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Interview with Bergur Finnbogasson Creative Director EVE Online

This week we caught up with Bergur Finnbogasson Creative Director of EVE Online at CCP Games’. EVE is arguably one of the greatest legacies in Indie Gaming, more than just a game it’s a virtual universe. We caught up with Bergur to get the inside track on the success of EVE Online, its legacy, it’s impact and what’s next.

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘Our mission is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life.’

Please introduce yourself, EVE Online and your studio?

My name is Bergur Finnbogasson, and I am the Creative Director of EVE Online at CCP Games’ Reykjavík studio. EVE Online is a compelling, community-driven spaceship MMO game where players can build and pilot a wide variety of spaceships, traversing vast star systems for free and choosing their own path from countless options. It is a huge game with a rich history and universe behind it, and the best community in gaming!

CCP Games was founded in 1997 in Reykjavík, Iceland, and our mission is to create virtual worlds more meaningful than real life. We have our headquarters in Reykjavík, Iceland, and we have additional studios in London and Shanghai.

Firstly can you tell us about the birth of EVE, where did it come from and what were the key factors in its launch?

It was inspired by the MMOs of the time, games such as Ultima Online, Everquest etc. For EVE, there was a vision to combine the scope of the best sci-fi games – including the vastness and beauty of space, their economies and politics – with the tactical depth of deck-building cards games, as well as incorporating a variety of customization options to keep things unpredictable. Ultimately, the two design cornerstones were deep gameplay in a broad universe, with a consequence-rich social realm.

At launch, player-created content was key in EVE Online as there was not as much PvE content in the game that we have come to enjoy in the 17 years since its launch. Wild and chaotic frontiers gave way to rapidly settling infrastructure and economic order.

There was also quite a lot of demand for the game and there were often situations where EVE was sold out, so distribution of the game was also a challenge initially. This led us to become one of the first in the new-wave of digitally distributed games.

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘My professional background is in architecture, and there is something inherently architectural about creating worlds for people to inhabit.’

What have you enjoyed most about working on this game?

My professional background is in architecture, and there is something inherently architectural about creating worlds for people to inhabit. There are common elements, such as creating opportunities for interaction and a sense of belonging, so the similarity of the challenges has always appealed to me. Add to that the wonder of this immense sci-fi universe and the capacity for innovation that New Eden and EVE offer, and it’s a pretty irresistible combination!

How has it exceeded your expectations?

I think the enormous social gameplay aspect of EVE Online is perhaps one of the areas in which it has exceeded expectations. The accomplishments and undertakings of huge groups of players in-game, and how those friendships and relationships have evolved outside of the game as well, are quite a large part of what makes EVE Online what it is.

In addition to that, I think the player-shaped emergent gameplay that has come out of EVE Online in many forms over the years has been positive in the way it has surpassed expectation. We provide the framework and tools for people to tell their stories, but it’s impossible to foresee all the amazing things that the community will create with the tools at their disposal for years to come.

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘The scale of EVE is biblical.’

Not everyone will know and understand the significance of EVE, how many active players are there? What’s the scale of EVE?

EVE is vast. The game has hundreds of thousands of active players, all interacting with each other in a single shard environment where the actions of one player can echo through the landscape of New Eden for thousands of others. The scale of EVE is biblical, it’s an interstellar space opera that spans more than 7,500 solar systems in a cluster of stars more than 300 light years wide. Our community holds the Guinness World Record for the largest single PvP engagement in the history of online gaming – 6,142 pilots fighting it out in the same brawl should give a solid idea of the scale of combat in EVE Online.

For someone that is not a player, what’s the appeal? If we start playing will we ever do anything else?

If you’re looking for a virtual world where you can make your mark, gain a reputation and create incredible player stories and narrative, then EVE is certainly for you. It’s a no-holds-barred, gloves-off sandbox where our players create the stories. There’s never a bad time to join the fray and as a rookie pilot, you’d be in high demand these days from alliances looking to bolster their ranks and defend their space.

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘Some of the largest engagements in New Eden have seen ships and equipment to the value of hundreds of thousands of dollars lost, and the single longest engagement raged for 21 hours.’

EVE creates vast communities and engagements, what have been some of the most significant? What have the community built?

