Posted September 12, 2012
The news of the four Americans killed in Libya has saddened me, as I am sure it has all Americans. One of the dead is Sean Smith... who I never met. But he played Eve Online.
If you don't know, EvE is what is called a "massively multiplayer Online-game" or MMO. It is a similar idea to Warcraft, but far deeper and more complex, and truly global... and in space.
He didn't just play it. He was deeply involved in it. He was known by many hundreds of of the 400,000 players and was one of the game community's top leaders, going as far as to be in the community's player elected government that actually meets in person periodically at the game maker's Icelandic corporate HQ, making him also known and befriended by the game's developers.
I played this game almost obsessively for about four years. I was struck by and drawn in by how intensely enriching the social interaction was. This isn't Modern Warfare where a few dozen kids talk smack for 20 minutes while shooting virtual bullets. In this game I befriended and learned about the lives of a retired British army officer who lived in Sweden... an American serviceman stationed in Korea... a rancher in California... a bright but introverted young woman in Wisconsin... an Israeli military soldier... a writer... an IT specialist... a student... and many others. We all shared an interest in the game, but developed a real understanding of who we all were and how our lives were different... and the same.
This story demonstrates something many non-gamers don't know. The online gaming community, often maligned for its crude and visceral atmosphere (and sometimes rightfully so) is also a truly social and communal experience where real people from all walks of life meet and befriend one another... and learn that their worlds are both a little bigger and a little smaller at the same time.
The loss of Sean Smith, and the three others bravely serving their nation, is tragic. But it is heartening to see an outpouring of love and respect and genuine affection from a community embroiled in what some see as merely a video game. It backs up the very true notion that relationships forged in the ether can in fact be very real and lasting.
Thank you, Sean, for your service to my country... and to the international game community that I took so much pleasure from for so many years.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/american-diplomat-sean-smith-killed-libya-protests-mourned-eve-online-gaming-community-article-1.1157600
If you don't know, EvE is what is called a "massively multiplayer Online-game" or MMO. It is a similar idea to Warcraft, but far deeper and more complex, and truly global... and in space.
He didn't just play it. He was deeply involved in it. He was known by many hundreds of of the 400,000 players and was one of the game community's top leaders, going as far as to be in the community's player elected government that actually meets in person periodically at the game maker's Icelandic corporate HQ, making him also known and befriended by the game's developers.
I played this game almost obsessively for about four years. I was struck by and drawn in by how intensely enriching the social interaction was. This isn't Modern Warfare where a few dozen kids talk smack for 20 minutes while shooting virtual bullets. In this game I befriended and learned about the lives of a retired British army officer who lived in Sweden... an American serviceman stationed in Korea... a rancher in California... a bright but introverted young woman in Wisconsin... an Israeli military soldier... a writer... an IT specialist... a student... and many others. We all shared an interest in the game, but developed a real understanding of who we all were and how our lives were different... and the same.
This story demonstrates something many non-gamers don't know. The online gaming community, often maligned for its crude and visceral atmosphere (and sometimes rightfully so) is also a truly social and communal experience where real people from all walks of life meet and befriend one another... and learn that their worlds are both a little bigger and a little smaller at the same time.
The loss of Sean Smith, and the three others bravely serving their nation, is tragic. But it is heartening to see an outpouring of love and respect and genuine affection from a community embroiled in what some see as merely a video game. It backs up the very true notion that relationships forged in the ether can in fact be very real and lasting.
Thank you, Sean, for your service to my country... and to the international game community that I took so much pleasure from for so many years.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/american-diplomat-sean-smith-killed-libya-protests-mourned-eve-online-gaming-community-article-1.1157600