The world of EVE Online is in a constant state of transition. With over 200,000 players, and up to 35,000 online in the same universe at the same time, the game has developed a social structure unlike another other in the realm of MMOs.

It's to the point where the developer CCP is currently in the process of drafting a democratic council for the virtual realm and recently appointed an in-game economist. Where rogue players can walk away from online heists with merchandise valued at thousands of dollars in real-life currency.

To learn more about what CCP has in the works, and also just what's happening with the upcoming White Wolf MMO it has in development, I spoke with communications director Valerie "Pann" Massey, community manager Mike Read, and director of North American marketing Peter Gollan.

Shack: What can you say about the player committee you're in the process of putting together?

Valerie Massey: Right now, we've spent a lot of time working, just a very small team of us, working on just a foundation document. I don't know if you know this or not, but Iceland is the home of the very first parliament in the world. Hundreds of years ago, they were the first ones that did it. So

NCsoft announced this morning that Richard Garriott's Tabula Rasa has gone gold and will launch in North America and Europe on October 19, 2007. The game first began development in May 2001.

The massively multiplayer (MMO) game places players in a near-future storyline as they fight off hostile aliens while trying to gain control of the universe. New advancements to attract current MMO players include a Character Cloning System, which allows players to play different character classes without having to create a new character and a new battlefield system that depicts the combat of an ongoing war.

"It has been a heck of a journey," said Richard Garriott, the game's executive producer and creator of the fabled Ultima series. "The fact that we are getting ready for the final stretch towards launch feels great, but it is also just the beginning. I think we've managed to do something truly unique and I hope that the gaming community likes it as much as we do. Now, I am looking forward to a really fun 'end of beta event' for our incredible testers, and focusing development on new planets and innovations for future expansions of Tabula Rasa."

"When we set out to create the Storm Hawks MMO, we needed a technology solution that would allow us to bring the online story to life, and connect our worldwide audience in exciting new ways," commented Nathon Gunn, CEO of Bitcasters. "Not only has the BigWorld solution exceeded our expectations, but the continued support and training the BigWorld team have provided us with has allowed us to get further ahead in a much shorter time than would otherwise have been possible."

"We're very excited to be working with Bitcasters on bringing the Storm Hawks series online," said Gavin Longhurst, VP of Business Development for BigWorld. "Their talented development team has made the most of BigWorld's full solution to bring the great characters, great stories and the world of Atmos alive in a unique online experience."