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EVE Online Developers Help Player Make Fan Movie

Enfors writes "CCP, developers of the sci-fi MMOG EVE Online, continue to impress with their open attitude towards players. In a thread on the EVE forums, an EVE Online player named Dire Lauthris describes difficulties he was having while making a fan movie that would illustrate a portion of EVE Online's background story. To make it 'historically correct,' he contacted CCP, the developers, to check on some facts. Instead of threatening to sue him for infringing on their intellectual property, they ended up inviting him to their offices to set him up with better movie-making software than the one he was using. Also, they had an employee record the narrator voice for his movie. The movie is now finished and available online. Massively is running a related article about storytelling in EVE."

38 of 56 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Nice of the devs to do that but... by IKnwThePiecesFt · · Score: 2, Informative

    My guess (and I thought it was commonly believed) that the reason Square did that was because they were already making their own remake for the DS and they didn't want sales cannibalized.

    Whether that's the real reason or not, I'd say that's a bad example of properties that are just being sat on, since well... it wasn't.

  2. Future of movies by religious+freak · · Score: 1

    Can't wait until I can make a decent movie using nothing but Second Life / Eve Online characters, or even better... when someone with actual creativity can. This is my favorite machinima yet... by far. http://www.vimeo.com/609147

    We're getting there!

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    1. Re:Future of movies by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      No, your opinion was never interesting.

    2. Re:Future of movies by Yvanhoe · · Score: 1

      There are already some memes in this form. Pieces of history ?
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkCNJRfSZBU
      Leeeeeeroy !

      --
      The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
    3. Re:Future of movies by religious+freak · · Score: 1

      LOL. Sometimes I just love asshats...

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  3. Not bad by Walkingshark · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Pretty cool. Someday I'd like to see an entire movie done in machinima that uses different games depending on the scenes. Something with space battles filmed in EVE, ground battles in an RTS, and then some close up action and everything else using an FPS engine (source is pretty good for machinima). Would be neat.

    --
    The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
    1. Re:Not bad by Thanshin · · Score: 5, Funny

      Someday I'd like to see an entire movie done in machinima that uses different games depending on the scenes [...]

      space battles filmed in EVE, ground battles in an RTS, and then some close up action and everything else using an FPS engine

      So, we're talking about a love story, right?

    2. Re:Not bad by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      It's already been done in EVE.

      http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=783871

    3. Re:Not bad by Skuld-Chan · · Score: 1

      Check out Clear Skies - Eve Online and Half-Life 2.

      http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=783871

    4. Re:Not bad by Carfiend · · Score: 1

      Your wish is my command http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=783871 Well not the RTS bit :(

      --
      Uh, perhaps you can help me? I'm looking for a love-potion aerosol, that I can spray on a certain Penthouse Pet, to obta
    5. Re:Not bad by g0at · · Score: 2, Funny

      space battles filmed in EVE

      Heh, "filmed".

      b

    6. Re:Not bad by jonaskoelker · · Score: 1

      So, we're talking about a love story, right?

      No, then you'd use a third-person shooter/racer engine for the close-ups...

    7. Re:Not bad by Walkingshark · · Score: 1

      Brilliant, thanks.

      --
      The world you experience is only a close approximation of reality.
  4. Re:Nice of the devs to do that but... by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

    what in the world does that have to do with a game that is still being played? Do you know something about Eve Online that CCP Games doesn't?

  5. Wait... what... I 'm confused by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

    So like some people on planet A may or may not have bombed something on Planet B. People planet B build a fleet and go to kick the ass of Planet A. Planet A is caught by ?suprise? but sneaks out a remnant fleet to go kick planet B's ass? But they fail. So they crash their ship into Planet B killing millions of civilians and ?helping people back on Planet A somehow escape?"

    I don't get it. What happened in this movie? I give it a C- for clarity.

    1. Re:Wait... what... I 'm confused by Rakshasa+Taisab · · Score: 2, Informative

      You are not their intended audience. At minimum, you need to have visited CCP's website once, and preferably tried the game.

