Welcome to the fifth installment of the EVE Blog Banter, the monthly EVE Online blogging extravaganza created by 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 here. Check out other EVE Blog Banter articles at the bottom of this post!
This month's topic comes to us from Mynxee of Life in Low Sec. She asks "Alts and Metagaming: Is playing two accounts who are logged in at the same time and work together (hauler/miner, explorer/combat associate, trade alts in trade hubs) a form of metagaming that is "ruining the game"?"
A very philosophical subject, we have here. Let's take a step back and understand what it is we're dealing with here. Wikipedia defines "metagaming" as a broad term usually used to define any strategy, action or method used in a game which transcends a prescribed ruleset, uses external factors to affect the game, or goes beyond the supposed limits or environment set by the game. In simple terms, using out-of-game information, or resources, to affect one's in-game decisions.
Well, well! Look what we have here. If we take the definition above literally, then I guess we're all guilty of metagaming at one point or another. Think about it, we would need to forget most of what we know about the games political intrigue at the login screen, never mind all the information that's available to us outside EVE. And then there's Singularity, which gives a lot of the players that partake in the beta testing of future features at an advantage to those who are completely unaware about it. What? You think these folks can't start to plan ahead in terms of skill queues and ship fittings and what not. Of course they do.
Now getting back to the dual accounts working together and how it affect gameplay. My simple answer is, I don't think it has any real negative impact on the game. Au contraire, the opposite might be true.
I've never done this myself. My main character, Treenara, is the focus of my gameplay. But I can certainly appreciate how much more engaging the game could be, if she had a counterpart, controlled be me, to maximize my gameplay. It allows for so much possibilities, that it's something I might consider in the near future. Wow, writing this banter has actually made me consider getting a second account. Maybe I should ask Mynxee to subsidize part of the cost of that 2nd account.
Damn, now I'm really gonna need a second monitor!
Participants:
- Epic Misadventures, This is my Alt - There are many like it but this one is mine.
- Inner Sanctum of the Ninveah, I Missed This Month's Blog Banter!
- A Mule in EvE, Meta what? Is it hurting EvE?
- Morphisat's EVE Online Blog, Me, Myself and I
- One Man And His Spaceship, Me and My Shadow
- Ombeve, Blog Banter edition 5
- Diving into PsycheDiver's Psyche, CK's Blog Banter #5: Everybody Needs Somebody
- Dense Veldspar, Blog Banter
- Ecliptic Rift, OOC: Blog Banter #5 Metagaming
- The Ralpha Dogs, Me, Myself and I
- EVE Chick, The Handicapper General
- The Wandering Druid of Tranquility, "...you see mate, it's a matter of leverage, savvy?..."
- New Eden Diaries, It's only a game
- Oz’s House of the Evil Dead, If You Can’t Ride Two Horses At Once, You Shouldn’t Be In The Circus
- Diving into PsycheDiver's Psyche, Everybody Needs Somebody
- CrazyKinux's Musing, Leave what you know at the door please!
- Diary of a Pod Pilot, [OOC] EVE Blog Banter #5 Metagaming
- EvE - Wotlankor, [OOC] Alts and Metagaming
- Roc's Ramblings, February Blog Banter - Meta Me
- Drunk in Space, Metagaming....so that's the name.
- X1376's Space Odyssey, Blog Banter #5: Army of One
- A merry life and a short one, EVE Blog Banter #5: Uh...
- Zero Kelvin, Are alts ruining the game?
- DeafPlasma's EVE Musings, Blog Banter #5: Alts & me!
- I am Keith Nielson, EVE is All About the Metagame
- Everyday EvE, Two Accounts Edition
- Blogging from inside the pod, EVE Blog Banter #5: Arletta and I
- Speed Fairy, Meet Paul
- More coming as the articles post!!
