Happiness in the Guild
(the conversation will be about an abstract game and abstract guilds for the sake of universality)
We come to the game to have fun, to become happier. And upon joining a guild, we hope it will make the game more interesting, which, in turn, will bring us more enjoyment. Sooner or later, the question of choosing a guild arises.
Sometimes guilds are categorized by types based on the main, most commonly encountered interests, broad and popular areas of the game. However, if we look at how the game is structured, it becomes clear that all its areas are mandatory - ignoring any of them makes it simply impossible to play. One can attempt to define the minimal degree of importance of each area, but whatever this degree is (regardless of the area), it is significant enough to always consider it as an element of the game without which there is no game. This is how it is laid out by the developers.
For example, PvE – without killing mobs, it is impossible to level up a character, and thus it becomes necessary to engage more seriously and deeply in other important areas of the game, some of which only become available at a certain level. The same applies to PvP – types of guilds that exclude PvP clearly do not allow the likelihood that they might be attacked by other players, and thus they will have to defend themselves actively (by attacking) or passively (by absorbing blows, enhancing their defenses).
From the example of these two important, integral areas of the game, it is evident that it is illogical to distinguish such types of guilds that supposedly do not engage in at least one of the important areas.
Nevertheless, guilds continue to classify themselves into types of such a system, explaining this by emphasizing the interests of their participants, thereby helping a person choosing a guild to determine more precisely (based on their hobbies, interests – so they can engage in them collectively, together with the guild).
There are only two most popular ways to accept a person into a guild:
- there are no criteria at all; each candidate is assessed at a psychological level, based on unwritten aspects – often it represents something like “a cool guy, we need to take him”;
- declared interests, hobbies based on which they plan to gather in the guild.
(a mixed variant is also found)
However, in practice, it is evident that even despite the declared specific, narrow interests, people still come to the guild who are interested in something completely different (to varying degrees). This happens because, as I mentioned earlier, the game itself assumes the player's actions in certain, important game areas. That is, in order to compensate for the focus on one specific area, people (consciously or unconsciously) are accepted into the guild who are also interested in other areas of the game.
As a result, this creates a multifaceted guild, which is actually normal, but despite this, participants in such a guild still feel a lack of something for complete happiness.
The matter is that both sides (people searching for a guild and the guild) approach the question of what they actually want incorrectly:
- people choosing a guild, looking at the hobbies that are supported in the guild, that is, what its members are interested in, in order to select such a guild where they can engage in their own individual hobbies collectively with others, hoping to gain some inexplicable pleasure from it (this need is often called “good company”);
- the guild communicates information about what its members are interested in and engaged with, closing this circle.
In fact, to understand what and why a person lacks for complete happiness in a guild – one must turn back and look at what a person needs in the game, what they desire to be happy. They have personal, individual hobbies in the game, engaging in which they derive pleasure. A guild can help a person gain more pleasure from their own hobbies, for example, by freeing them from banality and absurdities (which are plentiful in real life), expanding their hobby, giving more opportunities for interesting realization of a person in their hobby.
This sounds a bit selfish, yet it logically culminates in the idea that represents the following:
When choosing a guild, a person needs to first understand what they enjoy doing in the game and determine their hobby that brings them pleasure.
Unfortunately, sometimes people do not even know what they want – numerous applications for membership sent to me are proof of that. But how can one be happy if they do not even know what could make them happy? They cannot, unless they wait for someone to guess, but that is unlikely – not waiting, one often gets offended that no one read their mind while they were too lazy to even think about it.
Having determined their hobby, most people move on to search for those guilds whose members are passionate about the same hobbies – thus committing the key, fundamental mistake.
For a guild to help one become and be happier – it is necessary to understand what (in qualities, characteristics, features) guild will help with the hobbies that are of interest to you. That is, a guild is needed such that it makes it more interesting, easier, more efficient, faster, more fun to engage in your individual hobbies, and therefore, to gain more enjoyment, happiness.
To elaborate, each of the important, integral areas of the game (characteristics of the guild) must be developed to a certain degree so that on one side it does not pressure with excessive development, while on the other hand, it is well-developed enough to exert a positive, favorable influence on your hobbies.
At the moment, I have formed a representation of such directions/characteristics of the guild:
- Strength (including organization, experience in military affairs) in PvP and in PvE (both in the allods and in the astral),
- Wealth (money, property, ownership),
- Collectivism (both in general and gathering resources for crafting, for example),
- Positive reputation, popularity,
- Worldview (goals, ways to achieve them, moral values),
- Participation in associations, organizations, unions,
- Being an initiator or one of the founders of projects, associations, organizations, unions,
- Seriousness (all other directions are effectively, well represented, fundamental, worthy in terms of quality).
At the same time, all directions are interconnected – they influence each other, representing qualities, sides, of the same guild.
For example, one can be a positively known slacker (example: Leroy J.) – in this situation, the notoriety is great, but seriousness is small. And one can be a known warrior, having proven themselves with their experience, sound mind, ideas, whose opinion is always listened to carefully – here, both notoriety and seriousness are at a high level.
I will elaborate on one characteristic - how “strength” affects the gaming area of “crafting”:
Assuming that I like and want to engage in crafting, as well as the related resource gathering and trade – the following benefits for this hobby arise in a guild with a high “strength” characteristic:
- knowing about the guild's strength, most will avoid me, and only a few weak, unestablished pirates will satisfy my small need for PvP – that is, I can trade calmly,
- enough strength to have the ability to gather resources in the quantity and quality I need,
- a large number of warring people in the guild gives a constant and stable demand for my products (which also levels up my crafting skills),
- warriors need commanders for effective use of strength, and they are often outstanding warriors who can meet my need for expensive, special orders (I mentioned the ability to gather rare resources above),
- the developed crafting (and the constantly increasing level of my crafting) will allow me to trade on the side, in the scales I wish.
Thus, there might not be any collectiveness in crafting within the guild, but its characteristics will make a hobby such as crafting much more interesting and the one who is passionate about this hobby happier.
If the guild declares specific points, the degree of development of each characteristic (a five-point scale seems to me the most suitable), then this:
- will be the realization of the stated idea (simultaneously moving away from the absurd division by types of game areas),
- will prompt people to determine for themselves what brings them pleasure and what they desire.
(The consequence of this will be increased compatibility between people and the guild and an increase in individual happiness levels)
In continuation, I plan to talk about how such an idea should contribute to the creation of a guild (including the acceptance of participants), so that people within it truly find enjoyment and become happier. I will also express my opinion on why characteristics of the guild should not be dynamically changing depending on the interests of its participants, i.e., why the scores of characteristics should be clearly fixed.
GrayHunter (Dobrynya), Leader of The Guild of Light
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Your opinion, comments?