Angry Monolith » Uncategorized

The Future, as Seen Through EVE Online

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:06:07 +0000

I have recently begun playing EVE Online. This is because I am a nerd, and I like shooting things with spaceships. Explosions are fun. Everyone knows that.

But more than that, EVE represents a unique object in a world of so few unique objects. The MMORPG world consists more or less of tiny insects scurrying surreptitiously between the feet of a hulking colossus, hoping fervently that World of Warcraft will not deem them a threat and crush them beneath his gargantuan feet. EVE Online, however, isn’t a part of this picture.

As one of the longest running MMORPGs in existence, EVE is unique because it operates in a completely different way than World of Warcraft and most of the others in the genre. Missions, questing and stories do exist, but for the most part, the world is run and operated by players. All of the market sales are player driven and the economy is purely run by people mining, crafting and PvPing. It is a surprisingly well crafted economy in a well crafted game.

What is important about this is that EVE has a devoted playerbase – less, by far than World of Warcraft – but not at all insignificant – of about three hundred thousand people. These people have been running this world, crafting, exploring and building, expanding known space and pushing boundaries further and further. Like Second Life, it is a persistent, player run world, but exists in a completely unique setting.

I think that we will see this come to be the model for a new type of human interaction in the near future – one based around immersive, virtual worlds – while people may denigrate MMOs for being escapist and time-wasting, they are a social interaction in and of themselves, and EVE Online may come to be the mold for future models of this phenomenon.

(And because I’m not too proud to shamelessly self-plug, here are a couple of guides I wrote: 1 and 2)

Apologies…and NEW content

admin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:07:54 +0000

WARNING! ADMINISTRATIVE CRAP: First of all, sorry for the long hiatus. Long months of unemployment have left the monolith unattended due to apathy and creative atrophy. But no more! In addition to the fantastic sarcastic services already provided by the Angry Monolith, I have now decided to add in some original content, so there is more reason to come here than to see a discussion of scientific phenomena through shit-colored glasses. From now on, this blog will include original pieces of fiction or poerty (sticking close to our prevailing themes, of course) which you will be able to acquire your daily dose of sarcasm and doom. So without further ado…

ORIGNAL (FUTURE) SCREENPLAY

40-YEAR OLD SUPERBAD KNOCKED UP VIRGIN

(Scene 1: It is the near-but-not-too-near future. Technology has advanced magnificently, producing a high-tech utopia where disease and death are unheard of, fields of crops produce nigh-inifite amounts of food, and advanced computers provide unlimited access to all available information at all times. Everything is possible. Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd sit in Rogen’s basement, unshaven and in stained, unflattering clothes. The ragged, patched couch has enveloped their engorged posteriors and it is unclear if they have moved at any point in the recent future. They play the the PS7 unenthusastically.)

Rogen:…

Rudd:…

(This goes on forever. End.)

Singing Tesla Coils

admin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 16:15:34 +0000

Wave of the future or decline of civilization? You decide.

Flagship Post

admin — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 22:04:13 +0000

If for some reason you happen to be reading this, here are some notes. This website is (obviously) unfinished, and I am about as skilled at web design as Sylvester Stallone is at speaking, so expect it to stay that way while I bumble aimlessly around in the code. If you find something explicitly wrong or out of place, feel free to e-mail me.

And thanks for coming.

-R