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The Guild Counsel: Is shared interest in an MMO enough to justify a guild?
It all starts out so innocently. A few friends are casually chatting and realize they all are excited about an upcoming new MMO. Maybe a group of gaming bloggers connect over their shared appreciation of a certain game. Or even here at Massively, readers notice that there are many others who share their positive impressions of a game's launch. Next thing you know, someone suggests that it would be a great idea to start a guild, and the roller coaster begins. Forming a guild based on a shared interest in a game doesn't guarantee success, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it. It does come with its own unique set of issues to address early on, however. Let's take a look at these connoisseur guilds and how to make them work in this week's Guild Counsel.
Alter-Ego: Let's get this character started
This week, I'm going to start off with a bit of controversy. Are you ready? Here goes: I actually think the DC Universe Online character creator makes sense in terms of its costume limitations. Now, before you come at me armed with pitchforks and hateful comments, hear me out. Looking at DC Universe Online as part of the greater DC Universe, I note that not all heroes are welcomed by the public -- and villains even less so. There are no "Costumes R Us" on every street corner, and there aren't copies of "Superpowers for Dummies" one can snag from the shelves of the local bookstore. As much as we may know as players ahead of time, our characters are assumed to not have the same level of knowledge from a story standpoint. In short, new characters are not going to roll out of the creator as a fully realized Captain Badass or Madame Awesome. Instead, new heroes and villains would probably be highly confused about any powers that showed up out of the blue. Once they've come to grips with the basics, only then would they likely be trying to piece together a new secret identity with all the gusto that someone with a glue gun, duct-tape, and half-remembered sewing lessons from 7th grade home economics classes could muster. To a character starting out with basic knowledge, character costumes would probably look like someone threw a goth and a cosplayer in a blender and then added a dash of drag queen for extra fierceness. Call it an edge of realism. Thankfully, SOE has saved our characters from their first embarrassing steps involving costume malfunctions by offering a number of cool-looking yet basic options in the character creator. As you level, so do your powers -- and your gear. Now that I've gotten your blood boiling (or hopefully a chuckle or two), it's time to dive into the first days of being a hero or villain in DC Universe Online. For those of you who have already jumped in and are well on your way, don't worry -- I haven't forgotten you. I'll also be adding in some tips and tricks I've picked up from playing as well as telling you how you can join up with us in-game as part of a heroic new League: Massively Overpowered!
Exploring Eberron: You can go home again
It's less common these days, but it used to be that many of the Massively staff's friends, family, and readers thought we had a great gig because we got paid to sit around and play games all day. Thankfully, that assumption comes around less and less nowadays -- most of the Massively staff finds very quickly that the job reduces our gaming time rather than allowing us free rein. So wait, what on earth does this have to do with Dungeons and Dragons Online? Well, my schedule has cramped my DDO time so severely lately that it could very well be called a hiatus. Recently, my husband had the day off work, so I assigned him full parenting duty, locked myself away, and logged into DDO for some uninterrupted playtime. OnedAwesome officers Aunwiira and Tebraen joined me, and Brian "Psychochild" Green jumped in partway through to join the fun too. I enjoyed some great playtime with some great company, and it started me thinking about the Massively DDO guild as well as the implications of rejoining an MMO after time away. Follow along after the jump for more!
