( Entry 7 )The human element.

I gave up. I deleted EVE online .

I'll give it another try at some point. Maybe over the summer when I have more time to play around. I never got out of the tutorial. Two things frustrated me. One, I never got out of the tutorial. Perhaps if I had put more time in, it would have happened, but when I switched characters to try a different one out I had to start from scratch again.

Second was the lack of human element.And I can even compare the experience to my first walk on in Ultima Online. I got in, figured out what I was doing and then felt like I was in a void. I didnt know anyone who played, I didn't know how to meet people, and just felt lost.

I began thinking of other game/community experiences and what engaged me and what didn't. In the end for non puzzle games it's the human element that ensnares me and keeps me playing. I can pinpoint when this happened in Second Life. In Sims Online I came in with friends premade, In There I had difficulty with this connection.

I suppose it all comes down to the purpose of the game. With sim games and empire builders I'm happy to do my own thing. In games where there is interaction between players, even through characters, I want to be part of the community.

We did a lot of community building at the vines, welcoming committees, messages, newbie groups etc. I wonder what kind of retention rate those activities get. If I'd been contacted by a member of the corporation or bloodline when I first started Eve? Not an automated request