The Guild: What is it?
For those of you who don’t nerd out quite as much as I do when it comes to fantasy video games, you may be unfamiliar with the internet sensation Felicia Day, and her hit internet series The Guild.
If you didn’t already know, The Guild is an internet series, with episodes ranging from three to eight minutes, that play off of the antics of dedicated a hardcore MMO guild called The Knights of Good. As the series evolved, it moved from the playful stereotypes of an extremely addicted MMO guild, to a group of over the top nerds that have over exaggerated geek drama. I’m not going to clarify what the geek drama is, just go watch the show and see for yourself (an entire season of The Guild is only about the length of a normal movie).
One thing I wanted to explore is whether or not the stereotypes seen in this show, of dedicated MMO players, have any truth to them. From personal experience I can confidently say that, although dramatized, The Guild accurately portrays a lot of behaviors and habits common to dedicated MMO guilds.
So What Are Those Habits?
The Guild portrays a group of 6 remotely connected people, all of whom are part of the Knight of Good (their guild). And within the first two seasons a lot of MMORPG stereotypes are thrown at people. Many people watch The Guild and think “there is just no way gamers like that actually exist,” but I am here to tell you that they do and I was one of them.
The Guild portrays the main cast as having specific schedules for raids, and punishments for missing said raids. On the social front, the characters are rather estranged as they often run into issue when actually trying to socialize IRL (in real life). The Guild even presents it’s main characters as different classic stereotypical personalities often imagined in games like WoW or Guild Wars 2. There’s the stay at home mom, the incredibly cocky teenager, the overly aggressive and personally empowered young woman, the guy who is basically a professional guild leader, the player who knows far too much about the game, and the overly depressed girl who seeks the approval of her guild. It sounds like a nerd sitcom, but all of the personalities, as well as the job-like scheduling, is very much a real practice in MMORPGs.
Now, I am not ashamed to say I have been in one of those intense guilds. I used to play TERA Online heavily, and I know several people who were in some of the top PVP guilds on the Terenas server in WoW. Whether it was a hardcore PVP guild or a dedicated PVE guild, both had very strict schedules when they would practice PVP and run the hardest dungeons and raids. Being a part of these guilds was nearly a job because everyone had their own responsibilities and were scolded when they didn’t perform.
Often times, as seen in The Guild, hardcore guildies would set up “roll systems” and tier based distribution systems for how loot was given out; turning the act of running a guild into a full fledged, multi-faceted business of sorts that required extensive planning, recruitment, and the management of a large community. Now this level of commitment may sound foreign to you, but it is how a lot of players in many of the MMO’s today operate; and let me tell you, it is a lot more fun than it sounds. Being able to immerse yourself in a game with a community that can aid you in further exploring the world that has been constructed is a really enjoyable experience, and is made better the more you get into it.
Okay So What’s Your Point?
The reason I’ve pointed out the aspects of the MMORPG culture is two fold. The first is that I really encourage you to find a great MMORPG, with a large player base, that you can get into. Although there is a strong social stigma, and indeed a lot of social stereotypes, surrounding people who are very dedicated MMO fans, it does not mean you will live out those stereotypes. It really is worth exploring one of those extensive games, because there is true care and passion put into each of the millions of exciting details. The second reason is that The Guild is just worth checking out. The writers and actors do a fantastic job making the stereotypes fun and relatable while keeping them ridiculous enough to not be offensive or boring. It is a great day when you can chill out, throw on a season of The Guild, and immerse yourself in your new MMO.
