Powerful space tyrant explains why he had to give up his beloved MMORPG after 15 years

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The MMORPG EVE Online is the primordial metaverse, explains Michael Pusateri, a real-life businessman and off-duty space bully. For 15 years he played the MMORPG EVE Online, enjoying his growing fame and influence, but then it was over.

Where does the information come from? Michael Pusateri, CEO of an IT company in real life, published an article on the Medium page describing his relationship with the MMORPG EVE Online.

The article is aimed at readers who come from the business world and have no idea what is going on in the game. He tries to explain the allure of EVE and how rewarding he found his time leading an organization of thousands of players.

In-game, Pusateri’s name was “Dunk Dinkle” and he was the CEO of “Brave.”

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This is the remarkable thing: The author tells his path in the game, which for a long time sounded like a pure success story:

  • He started playing the game in 2008, slowly making a name for himself in an organization and getting to know the game
  • In 2013 he builds a group of players and goes deeper into EVE Online. He writes about his game, publishes videos, takes part in talks with other players
  • Ultimately, he becomes the CEO of his organization. As boss, he has unlimited powers, as he explains:

    • The group of leaders in EVE consists almost exclusively of (largely) well-meaning dictators. Groups have tried space democracy, but it has always failed. Ultimately, what works is a leader with total control who makes in-game decisions. In EVE they are called CEOs, but actually they are warlords who rule their lands and command their troops to attack or defend.

    How did he perceive that? The author describes that EVE Online was totally relaxing for him in the beginning and was a counterbalance to his stressful “business life” in the real world. The complexity and solid rhythm of the game felt relaxing to him.

    However, when he became CEO, that slowly changed. He explains:

  • He was now constantly in contact with other CEOs via Discord and had to be constantly available to manage crises
  • Contracts were drafted, often checked by real lawyers, to find loopholes that could later be exploited
  • He enjoyed the “nano-fame” he had as an outgoing space lord that everyone wanted to talk to and that so many knew. He even always carried knick-knacks like bottle openers with his guild’s logo on them to give out as gifts

    • EVE Online is becoming a second job, and that’s one job too many

    What was the problem? During the pandemic, real-life stress increased and he developed progressively worse headaches:

    Every morning I woke up with problems to solve in EVE: I spent long days in the office and then I had to take care of EVE in the evenings. That was a lot of work. My fun per hour was low and EVE felt like a job many days. I still found it rewarding, but it took its toll, my second job in the Meta-verse. Even when I was off work, I was still on duty in EVE, managing things from the hotel room or the beach instead of relaxing.

    Ultimately, the headache became unbearable. He took anti-migraine medication and went under the knife to fix problems with his jaw, but as he slowly recovered, doctors advised him that stress was a big trigger and that he urgently needed to reduce it.

    So 6 months ago he did what he never thought possible: he quit EVE Online and passed the keys to his part of the galaxy to a NASA researcher he had chosen to succeed him.

    Now he says:

    I miss people terribly, but I enjoy the freedom to do other things. The freedom of not having to turn on my computer to do space work.

    His wife was also “thrilled” that he had closed this chapter in his life.

    If we are already writing about space tyrants in EVE Online on MeinMMO, then we also have to refer to THE space tyrant:

    The tough space tyrant in the MMORPG EVE Online throws everything away: “I’m not the scapegoat of the galaxy”

    The cover photo is a thumbnail of a YouTube video by Pusateri. He used it to apply for the player council in EVE “CSM”.

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