading that sound you here when your ship is being acquired as a target. No more. This stops today!

So, I've finally completed the Phoenix Labs minimum skill prerequisites and can now start to train the necessary skills to become the Covert Operative that is hiding somewhere under the thick blubberry fur of this carebear.

Now having such a goal is fine and dandy, but I'll need to discuss my role within PPL and see how the Executives have in mind for me. Remember, "Corp is Mother!".

I plan to report over the next few weeks and throughout the next year, my progress, my achievements and my failures in the process.

Please bare with me!


List of Participants:
  1. CrazyKinux's Musing - A beginning is a very delicate time...
  2. The Wandering Druid of Tranquility - Words, words, words…
  3. My God It's Full of Stars - What Now?
  4. The Elitist - Plans for 112yc
  5. Into the unknown with gun and camera - Show me the money
  6. Ecliptic Rift - Enabling the future
  7. Inanity and Doom - New Year's Resolutions, New Eden Style
  8. Break Vol - Blog Banter #14
  9. Guns Ablaze - What Now?
  10. Adventures in Mission Running - The Way Forward
  11. Diary of a Pod Pilot - Things I want to do
  12. Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah - The Year That Will Be
  13. Roc's Ramblings - WordPress ate my blog
  14. Vive Virtual - Frontier Living
  15. A Mule in EVE - Next on the chopping block
  16. Prano's Journey - I Peer Into My Crystal Pod...
  17. Life in Low Sec - Expanding the Franchise
  18. The Light of Stars - Testing the claims of CCP
  19. A Memoir From Space - A New Direction
  20. The Chronofile - Blog Banter 2010
  21. FlashFresh - What now for Flash?
  22. EVE Opportunist - Fyreite in 112
  23. Mike Azariah - Jiorj
  24. Yarrbear Tales - Year in Review
  25. The Independant Analyst - The Year Ahead
  26. The Travels of Black Claw - Where ma I going?
  27. Warp Scrammed - What to do this year
  28. Sered's Lives - Searching for directions in 2010
  29. Finders & Keepers - New Tears, Same Great Taste
  30. The Captain's Log - To Dream of the Future
  31. The Lathspell of Mithrandir - Resolutions
  32. The Midnight Sun - EVE Blog Banter #14
  33. EVE What? - New Heights to be Reached
  34. The EVE Chronicles - New Year – New Blog – What a way to start the Year!
[ Delicious Tags: eveblogbanter14 ]

Friday, January 08, 2010

I go AWOL and the EVE Community gets an Award!


Talk about shitty timing! I take a few weeks off from blogging and tweeting as I normally do, and during that time, Ten Ton Hammer awards the EVE Online Community the Best Community of 2009. Indeed, best time to take a break. I've seriously just found out about this - like an hour ago - while looking over my Facebook News Feed!

Still, it's a hell of an honor to be part of this great community of players with whom I share a passion for an amazing and complex world. Long live New Eden.

Before I jump back on the horse and return to my regular posting schedule, I just wanted to update you on what I've been doing this last 4 weeks! For those of you who don't know, I'm currently enjoying my paternity leave, of which I've got 2 more weeks (yep, that's 5 weeks during which I'm being paid to spend some time with MiniCK2). During that time, those of you who follow me on raptr will know that I've been playing some EVE Online, some Torchlight and Defense Grid, as well as a lot of Mass Effect. All this playing only happens when the MiniCKs are sleeping, which makes for some difficult gaming schedule. And with the PC downstairs in the basement and the Xbox 360 in the living room, playing Mass Effect (Xbox 360 version) is currently more convenient.

Add to that the fact that I want to finish the game before the sequel, which I've pre-ordered, comes out on the 26th.

I've also been reading a lot more, which is something I used to do more before the kids, and before this blogging, tweeting, facebooking took over my leisure time! I managed to finish reading The Sky People and Deadhouse Gates. I've started reading The Child Thief, Mass Effect Revelation and Pathfinder Core Rulebook. It's really fun to have the time to do so.

I'm slowly getting up to speed with emails, request and posts, so expect a return to my daily blogging and tweeting starting next week.

It's good to be back!