At first I was going to post this in the Officers section but I really think this is for all eyes.

This game, or rather the players involved, have changed drastically. It seems the majority of players want the quick fix, the instant gratification, the inability to function independently.

This Alliance of Guilds had it's inception with one focal point. Friendships. Not friendships as in "oh I play with him once in a while, I think his name is Gunter" but more like "He is a Hydrologist. His kids names are Eric, Christian and Alexandra and he like Chocolate pies and Bubblebaths". it was a more intimate setting and the game was usually secondary. it was far more important to just know each other then it was to accomplish XX objective. Things changed over time, ebb and flow as it were, but it usually remained similar.

When I came back in December of '07, I felt out of place. Not because of not knowing the game well anymore, but because the people in TSK seemed to know each other well and I felt the outsider. Now, leading TCK I see the same ebb and flows and it gets easy to be discouraged but I still think there is something to fight for.

For a time we went on a growth rampage in this alliance. More guilds, more people. It seemed to flourish for a while but despite efforts to keep people busy with events and being helpful, it seems it is all crashing down. Through a little analysis it is pretty easy to see what has happened. Officers spent hours and hours devising events to keep people involved or tutoring them in the game. People show up for an event once for the novelty of it. Half the attendance the second time. Then nada for the third. Leadership becomes discouraged. Stops trying. People become more disenchanted. The defections begin.

I myself was on the verge of ditching the game/guild twice. I take things personally so each person leaving hurts. But the other night a conversation with Nicolette (Game Nurse One) really helped me change my attentions focus. She pointed out that instead of looking at the negatives of the defections and turmoil, too look at the core group of our guild. They are friends first. They like each other. They play together. They can function independently when no one is able to join them. No selfish goals. No self centeredness. Basically she made me realize that if the other 80 members on my roster vanished, we would still have 15 of us that will still be at it each day and maintaining our "Family".

I got a Build Guru, a Skill analyst, 3 or 4 flamboyantly loveable twits, a couple old men, a mother and son, a devout family man, a few kids, a husband and wife, a middleaged dad and his 20 something son, and me. What an unseemly bunch. How do they exist? No common goals or skill levels. It's very simple. It's the quality of person, not quality of player that makes it work. The great player would rather play with the inept friend then a bunch of self centered know it all go getters.

It is easy for a Guild/Alliance to function with a common goal: GVG'ing....AB'ing...Title pursuit. We don't have that focus. We like to do a little of everything. All we got in common is each other.

I guess what I am trying to say, is maybe it is time to focus on Quality and not quantity. Quality of person and not quality of player.

I think this guild and alliance are worth saving. Help me and us find a way to make it work again. Screw the rest that don't get it.

Please give responses that are usefull and positive. Lets see some voices.


Pampered One (Gunter)

I agree, having a large guild/alliance is nice, but at the cost of everyone being like strangers I'd rather have a
small one. I'll be honest here, I'm not a big fan of the whole alliance thing. Now don't read into that more than
is there. The current alliance works cause those that lead the guilds or did at one point were all in either TSK
or TCK, so they know what it is all about and what the goals are and what is expected of the members.

When you throw in another guild/s their goals and expectations are usually gonna be different and it will work for
awhile but always falls apart. We're not faction farmers, we don't do elite missions everyday all day, we don't
farm like crazy (ok well some of us don't ) I've seen, what I think, 3 alliances come and go now, same thing always
happens, one guild leaves because of some stupid thing and usually takes another with them, people in the guilds that
are left get frustrated and some leave their guild, some just stop playing, and this leads to the whole alliance falling apart.

So I think we should just concentrate on what we have now. Let the current membership get to know each other more by
doing missions that need done or people that are going for titles to get together. Plus this is a slow time for gaming.
People are going back to school, vacations are over. So they don't have as much time to play as they did over the summer, happens every year.
Not to mention that GW is 3 years old and some of the "old timers" are just tired of playing.

In the end it will all work out, one way or another.

Thanks for commenting Vane.. I had hoped more people would.. but you take what you can get.

I do believe in what gunter is saying.. and not just because I am one of the people that are involved in that "core group". I would try to imitate this in any Guild / clan / stable/ alliance/ or whatever else you want to call it, that I am a part of.. because it is really what makes the game fun.. the game is just a vehicle for interaction with people that you enjoy being around. If you dont have that.. eventually the individual wants and desires orbiting around the game's goals will drive the group apart.

I will say that it's not easy to do.. finding the core group has been one of the most difficult challenges TCK faced. But it is also the one that has reaped the most benefits.

This philosophy can and should be applied at the alliance level.

Just my $0.02

James