[ARTICLE] Tony Gonzales Interview About EVE Online, Incarna,

[Virtuozzo]

http://www.tentonhammer.com/eve/guides/ ... -interview

Tony tells us about Templar One and gives us some hints about DUST 514.

Tony Gonzales is works on content at CCP, and is the author of EVE: The Empyrean Age, as well as an upcoming sequel, called Templar One, that will introduce and incorporate the upcoming DUST 514 console game.

What are you excited about in EVE Online?

It comes at you all at once. I am thrilled with Incarna because the game is becoming a lot more personal. It's been a long road. We talked about it, we agonized over it, and we iterated on it. We got great technology to support it. To take these first small steps into this brave new world is, well I don't think I can ever fully articulate the potential that this adds. It's a brave new world, and EVE will never be the same.

[TeaDaze]

When I read this bit

During one of your Fanfest presentations, you worried that older EVE players might be turned off by new content. Do you have something you'd like to say directly to them?

Yes: I'd say thank you for your passion. Thank you for holding on so dear.

I expected the next bit to be

Now please fuck off :P

[Xiang Jiao]

Are you doing another book for CCP?

I just finished a sequel. It has a lot more character development. The common thread behind most of my critics was that they want to see more character development, and the second book definitely has that. It's a true sequel to Empyrean Age, and the point of the book is to introduce DUST 514 to the EVE canon.

Our iteration on Faction Warfare, as promised by CCP!

[Lorkin Desal]

Will read the book when it comes out.

[Bartholomeus Crane]

Will read the book when it comes out.

You do? The first one was pretty crap, and it suffered a lot from basically a fixed overly spectacular sequence the plot had to go through. Sure, it was bad that all the characters in the book were essentially one dimensional type-casts, but the truly awful plotline, brought along mostly by deus ex machina just about everywhere, was the biggest problem. And don't even get me started on the 'sex' scenes. But the point is, that most of that plot was driven by the need to introduce the wars among the different empires in as spectacular way possible, no matter the plotholes you could drive a truck through. And this book will be about introducing Dust, so I'm not holding any hopes of improvement there either. I don't know, but I rather think I'm going to give this one a miss if you don't mind.

[TimMc]

[quote=Bartholomeus Crane]

Will read the book when it comes out.

You do? The first one was pretty crap, and it suffered a lot from basically a fixed overly spectacular sequence the plot had to go through. Sure, it was bad that all the characters in the book were essentially one dimensional type-casts, but the truly awful plotline, brought along mostly by deus ex machina just about everywhere, was the biggest problem. And don't even get me started on the 'sex' scenes. But the point is, that most of that plot was driven by the need to introduce the wars among the different empires in as spectacular way possible, no matter the plotholes you could drive a truck through. And this book will be about introducing Dust, so I'm not holding any hopes of improvement there either. I don't know, but I rather think I'm going to give this one a miss if you don't mind.[/quote:t8shqnqa]

hm. I haven't read the book yet, but I take it I should not even bother?

Whats the writing quality akin to? The dune prequels? Star wars novels? 16 year olds scribblings?

[Bartholomeus Crane]

[quote=TimMc]

Will read the book when it comes out.

You do? The first one was pretty crap, and it suffered a lot from basically a fixed overly spectacular sequence the plot had to go through. Sure, it was bad that all the characters in the book were essentially one dimensional type-casts, but the truly awful plotline, brought along mostly by deus ex machina just about everywhere, was the biggest problem. And don't even get me started on the 'sex' scenes. But the point is, that most of that plot was driven by the need to introduce the wars among the different empires in as spectacular way possible, no matter the plotholes you could drive a truck through. And this book will be about introducing Dust, so I'm not holding any hopes of improvement there either. I don't know, but I rather think I'm going to give this one a miss if you don't mind.

hm. I haven't read the book yet, but I take it I should not even bother?

Whats the writing quality akin to? The dune prequels? Star wars novels? 16 year olds scribblings?[/quote:3ex34eh0]

About the quality of a Startrek fanfiction novel with really poorly written sex scenes and the odd info dump left and right. I wouldn't expect too much.

