The real and sincere challenge for me today is going to be communicating the scope of what happened this past week at Fanfest 2023 in Iceland. Hello, this is Rixx Javix and I am safely back home today from our eleven day trip to sunny Iceland. No joke, it was mostly sunny in Iceland. I think the weather decided to finally play ball and represent the current sunny disposition of Eve Online, the player base, and of the new and improved CCP outlook that is currently driving our community forward. At least, that is how I'm choosing to look at things.
On Thursday CCP opened their offices for early registration and a slew of early presentations and screenings of a new documentary about the beginnings of Eve Online - which is excellent and I highly recommend you take time to watch it. You can find it here. In addition my good friend Charles White gave a presentation at the end of the day which you can find posted above. I want to start there, since this happened early and it set the stage for the incredible events that followed.
Words fail me at this point, so if you haven't seen Charles' presentation yet I highly recommend you take the time to watch it for yourself. Over the years there have been people in this game of ours who have tried to use my story and the story of how the Eve community helped me - against me. I've been called every name in the book, from deadbeat Father to a liar to a piece of shit and worse. So it was important to me to finally share my story alongside others and to not only set the record straight - but also communicate just how great this community of players can be. And how important it is to see through the cloud of angry soulless vitriol that can often distract us from the true problems that our fellow players are living through.
It was a very emotional start to a very emotional Fanfest.
I heard a lot of stories this week that broke my heart, stories that inspired me, and stories that encouraged me. I heard from people who felt inspired by me and I told others that they inspired me when I needed it most. I tried to encourage those I spoke with and I was encouraged by those I spoke with. Which is exactly how that is supposed to work.
Your own life is a long and often rocky journey. I know this because mine has been and continues to be one. But don't lose faith. Faith in yourself to overcome, learn and grow. And faith in others, who can help you overcome, learn and grow. Sometimes the price we pay to get out of toxic situations can be staggering, it was for me. But I wouldn't change a thing. It was horrible but it also led to everything that has happened to me since.
Tomorrow I'll talk more about the board game and the other things that happened at Eve Fanfest.
Until then, keep the courage.