A Question of Balance: EVE vs Everything Else

[Mynxee]

I'm drafting my post for the next EVE Blog Banter, to be published on Wednesday. In the context of discussing the ease with which one can get lost for hours in EVE and barely notice the time passing, I mention how difficult it can be to keep EVE in balance with real life obligations and other recreational pursuits. I know that there have been many times where I've spent half a day in EVE, realizing that there were quite a few other things I probably should do, but not wanting to stop playing EVE to do them. Little bit of addictive behavior there, I admit. However, I try to be aware of this and keep EVE in balance with the rest of my life. To this end, I've started to "schedule" my EVE time and place limits on how long I'll play...giving it a two- or four- or whatever number of hours slot rather than just logging in and staying in-game ad infinitum. Some days, I just plain try to stay out of the game altogether or just give myself a 10 minute window to log in for skill changes and corp email check-in's. That latter is something I didn't used to worry about before Mynxee was a CEO and Sey was a Director in their respective corps. Because of those roles, I feel obliged to touch base regularly in-game, however briefly (except when work or vacation prevents me from doing this--whereupon I really do remind myself that it's just a game...just a game...just a game... ).

How about you? Do you find it easy to get lost in EVE? Do you often feel compelled to log in when you know you should be doing something else? Are you addicted, even a little bit? How do you balance EVE with the other things in your life?

[Kane Rizzel]

I used to feel compelled to log into EVE when I was involved in 0.0 conflicts but being an independent pilot has made it just a game again, I can easily pull away but still enjoy logging in to chat and use it as a glorified IRC with pretty pictures.

RL > EVE for me, one of the reasons why I left my old corp and 0.0 a long time ago, it became like a second job being one of the division directors. I already have a full time job, another one wasn't what I was looking for in a game. EVE is addictive though but once you learn that there will always be other kills, your mates will always log in at some point and chat it becomes easier to distance yourself at times.

I find it easy to go do other things instead of playing EVE, tomorrow night I'm going skating with some friends, I go and drink coffee with my minions on a regular basis, go out to pubs and clubs. EVE isn't an anchor but I suppose I find it easier with my hectic lifestyle and job do so than most.

[Mynxee]

This past year has been a weird one for me...broke my arm badly in January and wasn't able to ride, so couldn't indulge in the overriding passion of my life for 10 months. I got heavily into EVE during this time, as there was little else I could do with my gimp arm. Finally had surgery to fix the arm in August, got the go-ahead to ride in late October. Now riding (and yard/farm work) is giving EVE has serious competition for my time, even in the cold late Fall weather

[Cussbeard]

What's this balance you speak of?

Me? I'm drawn back time and again to the EVE backdrop and the open sandbox model. Could say I'm comfortably addictive to games tho a little more physically oriented social activity in my life won't kill me.

That's what clones are for.

Here's a question right back at ya Mynx. Would you in hind sight's eye, change those earlier events that led you to New Eden?

[Mynxee]

Oh, I'd been playing EVE nearly a year before I broke my arm...so I was already addicted I just happened to discover EVE while googling to find something to take the place of the tabletop RPGs missing from my life.

[No'Wai]

did i mention amarr is fun

[Miranda Tenoba]

Mynxee I know what you mean about missing table top RPGs. Untill recently I hadn't had a chance to play one in 6 years. Then when I was in seatle for thanksgiving I got to con Steven McFarland into running a game of 4th edition. For those that don't know Steven was one of the writers of 4 th edition. He is freaking one hell of a cool guy. Sadly the ccp guy didn't make it over for the birthday celebrations this year. Don't know him yet but my brother is friends with him. My gimp brother doesn't play eve.
Steven also introduced us to Dominion which is an awesome game.
Okay got off subject a bit from the original topic. Sadly I don't have to worry about playing eve too much given my occupation but if I was home everyday eve would have to compete with wow and yea I would be a game addicted nerd. Unless I could get friends to table top.

or if I owned a horse. I love to ride. Mostly I just fall off in spectacular fashions but I bounce well I quess cause landind never hurt for more then a week so far. Hehe

[VenomOrchid]

Oh yea, it's so easy to get lost in this game and that's what I love about it. When i started, just over a year ago, it did so because I had way too much free-time. I was 6 months into trying to adopt and I didn't think it would happen, so to occupy my time and my mind I started EVE. Which is odd for me because as a practicing Buddhist I'd usually turn to a strict meditation program. Well, I got the EVE bug and started playing like 6 hours at a time or more. Into the wee hours of the morning. That went on for about a year, and it was fine. The key is what Cuss says, it's the sandbox, but what turns that key is the people as I've heard Mynx say. I keep coming back because I enjoy you all, it's simply that we have had some amazing conversations. The caveat to EVE was; I stopped meditation, I stopped working out and I stopped seeing my RL friends. Might have been some depression in there about the adoption process causing me some grief.

So now, as I sit here with my beautiful son (I lied, I'm at work and he's at daycare), I am trying to balance playing EVE because it's a beautiful game, working out, eating right, and spending every waking moment my son has all to myself.

So yea, balance is hard but the only reason we find it hard is because we love that game as much as we love other things, like our kids or our horses or our 10 mile run. The game can become one that feels like a job, only because you feel obligated to log in. The times I felt that were when I was on a long roll of FCing or being a vital part of a fleet and I felt if I wasn't logged in I was missing out on fun and letting people down. Interesting huh?

Great Questions Mynx!

Just because of that, you get a cookie, a new photo of my son I took. (Oh yea, I am trying to get back into photography again which is my art)

"EVE YOU SAUCY THING, I CAN'T QUIT YOU!!"

(it's more clear if you click on it)

[Mynxee]

god that kid is adorable. those eyes!!!

and yeah keeping eve in balance is so difficult but i love it so much that it's worth every effort do do so.

[Rhenaya]

its great to be industrial carebear ^^ missions get boring very soon, so i do like 1-5 then just quit eve again or stay for chatting a bit. else i just make money with doing industry&science stuff, which means 5 minute online time and the rest just is automaticly done while even offline.
i maybe would be more online, thats something i would admit, if i got people to do something more exciting, but my current corp is a bunch of carebears, and i dont want to just leave them (as i am not that much on anyway there is not really a point to do so anyway)