One doesn't have to look far to understand why our ancestors called the newly discovered cluster of worlds New Eden. It was a monumental moment in human history. An entirely new galaxy awaited, an expansion of humanity. And then the nightmare happened and those brave new explorers were cut off from their home-worlds in the blink of an eye. Left to fend for themselves and repeat many of the same mistakes those that had gone before them had made. Along with that biblical reference, did those early humans bring along with them another trope of that specific mythology? The expulsion.
In many ways Eve Online celebrates the concept of expulsion. We even refer to those who leave the universe of New Eden as "winning" Eve. In our own way, we celebrate those that leave the game by turning what they have done into a positive term. But more than that simple example, how much of what happens inside of Eve is ultimately about getting other players to quit the game? To not log-in? To go AFK, to abandon their goals, to be shamed into moving somewhere else? Are we fostering an expulsion narrative without even realizing it?
I know those are some heavy questions. They started to be top of mind lately after a series of minor events that happened to me over the past few weeks. Minor events on their own, but together they started to get me thinking about this idea. An idea that underneath it all there might be an underlying force at play behind the scenes. A group mentality that isn't specifically driven by individual decisions, but made up instead of thousands of individual decisions. And that is where this post started.
Obviously much of this comes naturally out of the normal confines of what makes Eve an actual game. There is a force behind the scenes that pushes every player towards winning goals, both small and large, that make up the competitive force that drives all of us. Whatever it is you do inside of Eve the normal condition is that you want to do well at that task. You want to achieve your goals. That's normal. What is also normal is that for you to succeed, ultimately, someone else has to fail. We can't all be winning all the time. That would be weird.
To be frank, I debated even writing this post. Because once I began thinking down this path I quickly realized the trap I had created for myself. But then I also understood that sometimes writing it is just as important as thinking about it. Because there are some truths to be had, some quality to the idea of even considering the notion of expulsion. Because that dynamic isn't just one at play within the confines of New Eden. It is also one that stretches out into the real world. Into the players themselves.
And ultimately what my own personal take away has been, is that we can be both winners and losers inside of New Eden - and also outside of it. And that within our own sphere we can strive to affect change to throw the balance further towards the winning side, for ourselves and for others. That even evil Pirate Lords can show mercy, can help a brother out, or send a young player off with some extra iskies in their wallet from time to time. And perhaps, by so doing, swing the pendulum back towards acceptance and positivity.
Adam and Eve may have been expelled from Eden - but eventually that action brought us everything we have today. Even the chance to hang out together in a place called New Eden. And maybe that was a good thing after all.