If you’ve heard of online role playing game EVE Online, it’s probably in the context of some giant space battle that cost the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars. One such battle a couple weeks ago, for instance, made worldwide headlines after $300,000 in digital space ships were sent to EVE’s digital scrap yard. But the game’s battles are only the most eye-catching part of its intricate and complicated political universe. And sometimes EVE’s political alliance explode in equally entertaining—if less violent-means.
Just listen to the following recording, made by members of the Say You’re Joking (SYG) Alliance, in the midst of a rancorous disbanding. For those unfamiliar EVE’s lingo, an Alliance is a conglomeration of like-minded organizations, all working together in pursuit of a single goal. You may have no idea what they’re talking about, but this expletive-riddled expression of unbridled rage needs no translation.
Now, we admit to not being entirely current on the intricacies of EVE’s current political climate. Here’s what we can tell though: the SYJ Alliance has been beleaguered by other residents of their wormhole for a while now. In Eve, wormholes are pockets of space known for being dangerous, and are both filled with lucrative opportunities and deeply unstable.
The constant assault apparently cost the alliance more than material goods, it cut into their morale—so much so that the people in charge decided to abdicate that particular area of space.
Much of the recording is simply inarticulate—maddened swearing and babbled commands made by frantic, angry people discussing esoteric duties. It’s entirely possible that SYJ changed their minds halfway in the clip, but the rapid fire F-bombs obscure a lot of that. I’m also pretty sure that the recording wasn’t meant to be released for public consumption.
Either way, the elemental fury on display in the clip makes it an absolutely fascinating peek into what might happen when something goes dreadfully, dreadfully wrong in the world of EVE Online.
Image via CCP Games.