You may recall a few blogs back I spoke of my resistance to MMO addiction. I may have been a little hasty to suggest an immunity as it would appear I've fallen back under the spell of World of Warcraft but that is beside the point. In that, now inaccurate, blog I spoke of a wee little title called EVE-Online which once consumed a significant portion of my gaming life. If you have not heard of the title it is basically the ultimate sandbox MMO with most of the game's story being driven by player action in an almost Homeworld-esque setting.

One thing that is notable about EVE over so many other MMOs out there is the loyalty of the fan base. Even though I don't play the game anymore I will still leap into the fray every time I see some form of forum argument going on about the game to defend my most favoured of the MMO set. Sure, World of Warcraft is more popular and there are people who play Guild Wars so much that their knuckles have atrophied in to cruel impersonations of working joints (Yes Tyranties, I'm looking at you) but the EVE fanbase is something different. They treat the place as a real world (within reason) and it is because their actions have resonance there. So your WoW guild downed Nef last night, what impact did that have on your game world outside of you getting some phat loot? In EVE the actions of players have an impact on everyone. Your corporation (EVE's equivalent of guilds) successfully destroyed the holdings of a rival corporation? Very good, now every player who travels through your corner of the `verse will experience the shift in military, political and economic power. You've left a mark, the world has changed and not just for the people directly involved.

All of which brings me to EON. EON is a quarterly magazine made by EVE's creators CCP and some of the more 'illustrious' members of the EVE player community. The interesting thing about E-ON is that much of the magazine is written as though it is a publication within the world of the game. Yes there are developer interviews, updates about the Kali expansion CCP has been steadily rolling out and other articles of a real world nature but then there are character interviews, guides to space travel, postcards and more items that would not look out of place in a popular magazine for a space faring community. Even the advertisements you find in the magazine are actually advertisements for in-game corporations offering services that players would use. Yes it is a fan-rag at heart but it seems a natural fit with EVE's gameplay.

I try and imagine a magazine of a similar nature for World of Warcraft or any number of more traditional MMOs but all it brings to mind is thoughts about square pegs and round holes. Because everyone in EVE plays on the one server and the political/economic climate is defined largely by the actions of gamers themselves, the idea of news and interviews with in-game personalities makes sense. If this were to be tried for a different MMO I fear it would come out as a mixture of strategy guide and developer diary. Not that it would be bad for such a publication to exist but there is something very different about E-ON both conceptually and practically.

I'm glad my E-ON subscription has run out. I quit EVE many months ago when I realised I just didn't have the time to play it as intended anymore. Every time a new copy of EON arrives on my doorstep to tell me what wondrous developments are taking place in the EVE Universe my blood boils and I feel pangs of gamer jealousy. It is like having a beautiful ex-girlfriend visit your house every three months to show you photos of her new boyfriend, new house, new life and tell you about how extraordinarily happy she is. Damn breaking up is hard to do.