EVE Online to honour players with monument in Iceland

CCP Games, the developer of space battle MMOG EVE Online, will be erecting a monument in Iceland to pay tribute to every single player of the game.

Last month, EVE Online saw the most epic battle in its entire 11-year history, the Bloodbath of B-R5RB, which caused an estimated real-word cost in damages of US$300,000. Not two weeks later, the games developer has announced that it would like to honour all players with a monument on Reykjavik Harbour.

Every player who has an active game subscription on 1 March 2014 — even new players — will have the name of their main character etched upon the monument, which will stand five metres tall. In addition, players who have passed away will also have their characters' names etched on the monument.

Designed by artist Sigurður Guðmundsson, with help from EVE Online art directors Börkur Eiríksson and Ásgeir Jón Ásgeirsson, the monument, titled "Worlds Within a World", will consist of three elements. On one side, an aluminium form will be engraved with a quote from the game. On the other side, a granite form will be etched with the players' names. A highly polished structure in the middle will reflect the landscape, and buried underneath will be a "time capsule" — a laptop containing videos, messages and wishes from players and the development team.

Players making the pilgrimage to "Worlds Within a World" will be able to find their name with the help of a web application.

"We would like to, as best as we can, reflect the same beauty that you have shown us. To make you into art. To honor you in the real world as much as you have earned in the virtual. To immortalise the already immortal pilots of EVE. To that end we are creating a monument to all EVE players whether they are currently flying or who have long docked their ships. A monument to players who are living and with us or who have sadly passed on," wrote CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson. "The monument will stand testament to the collective and manifested will of hundreds of thousands of gamers, dreamers, leaders, wingmen, pirates, betrayers, victors and defeated. It will represent the past but also serve as a symbol for the journey to come—our commitment to this virtual universe and to the beauty it has brought into our lives. It is our hope that over the years this piece will grow in all of our hearts and that visiting it will be a part of every trip taken by a Fanfest attendee or a visitor to Iceland."

"Worlds Within a World" will be officially unveiled on 30 April, the evening before the 2014 EVE Online Fanfest is due to begin. Stay tuned to the EVE Monument web page for more details about the time capsule.