Taking a guild across games
by Mike Schramm 
Jun 12th 2007 at 1:54PM
Now, I've played a little Xbox with my WoW guildies, but when it comes to cross-game guilds, that's as far as my experience goes. I used to play in a guild in Dark Age of Camelot, but I can't remember their name, much less know if they ever brought their game over into World of Warcraft.But Guildcafe has an interview up with Lords of the Dead, and these guys define cross-game guilding. They've been around for 12 years, playing all the way back from Ultima Online up to WoW (and now they're making plans, apparently, for WAR.
So how do you keep a guild together for 12 years? In the interview, they extol the virtues of "rules, policies and requirements," which makes sense-- you either follow the rules, or you're out of the guild before you can cause drama. In addition, LotD is able to build a strong guild leadership for every game they play-- a good leader will help any guild survive, and great leadership across games is how LotD did it. An interesting read for guild leaders and members alike-- have you been able to follow or lead a guild into or out of WoW?
[ via Curse ]
Filed under: Guilds, Interviews
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Coherent Jun 12th 2007 2:15PM
Drow on Doomhammer is a multiple-mmo organization, although I've never been a member. They started as a Quake clan and they've moved on from there. I've also known people who came from guilds that had moved from game to game.
The problem with these guilds is that they usually have rules that absolutely require no outside affiliation. If you're a member of Drow, you can't be a member of ANY other guild or organization.
My friend also had that problem. He was a member of a close-knit guild from another game, but they weren't interested in raiding or progression. We were a strong raiding guild with a good progression, so he would come with us, but apparently his other guild found out and kicked him out for it.
In the end, he said it was glad it had happened, because the cross-game guild hadn't offered him the opportunities, admiration (he was a good warrior), or camaraderie that we did, and we were as ephemeral as they come, one of those mayfly guilds that smashes their way through MC and BWL and then disintegrates in a glorious sunburst of drama. But he said he had more fun with us than with the more "serious" guild that had chapters in every game.
Todd Jun 12th 2007 3:05PM
I'm the Guildleader of Esoteric Order and have been for 7 years (the entire length of the guild).
I attribute our success to two sets of rules - the public guild rules and my own personal guidelines.
Guild rules:
Have Fun
No Drama
Don't Suck
Be a Team Player
My rules:
Respect Your Members and the Guild Culture
Laugh At Yourself
Control is Bad, Order is Good
I am Responsible for being the custodian of members' time
Listen More Talk Less
Pingmeister Jun 12th 2007 3:11PM
I have been in the same guild since Quakeworld. We've done Tribes, Counter-Strike, Team Fortress, Battlefield 2, Dark Age of Camelot, WoW and it's for one reason: We're not gamers.
We're online friends (I've only met one in real-life of the 60+ members) who suck at games but have "known" each other for 10+ years.
Every game we play we just have a great time.
We've got a few hardcore folks within the group, but they understand that with the rest of us fun takes a priority over winning.
Great bunch of folks.
Anon Jun 12th 2007 4:58PM
I just play every game with my friends I know in real life, everything from consoles to the PC.
The Crowing One Jun 13th 2007 7:55AM
I wish I knew if any of my old guild buddies from AOL NWN were still around...
sneth Jun 13th 2007 2:50PM
Some of our people have been together since diablo and UO charter. They become your friends like anyone you know irl. You lose some along the way, but you gain just as many. Watch the drama, as it passes us by.
The most important thing: be prepared for good times and bad. Sometimes you cant find enough for a 5man, other times you have too many for a 10man...