Massively^™

Split Infinity Radio, a gamer-run internet radio station (with a noticeable sci-fi MMO bent) recently interviewed Scott Holden, Lead Content Creator of EVE Online at Gen Con 2008. Holden has been integral in building up all the mission content that's about to drop in the upcoming Empyrean Age expansions over the next few months. Split Infinity asks Holden a question that's been on the minds of a number of EVE players: Can player actions really influence the storyline?

Holden's answer is 'yes'... to a point. He discusses the initiative at CCP to create a system where events are announced in contested parts of space, prompting players to get involved. Their actions would be reported on through the in-game news, and in this way affects (or creates aspects of) the storyline. Participants in factional warfare, or anyone who reads the Interstellar Correspondents news pieces, know that this already exists to some extent in EVE, but Holden states that CCP would like to take the idea further as time goes on.

The backstory of EVE Online is something that CCP Games has put a great deal of time and effort into creating. As all MMOs are ongoing works, so too are EVE's backstory and the storyline that players experience. To that end, CCP has people like Lead Writer Tony Gonzales (author of The Empyrean Age novel) and Lead Content Creator Scott Holden to flesh out the setting's past, while ensuring that the future of EVE's story remains open enough to allow players to do as they choose.

MMORPG.com caught up with Tony Gonzales and Scott Holden at Gen Con, and got them to speak about the story of EVE in a video interview. They discussed how factional warfare finally came to be in EVE, player response to the Empyrean Age expansion, and how CCP is working to better integrate the backstory with gameplay. Be sure to check out MMORPG.com's Empyrean Age interview if you'd like to hear CCP's views on player-driven versus story-driven action.

The Empyrean Age expansion has been a significant content update to EVE Online for players interested in factional warfare. Of course, many players aren't willing to enlist in a militia and be under a constant wardec by their factional enemies, and simply prefer to mission run for their agents. CCP Games announced that new content was in the works, back in June, but the latest EVE Online Newsletter has an updated announcement on this from Lead Content Creator, Scott Holden.

CCP is getting closer to releasing new PvE mission content, Holden says, with Content Creation now based in Atlanta. This will be sped up by new staff on the Content Creation team in addition to the existing freelance writers already turning out EVE mission content. Holden says that new types of missions are coming to New Eden, and hints at 'epic mission arcs'.