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Server-run gilds in MMORPGs.
naldy
Member Posts: 26
Warning: This is one of those "what do you think" threads, just throwing an idea out there for you guys (and girls if any) to chew over and share your opinions on. This is not a flame.
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Would server-run (or game-run, however you look at it) guilds be possible? One of my desires ever since I began playing EQ1 was the ability to join a non-player-run guild. EQ1 had something like that, I guess, but it wasn't the same as a player-run guild, where raids were organized and such. I know it sounds crazy, but bear with me.
Basically, to put it in one sentence, it would be nice to have a server-run guild that would run like a player-run guild. That is, you'd get tells from the guildmaster saying "we need your help with <insert objective here" or have pre-scheduled group encounters and things like that every now and then. Maybe I'm not making any sense.
The reason for this is because there are benefits to joining a guild, however (depending on the guildmaster) many conditions imposed (like you have to be on at certain times for raids and the like) detract from the overall gaming experience. I for one solo a lot, but I have been a member of a guild (back in EQ1) and it was fun, but as I said imposed conditions took away some of that fun, and slowly it became more like going to work.
I understand that many MMORPGs who have guild systems may not be like this, I can only speak from my own experience. This is why I want to know what you guys think of my idea.
To summarize: Having a server-run guild(s) (that run like a player-run guild) as an option for those players who have no desire to join a player-run guild but would like to have the guild experience while having some flexibility. Sounds like a dream. =]
Again, your thoughts are appreciated.
Comments
I think this would be a marvelous idea for casual players.
My only comment is that there needs to be a way to kick out "bad seeds" and disrupters. Without a physical person running the guild, this becomes hard to manage.
Hmmm, I didn't think of that. Good call! Yes, I agree it would be hard to do. One solution I can think of is having GM intervention. Although it would not be a popular solution, to me it is an effective one. I was going to suggest having swear filters on and stuff, and if a player surpasses a certain amount of swears he would get booted, but that goes against freedom of speech and stuff. However, you can argue that server-run guilds needs to be "family-oriented". Then again, a player can be just as nasty not using swears as they can using them. It's a good point you made.
Everyone else: any thoughts?
I think you need to have a constant, central figurehead for the guild to be based on. Without one, as said before, it is alot harder to organize, and alot harder to agree on anything. If there were 1 GM assigned to just one guild forever, fine.
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More thoughts...
Perhaps the guilds could only be for certain levels. For example, a 10-20 Guild, a 20-30 Guild, and so forth. That way players could easily find others to group with and the guild wouldn't be overflowing.
Likewise, you could have different "tiers" of guild. 1st tier = Anybody can get in, 2nd tier = requires a moderately difficult quest to get in, 3rd tier = requires a very difficult quest requiring a full group to get in.
Damn, I must be dumb. Those are great ideas!! Both suggestions are great. Perhaps instead of assigning a GM, maybe a lower-level "higher-up" would suffice. Having one Guild Assistant (for a lack of a better title) for every 5 server-run guilds sounds like a good ratio. And all servers would have the same guilds. Also, having one server-run guild per class would be good, I wouldn't want to make it more complicated than that. If we take your latter suggestion on having tiers, then there should be some benefits associated with it, like having a percentage of experience bonus per quest/encounter, special abilities, or even something as simple as a decent discount from the merchants.
Anyone else have good ideas to share regarding this?
There was actually one game that had some sort of concept like this. It's called Fung Wan Online (or the North American version is called Storm Riders Online, which is actually going open beta for a week or two, so if you want to give this system a shout, go ahead).
Basically, you have 5 major "clans" of the game, and in the beginning, these clans are all NPC run. When a group of players decides they are high leveled enough, they can attempt to overtake the NPC leader of the clan and steal the relic, enabling them to run the clan. Then there are the usual positions, Minister, Master, Senior, and Member, and of course the Leader. Then these clans which are now player run can be taken over by another group of players if they do the same thing as mentioned above, except this time trying to take over the players, not the NPCs. It creates quite an interesting system, combined with the clan events they have, such as Assault the Town, Kill the Pillars, etc...
There are also smaller "guilds" which are totally player run, but they really don't have a major impact like the clans do.
I really loved the way this system worked, it was extremely fun, combined with the possible options you have, like taking a town or stealing another clan's relic for added bonuses. It was cool.