Matias Otero

CSM 9 Campaign Post

Hello, my name is Matias Otero

For those of you who haven't heard of me, here's a short introduction: I am a relative newcomer to the world of EVE. I started playing in February last year, began telling stories about my adventures in the game and as a result, a year later I am founder and owner of the second largest alliance in the game in terms of player numbers.

I founded a megacorp that started as 30 trial accounts in frigates, I've done large-block diplomacy, dealt with suspicion, betrayal and dissension. I navigated Brave Newbies Inc. through it's first six months of existence, then I created a government body (Called the Council of Newbie Management), invented a sort of constitution and ultimately asked someone I trust to take my place as CEO as I decided I wanted to be free of the burdens of command to learn more about the game. I have done solo and small-gang PvP and researched ways to make money for our vast numbers of new players, I've mined gas deep in hostile nullsec, participated in large battles, shot at or gotten shot by RAZOR, PL, CFC, TEST, Shadow Cartel, EVE Uni, RvB and the Russians and many others. These days, with firm trust in the management I have behind me and full confidence in the people who have been chosen to man it, I feel ready for the next great challenge.

That is why I want to announce that I am running as a candidate for CSM9. My candidacy will be based around three core ideas:

1. The long-term growth of New Eden. Improving the narrative needed to capture new players and fully immersing them in the multi-player gameplay and social interaction that keeps them there. I believe new player influx is fundamental to keeping this universe alive, and I plan to be here for a long time. I believe EVE could appeal to a much broader audience, and I would like to see that audience in space shooting at me, because people are what make this game feel alive.

2. Maximizing fun-per-hour™ at all skill levels. EVE suffers from something of an image problem that isn't helped by it's "1995 accounting software" approach to human interfacing. The time you spend clicking buttons in activities that aren't essential to play the game brings down your fun per hour. I want to help make the game a slicker and more intuitive experience without it losing any of it's core complexity.

3. Unleashing the potential of the Sandbox. What drew me to EVE was it's freedom, both in social interaction (The one done with guns and the other one) and in economics. It's this grand simulation of human nature where content is another person making a decision, not a line of code. I have been on a mission to proselytize the appeal of a massive sandbox universe to the masses, something that's now starting to catch on in other genres with games like DayZ and Rust. But I fear EVE is falling behind the curve. I fell in love with the butterfly effect, but I'm sure most of you can count a good number of reasons for which this almost never happens for the average player, much less a trial account. This is the most gameplay-focused proposal of the three. I want to propose changes with EVE's current risk-reward calculations and mechanics to ensure that everyone who is willing to take risks will also be rewarded accordingly. For example, the fact that most production happens in conditions where player interaction is limited is a brake on the content-generation engine, and I want to set it free.

These are the three main pillars of my campaign platform. Details on each and every one of them will be discussed as the election progresses, but feel free to ask any questions or express your support.