DayZ of EVE

Disclaimer: I haven't had an opportunity to play DayZ first-hand yet.

DayZ places players in a massive, open map filled with the walking dead. Other hazards - including fellow players - are sure to appear along the way. Other players are likely to represent the biggest threat. Once you learn to protect yourself from the AI undead, how do you protect yourself from living, thinking humans?

The freedom and extreme potential for total, absolute loss is surely a big draw for EVE players. A few days after coming to this realization, I ran across an article in an issue of Game Informer in which DayZ creator Dean Hall is interviewed. His goal is to make a standalone DayZ game - preferably an MMO - and model the game and supporting business around CCP's EVE Online.

Why EVE? It's a perfectly viable niche game with a ridiculously loyal subscriber base. DayZ likely hopes to fulfill a similar niche market. EVE may not be as staggeringly popular as World of Warcraft, but EVE players are almost unilaterally more dedicated and tend to stick around longer. Besides, there are obvious similarities between EVE and DayZ: both offer a wide-open world with myriad opportunities to create - and destroy - value. In both games, the content is player-driven. Players create the experience rather than click through scripted events.

I've been meaning to write about this for a while. Of course, I should have jumped on it sooner. Immediately upon beginning this post I found at least one other article covering the topic.

Did I mention Dean Hall intends to release a standalone version of DayZ as soon as possible?