The True Stories of Eve Online
Eve Online is simultaneously the most fascinating and intimidating game ever made. Each year the game manages to draw more and more players into it with its unique sandbox world and ongoing narrative that has become one of the most seminal pieces of science fiction of our time. Truly unlike any other as players have created a fully functioning free market economy complete with corporations, trading, and acquisitions. Its tales of corporate and political espionage put anything in the real world to shame, and become even more impressive knowing all of which is 100% player controlled. Every character involved in its stories is a real person making real decisions.
The Biggest Scam In Gaming History
In 2006, EVE Online players got a taste of what it means to get screwed over by banks when a player named Cally realized he could make a whole lot of money by simply getting other players to give it to him. EVE's players earn the in-game currency, called ISK, by completing quests, mining, or engaging in more nefarious activities, so Cally started the EVE Intergalactic Bank to accommodate them. From an outside point of view, it was a very helpful service. Cally would give out loans to players who wanted to buy mining equipment or start corporations and encouraged players to deposit their spare ISK into accounts held in the EIB’s name. He further enticed players by claiming that those accounts would gain a little interest every month. But of course this was never the plan, and eventually Cally executed every banker's dream: he drained the accounts and walked away. Cally’s scam netted him 790 billion ISK (around $170,000), and is recognized by Guinness World Records as the Largest Virtual Theft in an MMORPG. Comfortable in his role as EVE Online’s biggest villain, Cally flaunted his clients’ stolen money by buying a massive warship, put a bounty on his own head, and posted a 10 minute video taunting those whose fortunes were lost.
The community was understandably upset and there were talks of how to punish these kinds of “criminals,” but because the money was never exchanged for real world currency, Cally’s actions did not violate Eve Online’s terms and conditions. The incident caused an uproar in the MMORPG community, and for a short time there was discussion on how real-world laws might be applied in the future. The Federal Trade Commission ultimately did not get involved, stating that the legitimacy of any activities performed by the avatar known as Cally is determined solely by the operators of EVE Online. It is up to the developers to reprimand Cally—if in fact, it is determined that he violated the rules set forth in the EULA (End-User License Agreement).
A Revenge Plot Four Years In The Making
As previously mentioned, Eve Online is so complex the experience can be daunting for new players, and joining the right guild or corporation is key. But a player by the name of Darvo Thellare tried a new approach: he and another player, Lunarion, started their own group specifically to help new players learn EVE Online and its notoriously difficult systems. Unfortunately, Thellare's inexperienced group of players caught the eye of Kackappe, who began harassing the gang of newbies. After months of this harassment, Kackappe had his fill and moved on, but Thellare never forgot. Fed up and frustrated, he swore he would exact revenge on Kackpappe. In an interview Thellare explained, “Kackpappe was hunting us for 3 months. We were not able to do missions, mining or anything else to get money. We had a lot of chats with Kackpappe, argued why he would try to kill us, that we are not even worth the time in our small ships. That’s when he stated that he is just doing it for fun, to ruin our experience. At this point I told him that somewhere and some when, I would find him and I would take all his assets in return.”
He and Lunarion spent the next four years becoming skilled mercenaries in the outer reaches of New Eden. Eventually, Thellare joined a new guild, told them his story, and the guild agreed to help fulfill his thirst for vengeance. Thellare changed his name in the chat to hide his identity before they lured Kackpappe to join their guild with the promise of a massive payday, needless to say, Kackpappe took the bait. As Kackpappe flew his ship into his new guild’s hangar, Thellare executed his plan. Kackpappe lost his entire ship and all his assets as the entire guild unleashed fire on him, and Darvo Thellare changed his name back from his alias so Kackpappe could see who plotted his destruction.
Assassins Spent 10 Months Plotting A Hit
"Nicole" was the go-word for a hit that took ten months of infiltration to set up. An assassination guild known as the Guiding Hand Social Club was approached an enemy of the Ubiqua Seraph corporation. after a brief negotiation, a contract was signed to kill the CEO, Mirial, for 1 billion ISK. But what would become an all out corporate dismantling started out as nothing more than a personal grudge, as the only request the anonymous client made was to be brought the cold, dead corpse of the target.
Over the next 10 months, members of the hit squad infiltrated Ubiqua Seraph and worked their way up the ranks, with one even becaming the second most powerful member of the corporation, behind only Mirial. Operative, Arenis Xemdal, had convinced Mirial to fly her ridiculously valuable Navy Apocalypse alongside his even more ridiculously valuable Imperial Apocalypse "as a show of UQS (Ubiqua Seraph) might.” When Arenis, in his shiny Apocalypse, unleashed his betrayal, Mirial never saw it coming, and within minutes it was over. Every Ubiqua Seraph office in the galaxy was raided as their spies robbed the corporation of everything. While the initial contract was to deliver Mirial’s frozen corpse in exchange for 1 billion ISK, in the end, the Guiding Hand made out with over 30 billion ISK (around $16,000) in stolen assets.
But after many months of planning, one of the hard parts was to then “pod” Mirial. Podding is the usually spiteful, some say dishonorable, act of destroying a victim's escape pod when you've already destroyed their ship. However, a necessary step in order to fulfill their contract, as podding is the only way to obtain the physical body of the victim.
The ruthless efficiency of the hit sent shockwaves throughout Eve Online and would become one of the game’s greatest stories. Guiding Hand CEO, Istvaan Shogaatsu, would receive multiple death threats, and every CEO in every corporation would think twice about who they trusted.
