In my younger days of gaming, finding a clan when I got a new game was almost top priority. I had to be with a like-minded group of gamers who were looking to get into MLG or some other tournament. I wanted my shot at fame with the only way I knew how: video games.
Those days came and went with my middle-school/high-school career. Since then I have stopped looking for any type of competitive clan, and now search far and wide for the type of gaming community that plays multiple games on multiple platforms. Finding the right one is not as easy as you may think.
For the working gamer, generally 18-years old and up, it is difficult to find a group willing to take you in and deal with the daily occurrences that you have to handle.
Many are still looking for dedication beyond all measure; you need to be playing with them and only them. You need to be on their Teamspeak 3 server or Ventrilo or in one of their parties on a console. You play with their members on their servers even if those servers are completely empty.
I came across a community just like this the past week. In order to become a full-fledged member you had to break an arm and a leg getting to know them for a few weeks. Playing with them daily helped, but you had to be in their voice chat. The problem is they lock their rooms so new players cannot enter them, nor can they message any admin to have them moved. I personally sat there for an hour or so before decided to leave. No one in the community cared to move me so I could get to know these people and join their community.
I don’t have time for this. I want to play good games with good people. I’m not applying to a second job just so I can have some fun after work. This forced me to give up my search for some time. You would think with the release of the next-gen consoles people would be clamoring for players to be in a clan or community. The problem is finding the right one.
#ForeverAlone.
Not quite. Like-minded gamers are out there and they are searching for people to play with. Just last night I found myself in discussion with a former U.S. soldier who was looking to find some good people to game with. He is single-handedly paying for everything a clan needs so it can get off the ground. These types of clan/community leaders are needed. Those who are all in and looking to truly make a good experience for the members by giving them a place to commune and meet up to play together.
It’s not quite off the ground yet, so it is still hard to say whether it will be a worthy group. But I’ve got a good feeling about this one. These folks are just looking for a good time. They work as much as I do, daily, and some over night. They want to unwind with some good friends, have a beer and load up Battlefield 4. I’m down for this.
I used to run a gaming community in my final years of high school. In its prime we had over 100 members, multiple servers, a voice server, a paid, professional website and plenty of fun to be had. I would love to be able to dedicate this level of time into a future group. However, being older and working and school, I just don’t have that time to create the group I would like to anymore. I’ll leave that to those who can manage their schedules better.
If you’ve got a gaming clan or community story to share, please do so in the comments below. I would love to hear about the time you and your friends started up a clan in Call of Duty or had a mass gathering of guild members in an MMO.
