BB46: Emergent Narrative

With the return of Live Events such as the Battle for Caldari Prime, clearly the prime fiction of EVE is back in favour as part of this new thematic approach to expansions. However, EVE's story is very much a tale of two playstyles, with an entirely player-driven narrative unfolding daily in parallel to the reinvigorated backstory. Often, they do not mix well. How can these two disparate elements be united or at least comfortably co-exist in a single sandbox universe?

The Caldari Prime event is perhaps herald of a new era, one where the NPC factions that have grown stagnant and decadent finally realize it is time to wake up and respond to the power that capsuleers and capsuleer corporations, alliances and coalitions have become.

Capsuleer alliances have provoked the Empire, the State, the Federation and the Republic enough with their ice mining blockades, semi-legal miner harassment and events like Burn Jita. Can the factions really afford to ignore these events or will they have to form a sort of response?
Of course capsuleers mostly target capsuleers so the factions can safely ignore most of what happens for now....though immortal foot soldiers have joined the battle for the future as well.

Sansha incursions have been introduced as events but are now more or less static, the story no longer progesses. How can we continue Sansha's story without removing incursions as a feature?
Drone incursions would give unlimited selfreplicating red crosses to shoot at. Drone outbreaks happen and need to be contained. No reason is needed, it's a simple malfunction in code limiting self-replication, a hegemonizing swarm.

In another blog I noticed and invasion of VFK. Have the factions use new technology to open a temprary stargate or a wormhole without mass limitations that will last a week straight from high sec deep into null space allowing all capsuleers one week of access to single constellation or system as retaliation for the interruption of empire services.

Have the Amarr Empire finally recognize CVA efforts. Have the Republic secretly support Ushra'Khan. (Well secretly, everyone knows what is going on, it's just politicians pretending their nose bleeds)

High sec mission runners are just capsuleer mercenaries that ally themselves with empire or pirate factions. Have them running missions to contribute to some greater effort (against the blue doughnut).

Looking at player events like Hulkageddon, Bring me the head of Kirith Kodachi or the Tusker Death Race shows these events are not just for roleplayers either. They draw a diverse crowd, from people that want to participate to people looking for trouble and a fight, or people just showing up so they can say: "I was there!"

CCP inspires capsuleers. Capsuleers inspire CCP.

The Caldari Prime event has received some negative reactions from players that feel they did not have any impact on the outcome. And they didn't, that titan was going down no matter what.



What can happen though is that players have influence on how we arrive at that outcome.
A story or movie isn't about the ending, it's about the journey, how we arrive at that destination and how it affects us.

Please take a look at some of the excellent BB46 posts out there to get an idea for possible stories to be told. http://freebooted.blogspot.nl/2013/04/blog-banter-46-main-event.html