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JoBildo: Let’s get the courtesies out of the way first. Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview with us get. It’s you lot, the players, that keep this genre thriving and the worlds moving and so it’s always great to get to know a little bit more about the players.

CLAN OPTERA: We have been a part of 'Clan Soup' since the beginning and we are happy to participate with the community through this feature. Thank you for keeping this project alive and giving us an opportunity to share a little about us.

JoBildo: It’s my pleasure for sure. Now tell the internet a little bit about CLAN OPTERA.

CLAN OPTERA: We are an active, fun loving guild, who welcomes gamers of all play-styles and backgrounds to join our group of mature players. Players can find what they are looking for in Clan Optera on a variety of fronts. Some members join us because they want to be part of something unique and rewarding. Members who do choose to invest their time and effort with us find themselves treated like an extended family. We are not just a large team, we are friends and kin – faithfully there for each other in (and in some cases, out of) game.

We value our loyal membership far more than any reward attainable in a game. We know that we will have members for whom this guild and this game (AoC) is often the largest focus of their day. At the same time, we also know some members have careers, children, school and other commitments that we know take priority, too. We strive for an environment where everyone can enjoy the time they are able to spend together in game.

JoBildo: How would you guys classify yourselves? Are you a tight-knit role-play clan, a PvP clan or something else altogether? What makes you tick?

CLAN OPTERA: We are actually not any one 'type' of clan. We embrace all the different aspects of the game and we welcome players who want to “do it all” as well as those who might prefer to focus on one area of game-play. We are a dynamic group of people who are like-minded regarding what a guild should be. We value play-style differences as strengths, rather than weaknesses or hindrances, as they allow us to foster a community where players are equally responsible for forging their destiny, and equally capable of reaching their goals. Together, we believe we have the experience and skills to accomplish just about anything. You could say we are a new generation of guild for a new generation of game.

JoBildo: Forward thinking people! My favorite! Let’s see how you field this one then: how’s the clan structured? What’s the leadership like, and how do you guys delegate authority?

CLAN OPTERA: To start, we were not a pre-existing guild, coming en masse from WoW or some other MMO to seek server dominance or fame... though we have been around, in one form or another, since the dawn of MMO's.

Clans, or guilds, can often be very different experiences from one guild to another. We believe that clans are first and foremost, about people. They are also about balancing the sometimes very different needs of very different people in order to make something bigger than any one individual. Carefully implemented ranks are one of the many tools a clan leader has at their disposal to solve many of the problems that can arise in a clan.

To be honest our numbers have grown just enough to start fleshing out ranks within our own clan. Some of these ranks are typical titles you will find, such as 'Class Officer' (or class leader), as well as general officer positions. We have a mixture of departmental and committee type positions in the works as well. So to answer directly, we are definitely not run by a Hitler type of leadership. If you could picture something between a 'technologically hip' Gandhi and a committee, you'd arrive at approximately the right picture.

As for ranks, we believe in promotion from within, based on meritocracy – giving the right job to the right person.

JoBildo: How many members are there currently in your Clan?

CLAN OPTERA: 31, including a couple late-comers and MIA's.

JoBildo: Tight-knit then, which is always good. Some developer or another once said the ideal guild or clan size is 30 to 50 members, so it seems like you’re doing alright! Now, it’s a pretty popular thing in terms of guilds and clans to host events on their respective servers. Is that something CLAN OPTERA ever does?

CLAN OPTERA: To date, we have not. Though we have since launch been formulating a few recurring events to host, once we iron out the details of their plans. One is for a role-playing event, the other consists of player-versus-player and competitive type activities. As more of our members approach end game and have more time to become involved with the community rather than leveling and guild progression, you can definitely expect Clan Optera to start hosting events.

JoBildo: If you guys are recruiting for new members, can you tell us what exactly it takes to become one of the CLAN OPTERA? What’s required of a prospective member?

CLAN OPTERA: Prospective members should visit our website and click the link on our home page, which will lead them to a few sticky posts we have made for recruitment purposes. Part of our application process is to read our guild charter. The remaining stickies explain our application process in detail, which is basically making a post on our forums with some details about yourself (the applicant), and then we send them an invitation in game to join us.

New members, which are considered 'guests' or simply citizens, are welcome to join us for a couple weeks to see if we all mesh well together. If they are still with us at the end of two weeks, they are invited to attend the next guild meeting we have in order to be promoted to full membership status. If anyone has grievances with a recruit or guest, it is expressed at this meeting and resolved. We haven't had to remove anyone yet, but if we do, we do it together, 'professionally' and fully inform them of the reason(s).

JoBildo: Alright, that concludes the interview. Thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions and letting the community know everything they could want to know about CLAN OPTERA. It’s been a pleasure as it always is.

CLAN OPTERA: Thank you for taking time for us. Keep up the good work!