I've been playing Eve Online non-stop for going on eighteen years now. Over the years my own journey has evolved and transformed over time. In the early days Eve was simply a game I played when I had time, an exciting new world to explore, learn, and have adventures - that was all I was looking for. It had spaceships and that was enough for me.
Back then I would have laughed at anyone that would have suggested all that has unfolded in this universe since then. That I'd still be writing in this blog. Still undocking every single day. And that I would have made thousands of new friends all across the globe. That my art would hang on walls in countries I've never been too. I could go on and on with examples of how my personal experience with the larger Eve universe has changed and grown over the years. I often still find it hard to believe.
I've spent much of this past week reflecting on this journey. As you can imagine, the total surprise at Fanfest naturally created a period of self-reflection. I wasn't expecting it. If anything I had spent the past few months believing that the universe had forgotten me. Which was foolish. But, much like you reading this I suspect, I have my own demons to deal with. You might believe any number of things about me - but I am just as uncertain and full of doubts as anyone. I wrestle with those every day. Luckily, most days I still come out on top of that fight.
I don't know what it is about this universe that grabbed hold of me all those years ago. But I think it was the fact that so much of this experience intersects with, and combines, so much of what I love. Science-fiction, storytelling, art, adventure, design, writing, and more. With the added insanity that surrounding all of it was a vast sea of real people from all corners of the globe. And the random, unexpected nature of what that truly means when applied to a system like this one - is often staggering.
I can't explain it. I certainly didn't intend for it to define my life and career the way it has. But I can, in all truthfulness and sincerity tell you this - it is no more strange than the twenty odd years I spent in the advertising industry. That journey culminated in my own creative agency and dozens of employees, and twelve glorious years of insanity. And out of the ashes of that conflagration a new life was forged, in all the ways that new life can be. And a huge part of that transformation has been this journey through the universe of Eve Online.
I won a lot of awards back then. Creative awards. Business awards. I have boxes full of them. Some mean more than others. My Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award is one that means a lot to me. I took a huge risk starting my own business after 9/11 and that award represents that struggle, vision, and success of those early years. I was inducted into the Pittsburgh Advertising Hall of Achievement and that moment ranks very highly as a pinnacle for me. To be recognized by my peers in the industry. That was a great moment in my career. And you can watch it happen if you want to -