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EVE Online

EVE Online
Sturmer's avatar

From Space Skirmish to Snowy Smiles, a Tale of Family, Resilience, and Love

Last weekend, I found myself in a rather laid-back mood when unexpectedly ambushed at a nexus combat site—a tale that initially felt somewhat common nowadays. Unfortunately, I struggled to breach the bait's tank, just as he couldn't penetrate mine (thanks to my meticulous dismantling of his Geckos). After enduring a prolonged standoff, I made a decision to whisk my kids away for some snowy outdoor fun. To conclude the skirmish on my terms, I fired upon a random structure, summoning CONCORD to gracefully put an end to the encounter.

The following day, my 5-year-old son took it upon himself to uplift my spirits. He presented me with a drawing depicting my Vargur emerging victorious, obliterating the aggressor.

This experience served as a gentle reminder about life's priorities—urging me to invest more time in the company of those who truly matter, the ones who offer unwavering support and envelop me in love.

*Originally posted on Reddit.*

Alex Sinclair's avatar

Sturmer welcome to the platform!

This is really sweet. My heart is feeling thoroughly warmed!

Seeing as you're taking part in Nexus content, let me point you towards this bounty too: https://justabout.com/eve-online/send-us-your-winter-nexus-screenshots-footage-and-shenanigans-for-dollar5

FirestormGamingTeam's avatar

I think my personal one, was my third day in Eve around 2003, I was still a very new player in Eve Online, and I only had a frigate, but we still had learning skills, I had a Tormentor, which is the Amarr frigate, I had spent around 8 hours mining with 1 Miner I, I decided I would stay up late and just keep going.

At around 5 am, a pilot convoed me asking "Why are you mining in a Frigate" I said "It's all I have and I want to make money" He then suddenly transferred me 500 Million ISK and proceeded to give me gaming advice, he had been there since the game released into Alpha, I came in around Beta.

It always bugs me I can never remember that pilot's name, because I think I only made around 8 million ISK from that night and he set me up, out of the kindness of his heart, to help a fellow new player. That pilot was the reason I became what I was within Eve Online.

I think with Eve Online, despite its reputation as a game, it does have one of the kindest communities in gaming, not once in any other game has that level of kindness been shown to me.

Alex Sinclair's avatar

I like stories like this a lot. I think they really help to change misconceptions about EVE. Yes, it can be a cut-throat game, but there's such great community and support, especially for new players

Rixx Javix's avatar

Back in the early days of Stay Frosty one of the very first players to join our growing Pirate band was a young player named Joffy. Joffy had only recently started playing Eve Online and normally this can be a huge roadblock to success in PvP, but he picked up the skills needed quickly and soon became one of the top Tristan pilots in all of low security space.

Thing is, Joffy couldn't talk on comms. All of us in Stay Frosty changed our entire way of playing to make this work for the entire corporation. We started to develop an entire language to help us work together thru chat channels, a language that in large part we still utilize to this day. As time went on, Joffy and I became good friends inside the game and one day he asked for a private convo with me.

It was then that Joffy revealed that he had Muscular Dystrophy, Pompe Disease, and was confined to bed and a wheelchair. When he played Eve he did so on his back and typed on a special screen with his eyes. He had grown up with Doctors telling him he might not survive much longer or that he couldn't participate in things other people take for granted. And he refused to let that stop him.

Joffy loved Eve so much that he decided he was going to run for CSM, the elected group of players that represent us all with CCP Games. The only issue was that, being confined now to a bed and in constant need of a nurse, getting to Iceland would be a difficult - if not impossible - task. That's when the community sprang into action.

I contacted CCP Games, Iceland Air, the Icelandic Police, and other charitable groups around the world. Before long we had an entire delegation of players and groups from around the world trying to figure out a way to get Joffy from Europe into Iceland for the CSM Summit. At one point Iceland Air volunteered to remove four rows of seats to make room for his special bed and nursing station.

It was not to be. Ultimately the challenges presented became too much to overcome. And Joffy's election bid turned out to be for naught. Although I still believe, if he had been elected, that we would have found a way to make it work.

It wasn't long afterwards that Joffy had to finally step away from the game. He could no longer play the game he loved. This was almost eight years ago now and Joffy and I (and others) still stay in touch. He is still fighting. And still winning.

If you are interested in reading more, I suggest this post on my blog.

https://eveoganda.blogspot.com/2015/02/beyond-screen-joffy-aulx-gao.html

Alex Sinclair's avatar

This is very touching. Thank you for sharing it and kudos to you for your part in trying to help get Joffy to Iceland. Would Joffy be okay with us sharing his story if your entry wins?

Rixx Javix's avatar

Yes, he already gave me consent to share his story back when we wrote that blog post and I know he would be happy to continue sharing it.

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