Being a warlord in an online game is rough for anyone, but few know it better than Dunk Dinkle, one-time CEO of Brave in EVE Online. Dunk recently took to his Medium blog to talk about the experience of being a warlord in one of gaming's most complex metaverses.
EVE Online has seen its fair share of warlords, dictators, and more come and go, recently with the long-time head of the Imperium The Mittani stepping down last year. In a universe where the strong survive and thrive, few players command the respect and loyalty of capsuleers like the major heads of EVE's vast player empires.
Dunk Dinkle is one player who rose up through the ranks of his corporations, eventually landing as CEO of nullsec alliance Brave. However, about six months ago, Dinkle left EVE Online, stepping down as Brave CEO and moving on from the MMO.
Now, however, Dunk took his Medium blog to talk about what it's like to be a metaverse warlord, and his rise to power, as well as what leaving EVE Online has meant to him.
The post is more of a retrospective, detailing his start in MMOs (going all the way back to Ultima Online) to when he first gravitated to New Eden in 2008. From there, Dunk describes the dynamic of player groups in EVE, stating that the leadership groups in EVE Online are run by what he calls "benevolent dictators."
"The leadership of groups in EVE is almost exclusively by (mostly) benevolent dictators. Groups have tried space democracy, but it has failed repeatedly. What empirically works is a leader with complete authority making decisions. In the game, they are referred to as CEOs, but they are in fact, warlords, maintaining fiefdoms and commanding their forces to attack or defend as needed."
Player alliances are complex webs of intrigue, planning, and politics and aren't really replicated in other MMOs out there. There is a real-world feeling to these alliances and the struggles they go through, and these player groups often have teams of industrial experts, trucking and shipping corporations, whole diplomatic arms, and even Cold War-era spy organizations.
I wrote about my years as a metaverse warlord:https://t.co/xlTYOdfJCE
— Dunk Dinkle (@DunkDinkle) April 19, 2023
In 2013, Dunk says he became more "deeply involved" in a new group, which would go on to become Brave (which, coincidentally just celebrated 10 years). From there, he rose steadily through the ranks, taking on more leadership roles and becoming what he called a "nano-celebrity" among the playerbase. This would lead to Dunk eventually being voted onto the Council of Stellar Management, a player-elected council that works with CCP Games to ensure that player needs are being met by the developers.
Like many who make a name for themselves in EVE Online, their real world skills played a pivotal role here, with Dinkle crediting his experience managing a "corporate staff."
"I gave talks about leadership at a couple of the player conferences (2018, 2019) while at the same time making videos for my own group’s internal consumption. Much of this drew on my own experience managing a corporate staff, negotiating with stakeholders, and methods to communicate ideas to maintain morale."
During the recent large-scale war involving multiple nullsec alliances, Dunk was made CEO of Brave, thrust into the commanding role over thousands of players in EVE Online.
"My notoriety grew until during one of the galaxy spanning wars between players, I was put in charge of our group, becoming the CEO of the alliance. This was a big change to my experience, as I was now managing several thousand people across the globe to achieve specific goals. "
As the leader of such a large group of players, Dunk's obvious leadership skills shined through, most importantly because he understands what makes a lot of EVE players tick. The social constructs built in EVE Online are ones not built on who you are outside in what many in the game, Dunk included, call the "meatspace," rather motivations are different in New Eden.
"With motivation in the metaverse not being based on financial reward, but on esprit de corps and social reputation, people would spend hours each day working to help achieve large goals for the group. This kind of social currency and sense of achievement is highly motivational to people. It doesn’t matter who you are in the “real world”. Whether you are a corporate attorney, a construction worker, a truck driver, or a soldier has no bearing on how you are viewed by others. It doesn’t matter if you’re gay, straight, trans, or otherkin, all that matters is what you DO in the game."
Dunk goes on to describe his role as CEO of Brave, calling it "all-encompassing." From handling diplomacy and logging into EVE to keep track of things while on vacations with family to the social constructs of parasocial relationships while at player gatherings, Dunk describes a situation that sounds like, effectively a second job.
Dunk describes the rituals players have in-game, talking about one such ritual - lighting the Cynos - to commemorate fallen players. But something he touches on as well goes a long way towards describing why EVE Online is the truest example of a real metaverse - not the one that execs and more salivate over to monetize, but a true "alternate life."
"This community, with the realm of the EVE simulation, is a metaverse.
Far from the ideas of Silicon Valley and their fantasies of monetization and business meetings, this is an actual example of the alternate life with cyberspace that will be what the actual metaverse will be like to people.
A place to escape whatever bothers IRL.
A place to achieve.
A place to be who they aspire to be."
Being a warlord in EVE sounds tiring based on Dunk's description, though it doesn't sound like Brave's former CEO has any regrets. However, managing a media company through the pandemic while also running an alliance with thousands of players who will answer your call sounds draining. And indeed, it seemed like it was, as Dunk explains why he left the MMO last year.
"My fun per hour was low and EVE felt like a job on many days. I still found it rewarding, but it was taking its toll, my second job in the metaverse. Even when I was on vacation from work, I was still on duty with EVE, managing things from hotel rooms and beach houses instead of relaxing."
Stepping away from EVE, Dunk left an indelible mark on the fabric of New Eden, and the post on his Medium page is a fitting tribute to his time running one of EVE Online's largest player alliances - an alliance that is still fighting in some of the largest battles waged in the MMO.
If you're interested at all in the people behind the in-game avatars, Dunk's blog is well worth the read.
