I said in a previous post that I was not a person to let myself be outdone by anyone. That being true, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to actively participate in the Eve Blog Banter CrazyKinux started.
Especially since this subject is one that I feel was very nicely chosen. Writing an essay of sorts about a fellow blogger is a great way to promote the game, its blogging community, and our own personal web enteprises within the same stride.
So who actually inspired me to write a blog? Well… I can’t say it was one person. I read a lot of blogs, most of them diagonally, but many times I find very interesting subjects, stories, and other ideas that develop within my head. The first real blog (I should say ‘news aggregator’) that inspired me was Slashdot.org. It’s a long while ago that I was shown this site by a fellow gamer, and at the time I never really bothered to read it… until a few years later, on a worday where I particularly had nothing on my plate. I started reading this, and I discovered a whole section of technology and science that I never really was interested in, until that day. Software, hardware, programming… it all lead to an article about Wordpress.
Wordpress is a free-as-in-speech, open-source blog software. I was into the idea of writing about myself, and I really was looking for a way for people to keep up with my day-to-day activities. In my mind, it saves the time that you “lose” when you must call someone or meet them and talk to them about your life, activities, adventures, and mishaps… and then repeat ad infinitum for every other friend. With this software, I was able to “write-once, read-many”, and save a bunch of time… theoretically.
I quickly discovered that spending massive amounts of time on my computer trying to install and write a blog was keeping me away from real-life, and therefore I ran out of ideas as fast as it took me to install the software – and Wordpress is famous for its “5-minute-install”. Ha.
So all this stuff must count as an inspiration to write, as much as reading books from some of my favorite authors Dan Brown, J.R.R. Tolkien, Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Ludlum, Caitlin Keirnan, and especially Neil Peart of Rush fame.
At this point you may wonder, “but what about ‘fellow bloggers’”? I’m getting there.
First, let me thank StrangeApe. He’s a fellow co-worker, one of the only guys at work I actually get along with without getting the feeling that I’m in their way, and he’s the person I have to thank for getting me involved into Eve-Online to begin with. Being the Linux fanboy that I am, I can’t really say there are a ton of games out there that are supported on this great platform. So I asked him the question, and he sent me to visit Eve-Online’s website. Little did I know what was in store for me.
A few million ISK later, I can honestly say I’m hooked, and I can only hope this persistent world will continue to persist far beyond the next 5 years. But the referrals didn’t end there for The ApeMan.
He asked me about blog writing – gee, me? So I asked him how much he knew about running a blog. His answer, which not suitable for younger children currently reading this blog, led me to believe that I should send him to someone who already has a blog all neatly ready to go for him. And a few hours later, lo and behold – Drunk In Space was born.
StrangeApe is the kind of guy who loves to start great ideas, but totally lacks the most basic follow-through ability, and has the attention span of a common mosquito. His blog is great, and he truly shows talent for bringing up discussions that are sensible and profound. But does he write often? hmm… checking the feed, I’d say the answer to this one is “What is ‘Not On Your Life’, for 800$ Alex?”. So being the cool and composed hero that I am, I decided to help him make of Eve the most popular game on the internet. A few trained skills later, EVEolutions was born.
I really want to make this blog something of a rally-point blog for the starting player. Something that can interest any player to further explore the boundaries of this fantastic game, and simultaneously help them resolve the most basic problems of the game. I like the idea of a discussion forum, when it has someone creating Stickies – a subject that has been dealt with and discussed enough that it should be canned. Then this is where I want to come into play.
Here’s another angle to this inspiration-driven article. Since my beginnings in Eve, I’ve been looking for multiple-player gameplay. Something that I could not get when confined to a game console unless I bought 19 controllers. So when I finally joined Apeman’s corp, I got this urge to do more. I was compelled to participate even more in corp life, and was eventually made Recruiting and Training Officer.
One of the major setbacks in my nomination was my lack of experience, and I could completely acknowledge that fact. So I started a search on how to improve my training routine, which is when I found Mynxee.
Ahhh, that lovely space creature, I must admit, she has me by the Nanobot Accelerator. Her blog, Life In Low Sec, is truly a piece of work; she’s created a sort of satellite community for herself, and being a woman heading a female-only corp makes her quite the unique Eve player, with a perspective like no other. Most of her work and involvement in the Eve game and its blogging community is starting to be felt (she comments on every blog I read, except mine- hehe), and she comes up with really good perspectives for training, involved and evolved gameplay, and blogging. I appreciate her work in- and out-of-game.
Last but not least, I do want to give honorable mention to CrazyKinux. As a fellow Canadian, I feel he truly deserves credit for putting the now-enormous blogging community of Eve Online on the map. His work is outstanding, and he is to me and many others a reference when it comes to Eve. Without him, I would not be writing this article.
Hopefully this article will help further the cause, and make Eve a more popular, more enviable destination for the average gamer. It is important to thank the people that have paved the way for us, but also to captivate our audience in doing so. I can only hope this makes it work for everyone!
Enough talk… See you online!