Over the last 17 years, our players have built and destroyed countless empires. Some of the largest engagements in New Eden have seen ships and equipment to the value of hundreds of thousands of dollars lost, and the single longest engagement raged for 21 hours. There are so many stories that our players can tell, to the point where we have actual historians and anthropologists looking at cataloging and preserving the history of New Eden.

There are some great urban myths of betrayals and battles that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, can you share any that are true?

They’re all true – every single one of them. Heists, betrayals, subterfuge, corporate espionage and political assassination are all part of the metagame and fabric of what makes EVE an experience like no other. It wouldn’t be appropriate for CCP to confirm or deny any of the rumours, myths or stories that are out there. This is the beauty of the near-17 year long narrative that our players have created – it’s built by them from the ground up. CCP prefers to steer clear of influencing the metagame and player narrative so that it remains pure to the action and reaction of our players.

Have you ever considered the social commentary you have made on real-world culture, society and politics?

There has always been a significant element of social commentary in science fiction, and New Eden is certainly a very expansive sci-fi universe. In a space where players have the freedom to explore for themselves, to create communities and forge meaningful relationships – especially when you consider the size and diversity of these groups – there is bound to be evidence of emerging cultures and politics within that space and among the inhabitants of such a virtual world.

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘It is definitely more than a game; it is a virtual world.’

It’s more than a game, where are its edges, how is it controlled and monitored? Is there one man in a tower watching over it all and deciding what’s going to happen next?

It is definitely more than a game; it is a virtual world. There are player-driven narratives and plenty of player-created content for the inhabitants of the universe. It’s certainly not the case that one person in a tower controls and monitors proceedings, but we do set the ground rules. The players interpret and use those as they see fit. We have people who monitor that things are fair and that there is no exploitation, which is essential as many have invested time and money.

You’ve effectively created your own digital universe, have you found that you are effectively digital gods?

We see ourselves as more the digital janitors, to be honest. We keep the lights on, the heat going and the floors clean and our players do all the hard work of herding each other into organized groups and getting the job done. Whether it ends up being building the largest structure in-game, holding the most space or becoming god-like personas, our players are the guys and girls who are the top dogs in EVE Online. We just clean up after the carnage when we need to!

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘If we view the world from a point where you are the center of your own reality, then the reality of New Eden is every bit as valid as what we experience on this side of reality.’

Where does the games reality end, players have lost real money and had real emotional impact, how do you manage that?

If we view the world from a point where you are the center of your own reality, then the reality of New Eden is every bit as valid as what we experience on this side of reality. The impact of loss and the genuine meaning it has in-game is something that our players value and appreciate about EVE. We have a number of initiatives including a meet and greet program, support for players after their first ship loss and the recommending of player corporations that welcome newbies that all help provide players with support at a time of in-game loss.

With a universe that’s so expansive, how do you create a narrative that ties it all together?

Our approach to creating a narrative is to provide a well-realized world, with its own over-arching story, in which players can tell their own stories and contribute to the overall narrative of EVE. Players are then able to choose how to engage and how deeply with the various empires, for instance with mission-running or factional warfare, or even to strike out in their own groups and create player empires, as in nullsec space or in wormhole systems. We think it’s important to provide the boundaries and tools for players to craft their own narrative in the EVE sandbox but, in the end, their personal experiences and the stories they create are the narratives that tie the universe together

This is a totally unique MMO, but do you compare yourselves to any others? 

There are many awesome MMOs out there, and we believe EVE – having gone strong for 17 years now – has a very special and unique something that keeps players coming back.

You’ve had such success and bought so many such pleasure, what advice would you give to Indies looking to emulate that success?

Maximizing player choice and agency is a very tricky path to follow, but ultimately, it is very important and has been key to EVE’s success.  

Bergur Finnbogasson, EVE Online. ‘EVE has always been about actions having lasting and meaningful consequences.’

What have you planned next for EVE?

The second chapter of the EVE Online: Invasion expansion, the next step in the Triglavian story that has thrown New Eden deep into conflict, was released on Tuesday 26 November and will be free to download for all players of EVE Online. EVE has always been about actions having lasting and meaningful consequences, and with EVE Online: Invasion our goal has been to provide a universe-changing event for our community to experience in familiar space. Chapter 2 will double down on that promise, with some really exciting and impactful features!

If you are ready to join EVE Online or want to find out more about one of the greatest MMOs of all time, you can find EVE Online here

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