[TeaDaze]

hm. I haven't read the book yet, but I take it I should not even bother?

Whats the writing quality akin to? The dune prequels? Star wars novels? 16 year olds scribblings?

Whilst I haven't read them, I have heard from people who have. The overriding opinion was that it lacked a competent editor.

I shudder at the thought of reading a novel whose only purpose in existing is to drive the marketing of a new game...

[Sponk]

Was particularly amused when he said he doesn't have time for PvP any more and carebears it up.

It's almost like he wishes there was some warfare between factions he could just drop into for a quick bit of pew.

[Loire]

Was particularly amused when he said he doesn't have time for PvP any more and carebears it up.

It's almost like he wishes there was some warfare between factions he could just drop into for a quick bit of pew.

Just because he wrote the book doesn't mean it's his fault Factional Warfare is shit.

[thebomby]

Read his first "novel" on holiday in December. Load of shit, tbh. One of the worst SF books I've ever read, and I read a lot of them. The book's only redeaming feature was that it explained some of the eve backstory.

[Devec]

Now very glad I never invested to buy this book.

[mira o'karr]

havent read the article but he as a writer should know best that they will need to spin this to either TV or movie or at least animated web tv.
the setting of eve and the chronicles just make a fantastic backdrop.

[thebomby]

havent read the article but he as a writer should know best that they will need to spin this to either TV or movie or at least animated web tv.
the setting of eve and the chronicles just make a fantastic backdrop.

Mittens might think differently, but 160k internet dweebs with a hard-on for internet spaceships does not make a TV series.

[Lusulpher]

Was particularly amused when he said he doesn't have time for PvP any more and carebears it up.

It's almost like he wishes there was some warfare between factions he could just drop into for a quick bit of pew.

Quality.

Easily first person to empty quote on FHC.

[omberzombie]

Now very glad I never invested to buy this book.

Go to one of the Borders stores closing down and you can buy it for $3

It's an interesting read for some backstory info about the eve universe, but the short stories on the website are far better reads imho

[Milo]

Will probably bitch and whine about shitty writing and all sorts of Deus Ex Crap like the last book he wrote, but will inevitably end up reading it to justify my complaining anyway. Maybe I can borrow a copy and avoid giving my money to CCP for it.

[Soryn Kael]

Empyrean Age was a lot better than the Burning Life.


Overall it was fairly entertaining and better than a lot of the happy, everything is peaceful scifi.

[Madner Kami]

It's an interesting read for some backstory info about the eve universe, but the short stories on the website are far better reads imho

In regard about the Empyrean Age-novel, this. It's not really horribad or anything, but just average stuff with loads of Deus ex Machina, which in this case is called the Broker. The protagonists aren't really acting an anything, but merely stumble from one part of the story to the next and most hang on the strings of the Broker, in one way or another.

[KKassandra]

It's an interesting read for some backstory info about the eve universe, but the short stories on the website are far better reads imho

In regard about the Empyrean Age-novel, this. It's not really horribad or anything, but just average stuff with loads of Deus ex Machina, which in this case is called the Broker. The protagonists aren't really acting an anything, but merely stumble from one part of the story to the next and most hang on the strings of the Broker, in one way or another.

The idea that the whole war was orchestrated by ONE GUY with some kind of grudge is pretty fucking stupid, IMO. Nearly as stupid as the whole Enhuahuiaisnni (Sp? ) thing, which was also introduced by Tony G if I'm not mistaken. Eve works perfectly fine as a dystopian-ish story of people going about their business of being shitty to each other, it doesn't need secret cabals controlling everything as part of some EVIL PLAN MWAHAHAH!

(The whole story could have worked perfectly fine without needing zombie clone Empress, immortal Minmatar forefathers and fucking ancient Terran superweapons that conveniently only have enough fuel for one shot and the only source of that fuel gets assploded 6 months later to create the wormholes. It's not like the empires didn't already have reasons to start shooting the shit out of each other. I can sort of let him get away with space-Hitler if it has been a bit better written)