Deep down we have to admit we connect to these services looking for validation among our gaming peers, even the social connection of it all. Why then, do we seek to change the game to cater to our play-style or demand changes to said game to "balance" the game in said direction? Take EVE Online, for example. I have been playing seriously since 2007, i had a few trial accounts previously. I've played solo for pretty much the entire time, despite the game being designed for team play. Sure, I've networked with other like-minded players. Big CAS salute here and here. o7
This motley crew of players get's it. You can play the game without being in a major corp or alliance but networking with other players is much more rewarding. I realized that all too late in my EVE Online career. I was making the transition to correct this mistake before real life economic hardships took place. I was beginning to move myself and my virtual possessions into Menai (Genesis low-sec) and to RF-GGF, a null-sec area of the game world. While I was alone in Menai, there was a significant group presence in RF-GGF.
That is the reason I was moving assets there, to finally learn the game from a group perspective. To belong to a group and experience more of what the game has to offer. Something you just can't get going it alone, I wanted to belong. Shedding my comfort zone, I took the plunge and it was as exciting as it was nerve racking. However the fates intervened and I had to make some drastic life changing decisions. Economic hardships intervened and we had to drop our ISP. I could've gone on playing wirelessly through a nearby connection but it was too slow and prone to disconnecting. No, I had to put on my big-boy pants and make due coupled with the fact that I have the worst luck when it comes to maintaining a PC.
Once again my PC experienced a malfunction of equipment, the PSU this time. Being unemployed and all, I can't really justify buying this equipment when that money would be better spent on bills or groceries. So as luck would have it, I'm back to my dinosaur XP PC that won't run the client in it's present incarnation since it was patched out quite a while back. What's a gamer to do? Well I've currently gotten my Steam account straightened out and am trying to reconnect with old contacts there. Like my previous employer, I realized what I missed most about this game. I miss the other people I used to interact with on a daily basis.
People, not just the breathtaking and beautiful virtual universe that is EVE Online. No, I miss the very real people that shared that virtual reality with me. Ironic now, how that fact has hit home with me as I'm isolated at home. Seeking employment, my daily routine of filling out applications, I hope to improve my family's situation and soon. When/if I ever get back to my virtual realms, I will do so from a much better understanding and seek to experience them in a more social way. The way they were intended to be experienced and shared.
