If you don't know what The Gnosis is or why there's a huge controversy around it, I highly recommend checking out these links before continuing with my post:
Old player, new game
In order to understand my perspective, and ultimately the point of this post, it's important to understand my background. You can skip this part but you may find that it resonates or provides valuable insight.
When I was young, space fascinated me. The world seemed stagnant in comparison, the universe was ongoing and everlasting, an unconquered final frontier that few understood. I lived on an island off the Eastern US and most nights you could find me outside on a small paved driveway, staring through the eyepiece of my huge telescope. I wanted to be an astrophysicist, an astronomer and an astronaut all at once. Anything to close the gap between me and the unknown.
I don't think I need to romanticize the cosmos any further for you to get the point. My 13-year-old self was a bit naive though; he didn't love space because it was the final frontier, he loved space because he saw infinite possibilities in a finite world. I grew to harbor a deep appreciation for the unknown and it's served me well. Rather than allow this fascination to turn me into an idealist, I've channeled it into a lens through which I can more clearly understand the world I'm already in.
Moving forward to 2014. The world didn't end in 2012, I'm in my early 20s and currently battling my fourth encounter with cancer (Hodgkins Lymphoma). It's been an off-year for games and I’m too busy to play them, most of my attention is divided between doctor visits and family drama. December rolls around and you can probably extrapolate what happens next. Elite Dangerous popped into existance and I failed to notice it for a month or two, but once I did...
Thargoids and stuff
I played Elite Dangerous steadily during 2016 and then only occasionally for 2017, but I was obsessed. Back then we didn't have a lot to work with, maybe a few ships and the same repeating missions, but it didn't matter. We the players didn't need goals, we made their own. We didn't complain about content because we WERE the content. We had just been given a few billion excuses to enjoy the game and nothing was going to stop us from ripping through the sky at light-speed and loving every second we pretended to be space commanders.
The universe wasn't without it's mysteries though. Every once in a while you'd come across a strange group of NPCs talking about the odd tech in their cargo bay, or a ship destroyed by "unconventional" means. We chalked it up to fluff.
It was around this time the cancer went into remission, only to return 3 months later. I didn't have time for games anymore, I was bombarded by specialists and appointments, any semblance of a life I once had was shattered. These coming years would be some of the hardest, but thankfully not my last.
That didn't stop me from watching Elite Dangerous become a stellar game with a dynamic, unfolding plot. I was going through chemotherapy and a stem-cell transplant when the barnacles were discovered, when the Thargoids first showed up and even when the first was killed... but I saw it all through the eyes of everyone else. It seemed like each day something new would pop up on Reddit or YouTube and I desperately wished I could be there experiencing it with my fellow commanders, but it would be another year before I fully recovered.
To be honest, I didn't think much about Elite Dangerous after that, aside from seeing the occasional Thargoid updates. I was working on immigrating my spouse from England, dealing with the aftermath of a 12-year cancer battle and finding a house to rent. It was pure chaos. Still, fond memories of sailing through the emptiness were nestled in the back of my mind and secretly I wanted to return.
To you, 2,000 years from now
Long story short, things settled down. I have a good job, rent my own apartment, live with my spouse and generally life has slowed to a solid warp 2. A few months ago I remembered reading about a group called "The Fuel Rats" and their stalwart dedication to delivering fuel to stranded commanders. It sounded like a refreshing way to play the game and I love helped new players, so I decided to try joining them. But first, I had to get back into the game.
Needless to say things were a bit different than I remembered. Power Play, new graphics, engineers, PLANETARY LANDING!? And what are all these ships? Did the market used to work that way? MINING IS COOL? I dunno man I kinda lost it, my brain couldn't handle the overload so I just focused on my immediate goals. I found the Fuel Rats before they found me (that's a good thing, by the way) and had enough knowledge locked away in the corners of my mind to get my tail in about 3 weeks.
There was so much to do, I didn't know where to start. The first thing I did was exploit mining by making over 150mil in 2 hours. I don't think you understand how much cash-money that is. Back in my day we struggled to make a couple mil on the side and now you're telling me I can buy any ship I want less than 2 hours? My Anaconda don't want none because I got it all, son!
Okay so that's off my chest, let's get mature again. Suffice to say I felt invincible, but I could tell it would get out of hand if I wasn’t careful. I'm the kind of guy who spends 5 days installing mods for Oblivion and then never playing the game, so I knew my head would run away with all this new stuff. I decided to ignore it all and just enjoy the game naturally, at my own pace.
