Using Social Network Analysis to Examine Player Interactions in EvE Online

Network analysis is an increasingly popular tool for the analysis of rich telemetry data from digital game environments. In this paper we apply social network analysis techniques to the massively multiplayer online game EvE Online in order to examine patterns of player interactions in the game. Data were collected from a 1-month period of player-versus-player (PvP) interactions in a specific region of the game. In our analyses we conduct analyses of key actors relying on different centrality measures to identify patterns of play in the region. We examine the features and implications of being a “key actor” across these centrality measures in this context as well as explore applications of this methodology toward game design and research.