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      - These characters were randomly selected.
    2. Re:Wait... what... I 'm confused by zerocool^ · · Score: 1

      If you're interested in some fiction that's not quite so fanboy specific, you might want to check out http://eve.klaki.net/fiction/ which is a collection of stories written by Istvaan Shogaatsu set in the Eve universe. You might remember Istvaan better as the perpetrator of the Eve Heist that was covered in PCGamer as well as here on Slashdot. ( http://eve.klaki.net/heist/ )

      Istvaan is also Tom Czerniawski, who has had several stories published in the Eve magazine EON. On the article linked at Massively, there's a picture of the front cover of a story he's written.

      /guiding hand social club operative

      --
      sig?
    3. Re:Wait... what... I 'm confused by ThePsion5 · · Score: 1
      To Summarize:
      • The Gallenteans and the Caldari are two civilizations that don't much like each other
      • Caldari extremists commit an act of terrorism that killed hundreds of thousand of Gallenteans
      • The Gallenteans declare war on the Caldari and begin bombarding their home planet
      • An admiral takes a small taskforce and launches a counter-offensive that takes the Gallente by surprise
      • Caldari are given much-needed time to evacuate their home planet as a result
      • The Admiral is eventually caught and sacrifices his flagship, killing several thousand Gallente civilians

      Any Questions?

  6. Me! Me! by Thanshin · · Score: 1

    I wonder how much help could I get to make a fan movie of "playboy, the mansion".

    1. Re:Me! Me! by guyminuslife · · Score: 4, Funny

      I think the point of Playboy is the do-it-yourself ethic.

      --
      I don't believe in time. It's a grand conspiracy designed to sell watches.
    2. Re:Me! Me! by Siridar · · Score: 1

      I'm sure someone would give you a hand...

  7. Re:Mod Parent Up by nitehawk214 · · Score: 1

    It's already been done in EVE.

    http://www.eveonline.com/ingameboard.asp?a=topic&threadID=783871

    While the video linked in the story is very good, Clear Skies (linked in parent) is an awesome experience. Changed how I think about machinima.

    --
    I'm a good cook. I'm a fantastic eater. - Steven Brust
  8. Eve's Back Story Needs All The Help It Can Get by RobotRunAmok · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It should be no mystery why CCP would help a fan who was taking the game's back story seriously. Eve's back story makes that of Magic: The Gathering look like "The Brothers Karamazov."

    Now, I'm a huge Eve fan -- huge -- but the whole set-up, like that of the great tabletop space opera game that preceded it, "Battletech," is merely a balsa wood framework designed to prop up as many reasons for different races to be at war with each other as possible. Eve is to Science Fiction what Everquest is to fantasy.

    Not that there's anything wrong with that.

  9. Re:Nice of the devs to do that but... by Devout_IPUite · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Abandonware does exist. It's not relevant to this discussion though.

    Various games and books go out of print. Sometimes they become difficult to find or expensive. Is the original publisher harmed if I pirate it instead of buying it for a lot of money? Probably not.

    Then again, most IP is a load of BS IMHO. Would the world be a worse place if anyone could make a chrono trigger sequel? Probably not. Consumers would get used to looking for the original brand names if they cared about authentic.

  10. Re:Fan collaboration is stupid. by LingNoi · · Score: 1

    Indeed you never see books of fiction written by more then one author.

  11. Re:Fan collaboration is stupid. by tjstork · · Score: 1

    Or songs, or even movies have one great writer, or one great director...

    Even corporations always shine at their best when they have that one visionary founder or leader. Rockefeller drove Standard Oil.. Henry Ford drove, well, Ford, Gates drove Microsoft... and, even GM in its prime, was basically dominated by Sloan. You have to have that one person in charge, who also has a vision.

    --
    This is my sig.
  12. Let me be the first to say... by jonaskoelker · · Score: 1

    Let me be the first to say that I, for one, welcome our new robot hobbyist-community-collaborators.

