MMORPG Guilds suck? Hardly

I was reading through Massively today when I came across a wonderful little gem. It seems that Embers of Caerus, an MMORPG that has not yet launched, is taking other games to task by saying the way they handle guilds sucks. This is then followed up by the “Massively comment crowd” with the standard response about how awful guilds are and the atrocities that they’ve committed. It is all pretty ordinary except for the fact that nobody took the opposite approach to talk about why we have guilds to begin with.

Unrealistic Expectations

When it comes to Forsaken Studios’ claim that guilds do not address the current social needs of MMORPG players I have to note the very obvious fact that they’re missing the point. They claim that a guild locks you in to one social circle and you miss out on all of the others. Imagine “that an adventurer could be part of both a thieving guild and a merchant troupe” Forsaken Studio’s says. Imagine that indeed. I have to ask them a question. What game forces players into guilds that are single faceted? What game defines guilds by a class or job? Please show me the MMORPG where I set up a “thieves guild” that is only a thieves guild and players are left with no other choices. I can’t think of one. Guilds take on certain cultures but they’re not one trick ponies. This is either an incredibly narrow view of how guilds actually work or just an attempt to get some publicity (well achieved on the latter FS).

What they really mean

Assuming this isn’t some sort of publicity stunt by Forsaken Studios I really think what they’re getting at is that MMORPGs lock you into a single chat channel. This actually has some merit. In my years of experience I have noticed that members rarely use player created channels. This is because these aren’t “built in.” They’re optional and it is something you have to join. Our alliance chat channel sees little to no use. There is also a lot less visibility into these types of channels and that unnerves people. They give a feeling of less attachment. These are “external people.”

Guilds offer a roster window to let you know who is on and who will see your chat. You become familiar with all of the people in your immediate circle. That gives the guild channel an additional advantage beyond just being there. This is the heart of what Forsaken Studios is getting at. They don’t actually mean guilds suck. They mean the channel creation system sucks. It would be nice to be able to see more “guild chats” than just the one. I still have to ask how many players this would apply to. There still aren’t thieves guilds and merchant troupes. This just benefits the person who may be friends with more than one group of people.

Boo guilds yay… uh… you know….

I delight in the ignorant player who hates on guilds. They really have no concept of how reality functions. Guilds do not exist because MMORPG developers say they must. Guilds exist because it is natural for human beings to join together into collectives to further their individual goals. In life there are always going to be tasks that require more than one participant. Those tasks require coordination and planning. Succeeding as a team is often one of the “feel good” moments that people seek. I marginally enjoy winning something alone. Yes it is nice but nobody is there to see it or share it with. What is the point? I delight in winning with my team. We bond, we share an experience, and we know we did well. You can’t translate that experience to a single person alone. That is why guilds exist.

I accept (but do not understand) that some people play online games to be alone. Unfortunately reality doesn’t work that way. Interacting with other human beings tends to be a criteria for success. If every MMORPG developer removed the guild window and the chat channel tomorrow we would still have guilds. Players would still collect to do the same activities they do now. They would still work together. They would still bond. Guilds are not forced on people by developers. People that know that working as a team is more conducive to survival and success ask for guilds. It is as simple as that. So to that I say, “Guilds suck? Hardly.”