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The latest patch 5.4 newsDenis Dyack says EVE is better than WoW
by Mike Schramm 
Aug 28th 2008 at 2:00PM
Who's Denis Dyack? He's the outspoken president of Silicon Knights, a company that just finished many years (almost 10, some say) of making a game called Too Human that disappointed widely. And that, of course, qualifies him to be an expert in MMO design, right?Maybe not, but he's going to call out WoW anyway. In an interview with Videogaming 24/7, he claims that while he enjoyed World of Warcraft, EVE Online was for him personally the better game. He claims EVE has more depth than WoW, and is "a lot harder core." And he says that both games made him force himself to stop playing -- apparently they both just took too much time to play.
We've played both as well, and EVE certainly is a very deep and complex game (almost too complex for many players' tastes, we'd guess). But we'll leave the question of which game is actually better up to you. We will, however, point out that while lots of people have opinions about which games are best, not all of them are developers. If you have strong opinions about which games to play and not to play, shouldn't you be making even better games than the ones you don't like?
[via Massively]
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Fan stuff, Virtual selves, News items
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 5)
Fletch Aug 28th 2008 2:33PM
An opinion is neither correct nor incorrect: it is an opinion, nothing more and certainly nothing less.
meStevo Aug 28th 2008 2:27PM
Just depends on what you need/want from a game, EVE appeals to a very specific audience while WoW is there to serve as many MMO players as possible in many ways... as a result losing many of the type of people that would enjoy EVE.
It's no big deal really.
SeiferTim Aug 28th 2008 2:27PM
I played the trial for EVE for about half the time they give you for free... while I thought it looked really neat, and was definately had a lot more depth than WoW... I usually had no idea what I was supposed to do... and when I did know what to do, it always seemed to be along the lines of: fly here, which takes 30 minutes, and then pick something up, or do some task that takes less than 5 minutes, and then fly back, or go somewhere else that takes 30 minutes more. repeat.
It got very old, very fast. At least with WoW, even when there's a 'boring' fedex quest, there's a lot of other stuff you can do/see on the way. EVE just has stars, various colored nebulas, and lens flares. Occasionally a planet or asteroid. I'm pretty sure DeviantART has a category just for those types of images, and it doesn't cost a monthly fee.
TriggerHappy Aug 28th 2008 4:10PM
The meat of Eve is in PvP, often in large scale battles at player owned stations. In those circumstances it's a huge leap over WoW in terms of eye candy.
Regardless, they fill completely different niches and have far more differences than similarites.
Keyra Aug 28th 2008 2:28PM
I took an anticipatory look at EVE Online after reading all of the hype, then the bubble was burst. I saw it and said, "Meh." It looked possibly entertaining, yet not really anything that I could get overly excited about. I've played other MMOs and have settled upon the two that I like: World of Warcraft and Perfect World.
Adrys Aug 28th 2008 2:33PM
i personally think Dennis Dyak is annoying. He was on about 5 1up Yours shows and all he does is force his opinions on everyone and he doesn't shut the hell up. I also don't even see why this is an article on Wowinsider.
OH TEH NOES SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE WOW BURN HIM
Verakum Aug 28th 2008 4:51PM
Well i have never played EVE, but i can tell you this...i wouldn't Compare 2 MMO Games if the way they are Played is different... for Example WoW Is know to be a Centralized Role Playing Game, meanwhile Eve in my opinion isnt 100% RPG but a conbination of others... im sorry if im Wrong though.
Also what i have heard of eve and I agree with most of the people is that it is TOO big.... it is sometimes too complex and has too many stuff.... i like complexity yes... but not to the point where you stand there and wonder what happened and what do i do....
WoW has its complexity and its easy stuff... it has an amazing storyline, it is deep indeed.... and in my personal opinion i think it has all... I have a whole year playing WoW with my hunter and still i have tasted all of it and i seriously want more... :P
but in the end it always depend of the player.... meanwhile some like really complex stuff, other like more easy, other like almost human like graphics and spend thousands on new systems to play them some prefer less realistic but greatly designed games....
for me WoW FTW.
