The world of clans in online games – Part 1

By Michael Lafferty

Clanrecruiter.net addresses the need of players looking for a clan

The U.S. Marines may be looking for a few good men, but some organizations are looking for a few good dwarves, orcs, trolls, elves, tumeroks and any assortment of strange beings.

If you have ever played an online game, whether a shooter or one of the massively multiplayer role-playing titles that are out there, you likely have either been in or seen clans or guilds – association of players who pool their talents and resources to pit themselves against the game and other players.

This is the first part of this two-part look at clans, and it will get the perspective of clans from those behind a Web site that is devoted to hooking up players with existing clans. In part 2, we will hear from the leader of an established clan and get his take on what it means to be part of a clan.

Clans can run the gamut from a loose association to a tightly regimented organization with a hierarchy and definite roles within the clan. They can be gangs, or a microcosm of a dictatorial or monarchial system of government. Players can be drawn in for a variety of reasons – whether just to have an in-game group to experience the game with or to talk to, or because they wish a more immersive experience. These groups are self-governing and while they may adhere to the general rules of the game they play, they often have an internal set of rules and regulations.

Philip Morton and Gary Tomlinson of www.clanrecruiter.net talked with GameZone about their views on clans and how their Web site will facilitate putting players and clans together.

Question: Allegiances/Guilds/Clans are really starting to come into their own. While there have been clans in FPS titles like Tribes and Unreal Tourney, and Half-Life, the MMPs are really starting to show the necessity and viability of the association. When people come to Clan Recruiter, what do you think they are primarily looking for?

Philip: I think most people who visit Clan Recruiter are either looking for a group of people to play with or looking to find more players for their own group. Basically, they want to find other gamers who play similar games to them.

Q: In your estimation, what is the best reason for people to become part of a clan?

Philip: There are quite a few reasons for joining a clan and it's hard to pick the best. People get involved in clans to get away from the public servers, which may be fraught with cheating and team killing, or they may just like the competitiveness that comes with tournaments.

Gary: I think the main reason for joining a clan is to be a part of something that is co-operative. Many people tire of the playing by yourself all the time and look for a way to be more interactive with other gamers online. Clan provide a nice way to make friends and play together developing tactics and generally finding ways to work as a team, whether this be to fight other clans or just to play against computer AI.

Q: Before delving too deeply into clan aspects, tell us a little bit about your site. What do you offer clans and people looking to get into one? Are you merely the link between players and clans or do you hope to take it further?

Philip: We offer a place where clans can post up their contact details and free players can do the same. Having both clan and player listings on the same website is a great resource both for players and clan leaders.

Q: Your site seems primarily focused on shooter titles. Do you have plans to expand into fantasy MMPs? What is involved in getting hooked up with MMPs?

Philip: The current games on Clan Recruiter are the ones we deem to be the most popular with clans. We get requests for other games daily though, ranging from the fairly obvious to the outright obscure. We are looking into adding more RPG-orientated games, so keep an eye on the site in the next few months.

Q: What do you think is the responsibility of a clan from the leadership perspective and from the membership?

Gary: I think the only requirement for the clan leader is to ensure that all the players in the clan get along with each other. If he can achieve this, the clan itself will then look after itself. This duty can encompass many aspects, however; for instance, mediating in arguments between members and dishing out any necessary punishment (usually just a warning to calm down or behave to expelling the member from the clan if the offending player threatens to destroy the clan). It can also mean organizing events to keep his members interested, from simply interacting between the players to organizing events, which doesn’t necessarily mean he has to organize them all but just ensure that someone in the clan is capable of willingly doing so.

Clanrecruiter.net's Gary Tomlinson formed a clan
which migrated to Planetside.

Q: Do you belong to a clan, and if so, what was your motivation in getting involved in one?

Philip: I used to belong to a clan which played Battlefield 1942 and it was most enjoyable, but a lack of time to play meant I had to quit. I joined the clan because I was tired of the public servers. I wanted to play Battlefield more tactically and with a team I know I could trust. I now play Battlefield 1942 in Global Conflict, which has 60 player-organized battles with flexible timings, so I can play when I have time.

Gary: I formed my clan 'The Blade Order' after the guild I was a member of in Ultima Online collapsed due to personality clashes within the membership. From my previous answer regarding what is the duty of a clan leader, I learned from this, not to expand the membership of a clan too quickly without first getting to know the players and letting the players get to know new members. The clan itself didn’t expand beyond 10 members until more recently when we started to play Planetside, and now we have about 40 members of which about half are now regular players and we all consider each other good friends even though only a few of us have met each other (until July when I am organizing a day of Paintball as a good way to get us all together).

Q: As games evolve, do you think that publishers and developers will cater more to clans, or do you foresee games leaving the clan system pretty much as it is and focusing on other elements?

Philip: I think that like modifications, developers are gradually catching on to how supporting them can boost their game's popularity and thus sales. Quite a few games now launch with mod support and editing tools to encourage modding. Whether we'll see this with clans and how they could integrate them more into games is questionable though.

Gary: I think this is inevitable. With the sheer amount of players that play in clans it is the only foreseeable way to really add new and interesting features to games that, and if we are truly honest here, are becoming a little stale in terms of variety of content. All MMOG's incorporate clans to some extent and it’s only a matter of time before non-MMOG's catch up.

 
The other thing I'd like to see are games that support co-op play a lot more. Quite often I'd like to play a single-player game and just enjoy the company of a few friends to play it with – like Neverwinter Nights for example.

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