by Chris Ware on Dec 21, 2009
Communities can often make or break a MMOG, making a marginal game
tolerable or even dragging a good game into the depths of the
unplayable. Ten Ton Hammer’s own Karen "Shayalyn" Hertzberg
href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/78129">recently
noted,
quite astutely, that the cornerstone of these communities has long been
the guilds that most players inhabit. From providing social structure
to facilitating events that can transcend the standard gameplay
experience, guilds can create long-term memories and player bonds that
often persist over many years and many games. As games become more
accessible and their shelf lives ever shorter, are guilds still a
viable community builder or just a means to an end?
People who have been playing MMOGs since the inception of the genre may
have some advantages over their counterparts who have joined the fray
since MMO gaming became more mainstream. The most obvious of those
advantages is the benefit of experience and the familiarity that only
long term involvement can breed. This assertion isn’t a
condemnation of those new to the party; new players are not only vital
to gaming but the newness with which they see the world can often
re-energize the old timers who have become jaded.
That being said, many of the newer players don’t view guilds
in the same light as folks who came from less forgiving games did. In
style="font-style: italic;">EverQuest,
Ultima
Online and
style="font-style: italic;">Dark Age of Camelot,
for example, guilds were a much desired focus of the player base and a
much needed shield against the relatively harsh game world. From
raiding to large scale RvR battles, guilds offered the best chance at
success due to the limited in-game mechanics of the times. Recent
innovations which have rendered games more accessible to all players
and have made soloing as viable as group play have also in a large way
weakened the strength and appeal of guilds to many players, or at least
changed the perception of what a guilds role is.
Raiding or progression-minded guilds have existed almost as long as
MMOGs, usually binding highly competitive and focused individuals
together in pursuit of a common goal. While older games had a clear
delineation between the raiding haves and have-nots in terms of
gearing, zone accessibility and skill level, those lines have been
blurred in the newer generation of games. Likewise guilds that were
once considered completely casual by nature have been able to achieve
some success in what was once considered sacred ground for only the
most hardcore. This has created a muddled middle ground of guilds that
are neither completely raid focused or completely comprised of a more
casual crowd and as such have a harder time satisfying their
membership.
Guild numbers have also skyrocketed to facilitate the larger and more
transitory player base. With many games offering relatively inexpensive
character transfers (
style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft
and EverQuest
II both check in at $25.00)
there isn’t the sense of obligation to one realm that there
was back when changing servers meant starting all over again and losing
a large time investment. For those too cheap to shell out the cash and
willing to endure the leveling and re-gearing of a new toon, the time
required to go from 1 to level cap has been significantly reduced in
most AAA titles (most players just use bots in the notable holdout to
this trend…).
style="font-style: italic;">World of Warcraft has
so many guilds that a cottage industry of guild tracking and
recruitment websites has sprung up, with more being added to the fold
all the time.
All of these contributing factors have definitely changed how players
view and interact with their guilds, and while the long term,
multi-game, decade old guilds still exist their numbers are in decline.
Many players are now more prone to hopping from end game guild to end
game guild based on raid times and progression levels, and while this
may facilitate personal character growth, it often leaves players
subjected to the ever growing levels of cynicism often fostered by
these environments.
Finding the right long term guild that you can stay with over the
course of years and through multiple games can not only create lasting
friendships, but it can also shield you from many of the elements that
can cause burnout or disdain for a game’s general populace.
Whichever route you travel down in your gaming career, finding the
right guild can make all the difference. In the words of Spanish author
Miguel de Cervantes, “Tell me what company you keep and I'll
tell you what you are.”