Rambull Aug 28th 2008 2:36PM
I feel bad for poor Dennis. If he isn't making himself look looney over on Neogaf. He's making offhanded comments that are sure to make fanboys(and girls) foam at the mouth. Is EVE more complex than WoW? Yes, inarguably so! Does that make EVE a better game? Well, it would depend on what the individual gamer is looking for. Personally, I loved EVE for the variety of available play styles. My only complaint with the game was being unable to effectively train multiple characters with a single account. Making money efficiently often requires a completely different skill set than pvp. As much as I love looking at profit margin analysis for my virtual shipping corporation I would still love to occasionally pewpew. Unfortunately, it can take several real life months to build up respectable pvp skills (in terms of game mechanics, not actual player ability). During this time your trade skills will cease progression. The solution most hardcore EVE players use is multiple accounts. CCP facilitates this with large discounts for multiple accounts, but the situation is rather frustrating to me.
Ultimately, comparing EVE with WoW is like comparing the Smithsonian with Disneyland. They are both fun and fascinating places to visit. However, the experience in one is vastly different than the other.
Barnister Aug 28th 2008 2:43PM
He's right, you know?
EVE Online IS better than WoW, IF you like Space mmorpg. Otherwise EVE and WoW are not comparable to each other.
Wowtor Aug 28th 2008 2:50PM
In fact, if you read the ORIGINAL article closely, it takes some answers to questions of interest to the gaming community by a known developer and frames them up to make it look like he is making some much more categorical judgements.
I got the sense from his voice in the article that ALL he was trying to convey are what he likes and how he enjoys himself in his offtime.
All WoWInsider has done is repeat the poor the editorial judgement of the source.
Nasgoul Aug 28th 2008 4:08PM
someone post this guys contact info so the world can give him what he deserves
lol
toddcore Aug 28th 2008 2:51PM
Even based on the way you chose to paraphrase what he actually said, it hardly comes across as him "having a strong opinion" or "calling out WoW". I don't see anything that even remotely earned him the disdain apparent in your post.
You totally did a good job of showing us all how superior you are though, Mike. What was the last game you developed? I guess it's easy to make erroneous statements like "Developers should make games better than games they don't like" when you can't be held to the same standard.
bill gates Aug 28th 2008 2:55PM
I think the biggest advantage EvE has over WoW is in the the UI department, it is very slick.
Deathgodryuk Aug 28th 2008 3:01PM
He should probably make a game that isn't a piece of crap and then I might listen to him.
Khirzask Aug 28th 2008 2:58PM
Shunnnnn the non-believer. Shunnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.
JDM Aug 28th 2008 3:04PM
Eve Online and World of Warcraft can't and shouldn't be compared as one being better than the other. World of Warcraft is an MMORPG based in a fantasy-ish world. Eve is only an MMOG (completely different genre!) based on science-fiction.
World of Warcraft is all about questing, grinding, and grouping up for dungeons.
Eve is just a 3d engine on the old TradeWars BBS game. You mine ore from asteroids and kill enemy ships, repeat ad infinitum.
For those who like sci-fi games, Eve will be a better game and the opposite for those who prefer fantasy games. As some people have stated here, Star Wars was a better game than Eve... Because it's actually an MMORPG, thus comparable to World of Warcraft.
Me? I think Eve Online is a horrible game and lacks ANY depth. Never played a more simplistic and boring game. World of Warcraft I like because it's just deep enough without becoming complex - on all aspects of the game, such as graphics, story, game play, role playing, crafting, etc.
Coming from the best MMORPG to ever have existed, Ultima Online (:p), I can tell you that World of Warcraft would be a LOT better if it had more depth in some areas, starting with the crafting system, but I think this would make a lot of players stop playing "because the game is too hard/involved".
Ron Aug 28th 2008 3:06PM
Mike, pull this crap article down. I realize nobody can tell you anything, but seriously, read Dyack's statements, read what you wrote, read the almost unanimous consensus of the comments on this article, hit the delete button, and hang your head in shame. Tomorrow will be a better day.
Alch Aug 28th 2008 3:09PM
EVE is very cool looking and the combat is fun. Getting from one place to another is kind of a pain. I always got so lost in that game.
Ichigo Aug 28th 2008 3:15PM
Eve is garbage. I don't know of anyone that played it for more than a few months due to it's poor mechanics and lack of content.
Raze Aug 28th 2008 3:25PM
I find it amusing that the first page has commenters all realizing this is an opinion expressed by someone that is in no way belittling to WoW, while the second page has the angry fanboys Wowinsider intended to rouse.