In the Queue II: Stretching My Legs

How the complexity of EVE Online allows peoples talents and abilities show up

Do you ever think about skills you have that you rarely or never use because their use-case is so far outside the life you lead now? Maybe you have skills that you’ve been trying to use more but there are obstacles keeping you from really letting them shine? That’s me. I have years of teaching experience that I rarely get to use and every time I go for a job that would allow me to use those it seems I just can’t stick the landing. I suspect most people have skills and talents they don’t get to show off or utilize in meaningful ways due to circumstances.

One of the things that keeps some people from trying EVE Online is that it is really complex. Unlike other MMOs, the early hours in the game do not actually represent gameplay in much of a meaningful way. You might say to me, “but Jamie, WoW’s introductory stuff isn’t anything like WoW at level 60” and that may be true, but WoW’s onboarding is basically just “do these quests you’d otherwise do and hopefully don’t die!” I wanna stress that I don’t think WoW is inferior or better because of this. It’s just the way it is. EVE Online can be hard to sell to people because as a player, there are so many details you can get wrapped up in while trying to tell people, “it’s a space simulation MMO with real-time mechanics and emergent gameplay that impact everything from combat to trade. In other words, you try to make spaceships go boom before other players make your spaceship go boom.”

The complexity of EVE Online gave me one hell of an opportunity. That’s right, I get to teach classes on how to play EVE Online. More specifically, I teach classes on various aspects of the game so that new folks can get a better grasp on it. I teach people how to fly safely through space without getting jumped by some gankers (a lowly type of pirate). I teach people about a type of ship and form of fighting called electronic warfare (think ship-to-ship hacking). I teach people about stealth bombers and how to use them. The feeling I get from teaching and having the class respond with insightful questions, personal anecdotes that speak to my teaching points, and the feedback I get after class from the teaching staff means so much to me.