The EVE Online Monument in Reykjavik

Nov 12, 2015 5 comments

In the world of massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), the science fiction game EVE Online developed and published by CCP Games, has a tiny footprint — not even a million players. For comparison, Runescape has over 200 million registered players. But in Iceland and EVE Online’s birthplace, the game is huge. So huge that there is a real-world monument in Reykjavik dedicated to the game with the names of all active players engraved on its surface.

The monument is five meters tall and includes a bizarre ensemble of three differently shaped obelisk standing on a wide platform, about half meter tall. Its surface is dense with thousands of names of every player active as of March 2014. The monument, the first of its kind, is located on Reykjavik’s harbor near the offices of CCP Games. It was designed by local artist Sigurður Guðmundsson, and was unveiled in 2014 as a celebration of the game’s 10-year anniversary.

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Photo credit: Richard Eriksson/Flickr

Buried beneath the monument is a laptop with messages and videos from EVE Online players and development staff that is intended to serve as a time capsule. The laptop will be extracted 25 years from it's placement, on May 6th, 2039.

Unfortunately just days after the monument was revealed, one of the engraved names was scratched out by a rival player indicating that rivalry and hatred among the players run deep. CCP found those responsible for the vandalism and promptly removed them from the game.

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A poster of EVE Online. Photo credit: www.fatalhero.com

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Photo credit: www.reddit.com

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Photo credit: mariejirousek/Flickr

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Photo credit: James Burke/Flickr

Sources: Polygon / PC Gamer / Kotaku via Atlas Obscura

Comments

  1. A monument to a video game? That's the dumbest thing I've ever seen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Eve players are ridiculously invested in the game. To give you an idea of how invested, this is the largest player battle ever fought in the game, involving over 7000 players: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodbath_of_B-R5RB

      Delete
    2. yes its a video game, that tens of thousands of people spend a lot of time in and their lives are often deeply impacted by the interactions they have online. this monument is awesome. my name is on it :)

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    3. Tens of thousands of peoples lives are deeply intertwined in the Eve universe, peoples lives are often deeply impacted by the events and friends they make. This monument is awesome! my names on it - Alpha Wolfgang

      Delete
  2. And it's a freat escape from REAL LIFE crap too. Eve players have a connection that those who know nothing about the vast Eve Universe could possibly understand. my name is on there too.

    Ikkon Blade, Shyloh Blade, Dano Visteen, Marni Blade, Miikell Blade & Riiker Lee Blaade

    ReplyDelete

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