EVE Interview

For most people, mention of Iceland probably tends to conjure up images of snow, glaciers and icebergs. Although this isn't a completely accurate picture of the small North Atlantic island nation, it's probably pretty safe to say that few associate it with game development or even software development in general. As a result, it came as a bit of a surprise when, at this year's Game Developers Conference in March, we first learned about an Icelandic studio called CCP, shortened from Crowd Control Productions. A further and much larger revelation came when we found out about the very ambitious project already in progress there, a persistent massively multiplayer combination of space simulation, strategy and role-playing called EVE. 

During E3 in May, it was our pleasure to chat with several members of the Eve Isk team and to find out a little bit about the background to the game. At that time, however, they were still not prepared for a complete unveiling pending further development, a publicity plan, a revamping of the website et al. Last week, the website was re-launched, featuring lots of information and some very impressive screenshots along with concept art, wallpapers and more. Accordingly, it seemed like a very appropriate time to reveal more about the game in this extensive Eve Isk Interview with Lead Designer Thorolfur Beck.

Jonric: Let's start with the obvious first question. In your own words, how would you summarize Eve Isk?

Thorolfur Beck: EVE is an entertainment product that goes as far as current technology and our ability as designers allows in creating an alternate reality. It's a space fighting/trading RPG, where the players should feel they are in total control of their destiny, and where human interaction is key element.

Jonric: Before we get into the details on Eve Isk, please introduce CCP. When and how did the company get started? What kinds of backgrounds do the team members have?

Thorolfur Beck: CCP started as an idea in 1996 when I (Thorolfur Beck) and our art director and company co-founder Reynir Hardarson, started writing the script for a massively multiplayer space game. We founded the company in 1997 and we are located in Reykjavik, Iceland. We funded the start of the company and early development through contractor jobs, until we had a fully assembled team in the beginning of the year 1999, and got funding through venture capital. Since then our first game, Eve Isk has been in full development.