So here I am in Reykjavik, Iceland for CCP Games 2013 EVE Online FanFest. About 1,500 gamers and 500 media/press types all trekked from across the globe to get here, some coming as far away as New Zealand. It is very impressive to see such a huge, devoted following; if there was a hall larger than the Harpa, they could host more fans; limiting factor is the hall, which seats a maximum of 2,000 people.

From Thursday afternoon to Saturday night, the town of Reykjavik will be swarming with players from all age groups, all walks of life. I have never seen a greater cross-section of humanity all playing the same game. Most MMO-style video games have a very discrete player base, often a very narrow band of ages, or other identifying demographic like gender or income level.

i have played EVE for only a month now, and as everyone has said in the past, it is really challenging to get into this game. More on that later…