Fansite Friday/MMORPGS-info

Fansite: MMORPGS.info - Guild Wars (site no longer operating)

Date: 6 May 2005

Number: 43

Q&A

Question: Concerning Guilds: At the moment there are only two levels of members: "Officers" and "Members." Some would like a better hierarchical organization, with various roles. How can ArenaNet help to define this organisation?

Answer: As you know, we are going to be offering a lot of enhancements to the game - new features, updates, changes, expanded content - through the free live updates that we send to you via streaming technology. In speaking with the design team, additional guild features are quite high on our list of the enhancements we would like to add.

Having played literally hundreds of different games, our team members are pretty knowledgeable about guild structures, and about the various levels and permissions that some games offer guilds or other types of groups. Some systems are pretty cool; some are so cumbersome you can't really tell who is what. At this point the Guild Wars system is simple in its function and easy to learn. That made it a good starting point for the release of the game. However, we agree that having more options would be really nice, and that's definitely something we'll be visiting in the near future.

Question: Some players are so enthusiastic about Guild Wars that they would like to invest themselves even more in the game. Do you plan to propose to those motivated players some special status (moderators,..) ?

Answer: You are right - the world is embracing Guild Wars, and many folks want to be involved with the game and the gaming community in ways that exceed their role as a player. We're delighted with this response, of course - it's every development team's dream!

At this time, we don't have plans for in-game moderation by community members. We've had a lot of players ask about it, and while we realize there are certain advantages, it's just not something we're considering, at least in the near future. We have occasional job openings, but of course not everyone is able or willing to relocate, and there are only a few openings to be filled.

So without that in-game opportunity, and providing that a fulltime job isn't in the cards, that leaves us with many enthusiastic and valued Guild Wars fans who are looking for a outlet for their interest in the game. I would suggest that one of the best ways for people to get involved with the Guild Wars community is through the Guild Wars fansites. There are so many things that a fansite staff member can contribute: writing content; researching articles or statistics; moderating forums; programming the website or player tools; designing the site; leading a site section, such as for a fan fiction or fan art section; posting news… the list is nearly as varied as the sites themselves. I spent six years volunteering with game fansites, and I have never regretted a single late-night update or all-weekend article writing spree.

Guild Wars has a large number of terrific fansites, and more are joining the family all the time. So I want to say this to Guild Wars fans:

• If you are interested in working as a fansite staff member, visit several sites to find the one that best fits your personality, your gaming interests and which you feel will best benefit from your contributions.
• Don't stop with just the larger sites. You could be the key to growing a smaller site. You could help put it on the map and make it a definitive site. Or your skills could make that site well known for its extraordinary expertise on a certain topic!
• After you've done some looking around, get active in the fansite's community through the forums or chat.
• Get in touch with the webmaster after you've gotten familiar with the site and the staff and inquire about giving back to the community through working on that site. Fansite webmasters work very hard, and most are very receptive to having another volunteer help them with their site.
• Be aware that you will almost surely need to start small. A new volunteer can't expect all the "plum" jobs. And nobody brings a volunteer onto his or her fansite team and turns over the keys. Access, responsibility, and trust need to be earned over time.
• Getting involved can be something on which you set personal limits. You can spend a little time or a lot. Just do your "job" well and know that every bit of help is welcomed by the site team.

I recognize that fansite work may not be for everyone. But it is a great way to get connected with the community, and a fine way to share your love for Guild Wars. I believe that the time you invest can be very pleasant and rewarding!

Question: With the interest that we can expect from the professional gaming community for Guild Wars, how will "small" guilds still be present in the tournament ? Do you plan to have different levels of tournament ?

Answer: Well, you know my first reaction is going to be "But it's all about skill!" And I say this because I think it is becoming ever more apparent that the best guild is not necessarily the largest guild, and that the largest guild doesn't necessarily gain an advantage by its sheer size. Many of the best Alpha and Beta Test guilds are really quite modest in size, but as individuals and as a team, they are masters of the game. It is skill that drives their accomplishments.

I'd like to go into some details about the tournament structure: We really don't want to start hosting lower-level competitions, if you mean such things as a tournament for Level 10's. After all, the dynamics of the game are such that no one is going to remain Level 10 for very long. But perhaps the question is more about having different tournaments for various levels of accomplishment - the best fighting the best, the less-experienced or the less-skilled facing those on their same level. For that question, the answer is that we do have a scaled system already in place in the configuration of the guild challenge system.

You see, guilds all appear on a broad ladder, but they reside within a "fluid" structure that groups them with guilds of a similar record. If a guild that is low on the ladder decides to challenge a top-ranking guild, they have a chance to get a whole lot of points towards their record. But if they lose, they won't suffer a significant loss of guild rating. For random competition, guilds are generally matched against guilds of a similar record. Therefore, there are in fact different levels of tournament play built into the Guild Wars Guild versus Guild system, with enhancements always on the table for discussion and possible inclusion in a rolling update.

And lastly, we are going to have a lot of organized events with formats that are really well suited to the Guild Wars community. You can watch www.guildwars.com for news on upcoming events; I'm sure we'll have news about this in the weeks following E3, which takes place May 18 through 20. But I'll give you a little hint: We do have an exciting E3-related concept in the works right now that I think guilds are going to love. Just a little something that will be tons of fun! (And prizes are involved.)

Bonus Question: One little thing can really be inconvenient : not knowing who is sending private messages because it's a new character, even if he is your very best friend ! Do you plan any way to define some sort of 'generic' name that will always be associated with every character of a player?

Answer: I think there is something I can tell you that might help: Whenever friends create new characters, if they are on your friend's list, they will continue to show up, even if they are playing on a character you've never seen before. Let me give you an example:

You have a friend whose first character - the one you added to your Friends List - is named Mary Sunshine. Mary decides to turn to the Dark Side and creates a character called Deadly Viper. Now, you've never "met" Deadly Viper, but when you check your friend's list you'll see "Deadly Viper (also Mary Sunshine)" on your list.

Similarly if Mary/Deadly is a guild member, you'll see her with her current character and the name of the character with whom she initially joined your guild. I think this functionality of showing both the main character as well as the character currently being played will help ease any "Who is that person?" confusion. Yes, it does involve a quick check of the Friend's or Guild List, but that check will solve the identity mystery.

We are always open to suggestions about making the friends and guild lists the most user-friendly possible, and fan forums offer a great medium for letting us see your suggestions.

We send our appreciation to FixB and the team at MMORPGS.info - Guild Wars. Merci de la conversation !