You Can’t Take the Sky From Me
Well, I suppose this was a while coming. I’ve ignored the signs long enough—things that should have clued me in like a persistent desire to reinvent my gameplay strategy to make it more enjoyable, piling on meta-game projects to keep me in the world of New Eden (without actually having to log in), or the most ultimate sin of all: the fact that I’ve gone over two weeks now with no skills training. I know, heresy.
Yeah, it’s looking like I’m not a pilot anymore, and rather than drag this out so I become jaded with an obligation to a game I used to love, I think it’s better I say goodbye while I do still love it.
I’m glad to say this has very little to do with any drama regarding EVE’s development, recent relations between the community and CCP, or any other form of rage quit. This is simply about moving on.
EVE takes energy to play. It’s a game that’s unique in that it is only as rewarding as the work you put into it. If you want to enjoy it a lot, you have to work hard to make it happen. If you want the most fulfilling sandbox experience, you’ve got to build sandcastles. In EVE’s case, I’d say these are really, really big sandcastles.
Being a capsuleer simply takes an energy that I can’t devote anymore. As I’ve got so many projects to try, so many other games to play, and plenty of jobs to do… It’s difficult to justify working at enjoying a game. To those that do have the time, energy, and utter devotion…you have so much of my envy. That’s sincere.
Aside from the excuses about why I need to leave, I can say I truly enjoyed every bit of my experience with this game, and its world. CCP has a masterpiece on their hands, as flawed as it may be…there’s simply no game, or experience otherwise, like it. (For those that lament at EVE’s supposed bastardization by the very people that conceived it, I have a WoW 10-day free trial card with your name on it. It’ll give you some perspective on what the bastardization of a game really looks like.)
With my positive experience at heart, I leave with only a few regrets:
That I didn’t finish every project I wanted to for the community. I gave the Copernicus Coalition a good kickstart, but I wish I could give it the love it’ll inevitably need to really take off. I put out six volumes of Sounds for Flying, but never wrapped it up with the final master-volume I’d been working on for months (maybe that one will creep back into existence someday. We’ll see.) I never quite finished Rettic’s story arch. As infrequent as my in-character postings were, they were by far my favorite pieces to write for the Chronofile.
But my main regret, by far, will be to fade from the community. EVE’s quality of person transcends any game I’ve played. There’s no comparison. There’s so much intelligence, artistry, creativity, and good humor among all you pilots, and I’m so grateful to have had the pleasure to fly along your side. To move on to another MMO, if I ever do, will be with a heavy heart as I’ve experienced what the pinnacle of a gaming community is. I can’t imagine the experience could be replicated anywhere else.
I may hop in from time to time. I may post again in the future, so feel free to keep me in your feeds. But my time of flying in New Eden is more or less at a close.
Don’t get cynical. Fly well.
-Rettic
