The Guild Counsel: Are you in a guild?

I'd like to do a little experiment for this week's Guild Counsel, and I need your help. In years past, studies have been done that showed the importance of guilds in MMOs. (And by guilds, I mean any organized grouping of players, be it a clan, empire, corporation, etc.) Back in 2008, Dr. Nick Yee's Daedalus Project showed that 89% of respondents had at least one character in a guild. But over the past few years, the MMO landscape has changed dramatically, and those changes could have an effect on the number of players who actually join guilds. Over the next few weeks, I'm planning on taking a closer look at this topic.

So I'd like to do a very unscientific poll, and I'm seeking your input. Read on for a look at a few factors that might affect the importance of guilds, and then let me know in the poll below -- are you in a guild?

The crowded field

The MMO landscape has grown dramatically over the past few years. Not only are there many more titles overall, but there is also a greater variety of MMO genres available. It's no longer dominated by elves and dwarves; you can drive a tank, play a sport, survive the apocalypse, or be a superhero. There are more and more games based on popular IPs, and the demographics include a greater variety of players than ever before. More people are playing MMOs, but how many of them join a guild? With so many titles competing for attention, players might not stick with one long enough to want to join a guild.

Free-to-play

If anything, the past two years have shown that free-to-play is all the rage in the MMO industry. Many older games are moving toward this model, while many future titles are being designed around cash shops and flexible payment models. If you combine that with the sheer number of MMO titles, it's easy for a player to jump from game to game, which makes it harder for guilds to attract and retain members. Ironically, guilds can be the glue that encourages free-to-play players to spend that first buck and stick with a game longer. But does that outweigh the appeal of being able to have a dim sum of MMOs? It's possible that the free-to-play model has caused guilds to be less relevant today.

Solo is king

In early MMOs, you had a hard time making any progress if you chose to go it alone. That made guilds important because players needed to band together in order to succeed. But today, MMOs are much more solo-friendly. While multiplayer content is still out there, you can choose not to do it and still find fun and engaging things to do in game. That also means players can choose to forego guilds and still enjoy their MMOs of choice.

Guilds are not just about survival

On the other hand, with MMOs offering a greater variety of content, guilds have taken on a new look. Guilds used to be mainly about survival, whether it was surviving group and raid content or surviving the harsh landscape of world PvP. Now, though, there are lots of different types of guilds, and it's a lot easier to find one that fits your own interests, both in and out of game. Because of that, guilds might have an even greater appeal than in years past.

The social network

The rise of social media such as Twitter and Facebook have led people to accept the notion of online communities. We have online friends and social circles, and we follow each other's daily updates. It would be natural for MMO players to not only accept the validity of guilds but want to be a part of one, since it's just an extension of what millions do every day through social media. In addition, with many MMOs using social media to make their presence known, there's a good chance that the pre-made social circles of Facebook will stick together if those friends choose to try out an MMO.

Bad taste and burnout

While there are many terrific guilds out there, there is also an unfortunate number of rotten apples. Players who have joined guilds in the past might have been subjected to drama, hostile chat, immature players, and terrible leaders. Those who leave might very well decide not to go down that road again, regardless of what game they're playing. Other players might have been so invested in their favorite guilds that they suffered from burnout and had to step back. While it's definitely possible to find a guild with a more relaxed atmosphere, I've run into many players who refuse to join a guild because they fear they'll get too invested again, either because of peer pressure or their own self-pressure. As a result, there are players who would probably enjoy the game more with the right guild, but their bad past experiences have caused them to shy away from it completely.

Once a guildie, always a guildie

On the other hand, good guilds that retain members for years and years actually transcend the games in which they began. It's no coincidence that newer games like RIFT and Star Wars: The Old Republic have ways for guilds to get their name out there and even recruit prior to launch. Guilds that move from one game to another tend to move en masse, and even members who might have taken a hiatus will come back to rejoin their friends. For many, the game isn't fun if they aren't with their friends, and they'll go where the guild goes.

These are just a few factors, and I'm sure many of you have several others that determine whether or not you choose to be part of a guild. Do you prefer to play your MMOs as part of a larger organized group, or do you like to have the freedom of going it on your own? Help me out by participating in the poll and share your thoughts below!%Poll-70499%

Do you have a guild problem that you just can't seem to resolve? Have a guild issue that you'd like to discuss? Every week, Karen Bryan takes on reader questions about guild management right here in The Guild Counsel column. She'll offer advice, give practical tips, and even provide a shoulder to lean on for those who are taking up the challenging task of running a guild.