The internet is great for keeping up on video game news, but more often we're reminded of all the community happenings we missed as they formed. Each Sunday, I'm sharing my favorite stories from the past week with corresponding highlights from Twitter: my conversation whirlwind of choice.

Last week saw the bloodiest battle in EVE Online history, a very humble Brad McQuaid, Android users learning what the flappin' fuss is about, and...I think I may have done it 88 times? Today's column sums it all up after the jump--with only a single row of spreadsheet jokes!

Here lies a toppled god

“In that case,” said Napoleon, “let us wait twenty minutes; when the enemy is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him.”

-From  Sir Archibald Alison's History of Europe

EVE Online is home to political and economic drama that puts Frank Herbert's plots to shame. To quote a friend, "It's the most interesting game I'll never play." Time-consuming is an understatement; playing well requires dedication. All eyes have been on The Halloween War and all alliances involved have been vigilant, waiting for the tiniest slip. 

A week ago, Pandemic Legion made a mistake that ultimately cost players involved over $300,000 USD. The losses over the ensuing 21 hours of battle were staggering and have been detailed in various places, including this comprehensive developer post. The in-game economy began to shift; about 10 hours into the battle, I saw reports that cost of ship materials were up by 50% overall. The day after, even EVE creators CCP Games held a sale on PLEX both to take advantage of the repercussions and to provide relief for the ships destroyed--some of which cost months and over $3,000 USD each to build. The battle is being memorialized in-game by the development team; a testament to the event's impact. 

News outlets joked that the instigation was a missed rent check, but that wasn't the end of payment-related errors: the CFC alliance fleet commander ran out of paid subscription time halfway through the conflict. These guys should be thankful lenders check general credit and not EVE Online payment history.*

*note: I have the utmost respect for these commanders and only wish I had time to be part of this.

Best twitch comment on http://t.co/jN67X6N3Zn "dpiers: which spreadsheet column is winning?" #tweetfleet

— Two step (@two_step_eve) January 28, 2014

Humble Pie

YouTube personality Boogie2988 interviewed EverQuest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes creator Brad McQuaid in what was probably the only video interview I've ever sat through completely. There was general nostalgia and comparison of previous games to his new concept, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, but things got real about 20 minutes into the interview: Boogie asked McQuaid to share the experiences that he felt caused Vanguard's failure. The man visibly crumbled and out came stories of his personal failure along with how he felt the publishers failed his team. We learned that Pantheon's team is made of former Sony and Trion developers laid off recently (I'd wondered where they'd gone!) and I couldn't help but feel Pantheon is partly McQuaid's atonement to the development community.

The video is worth watching for any fan of the MMO genre's history, players of EverQuest and Vanguard, students interested in the videogame industry--really, if you've ever played an MMO, this interview is relevant. Props to both Boogie and Brad for sharing this.

I'd long been considering the Kickstarter for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, but after being part of last week's Gamer Hangout (with Massively.com's Beau, AFKGamer's Christine, and StratXgaming's Jeremy) regarding the sunset of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes, I took the plunge to support Pantheon. As you can imagine, all this focus on Pantheon as the next EQ-like, niche MMO is bringing longtime fans out of the shadows.

My lifelong friend Brad McQuaid @aradune (creator of EverQuest) is making a new MMO - check the Kickstarter! https://t.co/NHdrpxvZX4

— Tom Anderson (@myspacetom) January 28, 2014

Hey Baby, what's your score?

Android users discovered a new addiction as FlappyBird finally made its way off iOS and into Google Play--for free. The deceptively simple screen-masher has been an endless source of frustration entertainment for iPhone users and Droid owners are now cussing thrilled to be part of the fun.

Rumor has it fewer freakouts are expected as the game has been made a bit easier than its iOS sibling, but that doesn't stop "FlappyBird" from being the funniest search on Twitter this weekend. If you have a Droid phone, check out the game on Google Play--after all, 73,500 five-star reviews can't be wrong!

new drinking game: every time you die on flappy bird you take a shot pic.twitter.com/Fhs2gbSEKu

— Ron Burgundy (@_itsjustcalvin) February 2, 2014

Technically "Safe For Work"

As promised, last weekend's Global Game Jam was full of intriguing creations. The theme was Anaïs Nin's popular quote, "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." My favorite entry, "how do you Do It?" explored that idea in a way of which I'm sure Ms. Nin would have approved. It made a few immediate waves due to its rather taboo nature--the game is about a young girl hiding from her mother to use Barbie dolls for exploring how sex works.

The game's story and mechanics immediately opened a few dialogues in my mind about parenting, growing up, and games as art, so I contacted Nina Freeman (one of the creators) to ask if I was reading into things. She assured me that the goal of the game was to remind players of an experience most can relate to.

"The concept for how do you Do It was entirely based on my own personal experience. The week before the game jam, my partner (Emmett Butler, who also worked on the game) and I were out for dinner, and we were sharing some embarrassing childhood stories. I explained to him that, before I knew how sex actually worked, I would use my Barbie dolls to try and re-enact sex/erotic scenes I saw on television"

"When the Global Game Jam theme was announced, it reminded me of that story--because I was really projecting my own excitement and feelings about love and sex onto those dolls. My parents never gave me "The Talk," so I had to explore sexuality in my own way. I worked on this game with Emmett Butler, David Coss and Jonathan Kittaka. They were all super into the idea when I pitched it. I think we're all very open-minded people, so there was no awkwardness around the topic whatsoever. They were all very excited, in fact, because the whole mechanic is so silly, fun and different. Emmett, David and I have actually made a few other games about being a little girl in the past, so it was certainly not an unexplored topic for us. Ultimately, I think people of all gender identities probably have very similar experiences when first faced with exploring sexuality in private as kids. We all have awkward, silly memories, like mine with the dolls, so I think it's something many people can relate to on some level."

My favorite mechanic is possible the scoring: in my best game, I "think I may have done sex 88 times..?" I knew the dolls had not collided 88 times in any manner resembling intercourse and pointed that out to Freeman. She laughed and told me that was an unintended side effect of their collision mechanics and they'd decided to leave the "bug" to strengthen the theme of perception vs. reality.

There's been a bit of outrage that a game would address the theme in this way, but the people who get it are really getting it.

@hentaiphd I appreciate you so much. Kids are real people.

— Leslie Varmark (@LeslieVarmark) January 27, 2014

If you'll excuse me, I'll be re-watching every movie in my house and preparing to have future Talks with my kids.

Did Maevrim skip news you think she should have listed? Let her know in the comments or on Twitter.