The Final Frontier
I made the right decision, it was much easier to get accommodated with the new changes once I stopped caring so much. I felt like a noob (probably looked like one too) flying around in my brand new Anaconda and crashing through mail slots like a runaway metal frisbee. I'm pretty sure one guy stopped to watch me out of sheer disbelief as I flopped around like a dying whale. I don't know who you were CMDR, but sorry you had to see that.
Over the past few weeks I've had so much fun. I went outside the bubble for the first time, got my name on a moon, farmed a G5 FSD Booster, died in a dogfight, made millions and went to detention. During my most recent trip I got to see the Crystal Shards and collect new materials, but it turned into an exploration adventure when I started finding Codex locations and star formations I'd never seen.
But what pleased me the most was how organic it felt, like I'd stepped into an untamed wild-west story and become a pioneer. Some of the most overused taglines in videogame history are about how you can leave your mark in the world or carve your legacy into the land, but Elite Dangerous was the real deal. I legitimately felt like I was getting that kind of experience. This is where the problems begin.
The Gnosis Cone Effect
There's an episode from The Twilight Zone about a criminal named Rocky Valentine who dies and goes to heaven, or so he assumes. He's greeted by a guardian angel named Pip who gives Rocky whatever he wishes for. At first he's excited and spends a month eating the finest food, making out with women and gambling (which he wins every time). However he becomes bored with having everything he wants and tells Pip that gambling isn't fun when you know you're going to win.
He asks Pip if he could rob a bank, and if there’s a possibility he might be caught. Pip replies, saying that if he wants to be caught, he will be. Rocky isn't happy with this answer; he's just being given getting what he wants. He tells pip that, “If this is Heaven, I’d almost rather be in the other place,” to which Pip replies, “My dear Mr. Valentine, whoever said this is Heaven? This is the other place!”.
The meaning behind this story is simple and timeless: When you know the outcome of everything, nothing is exciting.
Today I learned about the Gnosis mission to Cone Sector FN-J B9-0 and it took the wind out of my sails. During the 5 years I've played this game one of the most exciting aspects has been the belief that we, the players, truly breathed the world into existence. I knew that Frontier had some hand in the events, but it never felt like that hand was blocking us. My enthusiasm about exploration quickly ground to a halt as I asked myself a very important question: If I discover something new, is it because I found it or because the developer forced me find it?
That is to say, are we in control of our exploration adventures or does the developer hold our hand behind the scenes to make sure we fit into their storyline agenda? If the latter is true then can we even call it "discovery"? Surely it's simply an inevitability at that point.
Contrary to what you might expect at this point, I think that all forms of discovery are equally valid in the right circumstances so I'll avoid arguing right vs wrong. Instead I want to focus on expectations vs reality.
In Elite Dangerous, exploration and discovery are a huge portion of the game and how they're presented does matter. For example, I would love to discover an undiscovered planet or a Thargoid base. It would even be fun to find encoded messages guiding me to it's location, like a treasure hunt. I wouldn't, however, want Frontier to put me into a position where I would absolutely find it. There's a difference between nudging a player in the right direction and forcing them to experience something.
To further clarify what I mean, I've created a set of guidelines that I feel are essential to satisfying exploration and discovery in Elite Dangerous. I'm sure opinions vary on this, but here's mine:
Discoveries should be found, not given.Failure should be possible, not inevitable.Never say "No". Say, "Yes, and..." or "Yes, but...".In the event that none of the above rules can be met, gracefully break the rule.
What I really came here to do is add my voice to many concerned others. Frontier has created such a great opportunity for people like me to re-awaken their love for the unknown, but that means nothing if the unknown is... known. I would rather believe that my actions are fallible than have everything handed to me on a silver plate.
In conclusion, I'm not particularly upset about Frontier's idea. I don't disagree with their decision to create a narrative for the players and I'm not opposed to it in the future, but I sincerely hope this isn't the norm. I would like to hear an explanation from Frontier about how they orchestrate big discoveries under normal conditions. Are we apart of the universe? Or are we pawns for Frontier to move around so it only seems like we contribute?
Edit: This post was made not-so-long-ago by a not-so-informed version of myself and no longer reflects my opinions.
Last edited:
but the moment you go meta on the game, you destroy the magic. 
. We need more of the same imho.
