New Eden's virtual reporters
Volunteer organizations directly involved with MMO's isn't a new idea, but the Interstellar Services Department (ISD) of EVE Online is rather unique in the industry. ISD actually works with CCP Games to create and enhance several aspects of EVE.
ISD has several branches, including Support Team and Resources (STAR), which provides new player support; Mercury (M), responsible for creating New Eden's fiction; Equipment Certification and Anomaly Investigations Division (ECAID), tasked with solving technical issues; and Interstellar Correspondents (IC), an in-game news organization. The last of those divisions, Interstellar Correspondents, is one that is often misunderstood.
EVE Online dev CCP Ginger recently updated his blog with a post titled 'Faster Than the Speed of Light.' The dev blog introduces Serathu, the Vice Admiral of IC, who explains what Interstellar Correspondents actually do: "It is IC's goal to become *the* source of player-driven news within the universe of EVE and a news organisation that stands out from that which exists in any other MMORPG, past, present and future. I've been given this rather grandiose title of 'Editor In Chief', or 'Vice Admiral' to those who know the ISD innards, of this small division with big ambitions and as such it is my responsibility to turn that dream into a reality."
News coverage is currently available to EVE Online's player base in several ways. RSS feeds and news pages are available out of game, while the login screen and billboards in space are how players access IC news in-game. In order to better mimic reality, and in response to suggestions from EVE's players, IC articles now feature images. In addition, the quality of reporting on New Eden's player-driven events has improved dramatically in recent months, due in part to the fact that EVE's players can now submit news leads to IC.
Serathu also writes that we can expect audio and video to be integrated with future Interstellar Correspondents news coverage. Serathu puts out a call to anyone interested in getting involved with virtual reporting in New Eden: "The division is an amazing, vibrant, friendly, team-oriented place to be in and if you wish to be a part of this I encourage you to apply without delay; you won't regret it." CCP Ginger closes the dev blog with wishes of the"best of luck to all the future journalists of EVE."
