| Lots of MMORPGs have guilds - a way for players | | | | corporate style, create a spike in demand for a |
| to coordinate, gather loot, set up bases and work | | | | product, and hire out for contractors to get the |
| their way into the context of the game world. | | | | product - while also paying for pirates to raid the |
| Some dedicated World of Warcraft players even | | | | shipments. |
| do up business cards with their characters names | | | | Within EVE, corporations have a span and a scope |
| on them, what server they play on, what side of | | | | that's unique in MMOGs, and can rise, fall, and rise |
| the conflict, and what their guild is. | | | | again from the ashes in ways that become part |
| In EVE Online, CCP's massively multiplayer | | | | of the ongoing background to the EVE Online |
| persistent world online game, the concept of the | | | | game. |
| guild gets a facelift, and is called a corporation. | | | | What makes this possible is that EVE doesn't run |
| Characters form corporations to lay claim to | | | | on multiple servers; it runs on one supercluster |
| specific parts of the game universe, to manage | | | | computer for each instance of the game |
| resources, and to build large ships and structures | | | | (Tranquility, for English speakers, Serenity for |
| like space stations and outposts. They control | | | | Chinese, and Singularity for testing new code roll |
| access, can charge tariffs, and otherwise act with | | | | outs). Because of this persistent universe, all |
| nearly the full range of actions and activities that | | | | 220,000 of the players are interacting with each |
| a real world corporation does. EVE corporations | | | | other; because of the ratio of "player versus |
| are far more vibrant than the usual run of "raid, | | | | player" enforcement inherent in the universe (with |
| counter raid, camp on the spawn points". | | | | 5,000 star systems, to boot), these corporations |
| One of the ways that EVE Online corporations | | | | fill a wide range of services and niches beyond |
| significantly differ from a guild is that they can | | | | just manufacturing. Corporations make loans to |
| issue contracts, and interact in the market place | | | | one another, provide escorts and anti-piracy |
| as entities on their own. Some MMOGs allow this | | | | groups (and even fund pirates to operate on one |
| to a limited extent, but nothing to the scope that | | | | another by proxy war). |
| EVE Online corporations do. Because the entire | | | | The downside of EVE Online corporations is the |
| universe in EVE is persistent and dynamic, | | | | learning curve needed to make one viable. |
| changes that corporations make to the basic | | | | Fortunately, while they add a lot to the game for |
| demand curve for commodities matter. EVE | | | | the hard core audience, EVE Online corporations |
| Online Corporations can, in the finest black-hat | | | | can be mostly ignored by players starting out. |