    I hope they will be handsomely and visibly rewarded for this move---preferably with a positive dollar amount attached to the reward---such that the OMG-DOLL4RZ corporate leaders might follow their example, and in the long term change their mind about a thing or two.

    1. Re:Let me be the first to say... by Etrias · · Score: 1

      My guess is that he'll be rewarded with in-game "isk"...game money, for those not in the know. EVE is pretty cool in that community efforts are appreciated and often rewarded in game with people who have a ton of resources to splurge.

  13. In other News.... by voudras · · Score: 1

    a 7 minute clip is now refered to as a movie

  14. Re:Grammar NAZI! by Enfors · · Score: 1

    Keep in mind that English is not everybody's native language.

    Btw, how's your Icelandish grammar?

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    -Enfors-
  15. Re:Nice of the devs to do that but... by khellendros1984 · · Score: 1

    "These are the same people"

    Not necessarily. Unless you think that the smallest grouping of people is "gamers", instead of differentiating between "gamers with a nostalgic streak" or "gamers who want something new and exciting".

    --
    It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
  16. Re:Grammar NAZI! by spacefiddle · · Score: 1

    How's your Swedish gramper? /getcoat

  17. Been done, but not speficially on backstory by spacefiddle · · Score: 1

    Look at the "Eve Never Fades" trailer (halfway down this page).

    That was made by a fan who, IIRC, was given a high-end rig to make it on, and i assume someone got the rights / permission from JunkieXL to use that song. I seem to remember the creator being someone who'd made a bunch of movies that impressed everyone, and was thusly equipped to make the trailer, but that's where my recall of the facts might get hazy.

  18. title by Lord+Ender · · Score: 1

    Ballad of the Spreadsheet
    an eyestrain tale.

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  19. Re:Nice of the devs to do that but... by pugugly · · Score: 1

    I'm not quite finding where 'abandonware' entered the conversation, but saying acceptance of the term is simply to 'justify stealing' presumes that there is neither
    A) a situation in which the law is fundamentally wrong, nor
    B) a situation in which the law, while right on the fundamentals, fails to address practical issues.

    For instance, in the United States, Copyright and Patent law is expressly grounded in the proposition that the law was created, not out of some obligation to the creators, but out of an awareness that the materials created tend to enrich and benefit society, sufficient to make those protections worth having.

    So, by definition, any legal protection of such materials which (arguably) does not tend to enrich or benefit society, is open to debate about whether the law is flawed in so protecting said materials.

    If you disagree, and honestly feel that withholding copyrighted materials from society simply because they are not being published at the moment somehow benefits society, then you have a legitimate counter-argument. But ignoring the constitutional basis for saying that 'abandonware' exists as a gray area in which a straight legal interpretation of the law misses the mark in favor of calling anyone that agrees with it thieves, is not such an argument.

    Pug

    --
    An Invisible Entity of Vast Power whose existence must be taken on faith alone: Liberal Media
  20. Yay, but... Worst... UI.... Ever.... by quibbler · · Score: 1

    I applaud the Eve gang supporting its fan base.

    Unfortunately, the Eve UI remains the worst I've seen in any game made in the last 20 years. You'd have to pay me to play this thing (see Worst IT Jobs).

    Furthermore, while a back-story is nice, its rather difficult to be part of a story with ships and voice-overs. Eve still doesn't let you get out of your spaceship, still doesn't let you even see around your ship, you are your spaceship, its about the most aseptic stage to ever try to create a "story" unless you've got the power of Pixar behind you.

    1. Re:Yay, but... Worst... UI.... Ever.... by tibman · · Score: 1

      When ambulation comes out (and it will) i hope you'll come play. But as far as story goes.. there is a LOT of meta gaming going on. Lots of forums, killboards, spies everywhere, and tons of 3rd party apps to support in-game stuff. Stories are made every day but you have to take a step back to see them.

      --
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