At the Nordic Game Conference in Malmö, Sweden, CCP Games' Creative Director Bergur Finnbogason talked about the history and challenges of building EVE Online over the last twenty years.
In the talk, called "The Unexpected Turns That Led To A Titan: EVE Online", Bergur explores the "twists and turns" that the Icelandic development team has gone through in the last twenty years of developing and evolving the sci-fi MMORPG. In the nearly half-hour talk, Finnbogason goes deep into the mindset of the developers (recalling an old ad campaign that told players that if they didn't 'have what it takes, then EVE isn't for you,' for example).
Touching on topics from the new player experience and the struggles the developer has faced retaining new players to busting out the architecture references to explain how different EVE is today from its first iteration in 2003, it's a fascinating look at EVE Online's development history, albeit a brief one for a game that has spanned two decades.
Interestingly, Bergur touches on some data that flew in the face of the preconceived notions people - CCP Games included - had about the game. One specific example was Bergur discussing how the team felt that PvE was a phase and that their players only wanted PvP combat, only to discover that 90% of sessions are run solo and PvE. This led the team to invest in new tools, content and more, the fruit of those labors can be seen today in content like Abyssal Deadspace and more.
It's a fascinating look from the developers on a game that is considered by many to be the pinnacle of sci-fi, sandbox MMO gameplay. You can check it out in the embed below.
