"The time has come to empower players with a formal communications channel to directly impact the development of their society," EVE Online publisher CCP wrote in Wednesday's community council announcement, which included references to political philosophers Charles-Louis de Montesquieu and John Locke.
Players of the game "EVE Online" will soon be able to vote for an unusual community council that will present their concerns to the publisher, the company announced Wednesday.
The players, who number more than 220,000 and are spread around the world, will be able to vote in May for a nine-member council of representatives, Iceland-based publisher CCP said.
Elements of democracy are not unheard of in online games. "A Tale in the Desert" lets the players write laws and vote on having them applied in the game. However, "EVE Online" -- which depicts a cutthroat universe of space traders, miners and pirates -- may be the first to feature a form of representative government.
Voice of the Players
The Council of Stellar Management won't be a legislative body but will represent players before the company. Once during each council's six-month term, the councilors will travel to Iceland to meet face-to-face with the publisher's representatives, who will rule on their requests. If the company denies a request it must justify that action to the councilors.
The publisher said last year that it was considering instituting a player council to give its customers more oversight. Some players were angry at the time because a company employee had supplied one player faction with equipment blueprints, giving them an advantage over other factions.
"The time has come to empower players with a formal communications channel to directly impact the development of their society," CCP wrote in Wednesday's announcement, which included references to political philosophers Charles-Louis de Montesquieu and John Locke.
Not Exactly Democracy
In keeping with the game's setting, CCP is not banning vote-buying, voter coercion or other practices that real-world democracies frown on. Players can yield their voting rights to other players through a proxy system.
Democracy may be more workable in "EVE Online" because all its players inhabit the same universe and can interact with each other in the game. Most online games split the players up over dozens of servers.
The game also has an unusually sophisticated social and economic structure, with a player-operated industrial sector and vibrant trade in minerals. The publisher last year hired a full-time economist to study it.