Structures of Marx and Capitalism - EVE Online

By graduateschoolgamer

Before I begin this entry, I would like to confess that I am not a proponent player on EVE Online. In fact, I have only had casual experiences with MMOs due to budget constraints and unwarranted fears towards the genre. But this has not kept me away from venturing into the various free MMOs and trials available on the Internet. But ever since EVE Online was brought to my attention years ago, I have had an unhealthy infatuation with its inter-galactic universe.

For those unaware, EVE Online has often been described as one of the most onerous of hardcore, gold farming MMOs. The character leveling system is not determined by experience through quests or missions, but is time-fixed (i.e. skills are acquired from a predetermined length of time). The player does not need to be logged into the game to even level up. But this system of leveling is not what compels players to EVE Online, but rather the universe’s in-game economy system.