When a Game Becomes a Job - World of Warcraft Raiding Guilds

"Why did you decide to apply for an open position here? Do you have any references? What time commitment can we expected from you? What might sound like a job interview to most, is indeed a typical application procedure - for top raiding guilds in World of Warcraft. They pride themselves in being the most skilled players and they are just as picky if it comes to select new members. Is this just tough corporate guy acting, or have player-made organizations evolved into something much more complex than ever anticipated?

For most of the six million World of Warcraft players, slaying the biggest dragons on the servers, getting the mightiest swords or becoming one of the most powerful mages is their biggest dream inside the game. There is just one little drawback: You don't get there alone. This is one of the reasons why players band together in guilds - groups of players with a common interest. For the really big goals, you need lots of friends. 40 is the maximum and often required number of players it takes to kill the mightiest dragons in ""WoW"" - the affectionate abbreviation World of Warcraft players use for their game. Guilds that specialize on those big hits, are being referred to as raiding guilds.

It's a little bit as if the table has been turned around on Super Mario. Instead of one hero fighting never ending waves of foes, it's groups and armys of players now fighting one big evil monster. These epic battles in the virtual realm require strategy, coordination and practice. Players discuss possible strategies in chats and forums, play together every evening to make their teamwork perfect, use headsets and Voice-over-IP (VoIP) software to coordinate their efforts vocally, watch videos on YouTube of other groups fighting them and read up on strategy guides how to beat the next big dragon in their path. They are full-time players, members of raid guilds.

Members of raiding guilds often recount their ""raiding schedules"" - sometimes with pride, sometimes with a tired sigh. Weekly attendance requirements usually have them play 5 hours on 4 evenings a week. And those time frames are meant only for actual raid encounters and do not include preparations inside and outside of the game. This of course leaves little free time for other activities, though most of them seem content with that. They work together to achieve a common goal and upon success, they see their long preparations and teamwork rewarded, while looking forward already to the next raid.

The level of organization becomes apparent when looking at the tools a leader of a raiding guild uses to manage his members:

- Guild portals to manage guild websites, news, member listings, openings and updates
- Forum software to facilitate discussions of strategies and publish announcements
- Server licences and servers for multi-conference VoIP applications
- Mailing software to notify members of emergencies and short notice raids
- Incentive databases to track raid attendance by members allowing to reward them accordingly with virtual items

There are dozens of different providers for guild portals, databases and game-specific VoIP programs that cater to the need of raiding guilds and other professional players. Software sellers adapt more and more to this emerging market and recognize the earning potential. The guild's requirements rise and the growing number of vendors suggest that they are taking their organizations serious enough to spend significant money on them.

Already there is a Leadership e-book on the market, written specifically for guild managers in World of Warcraft. The World of Warcraft Guild Management Guide (http://www.killerguides.com/guides/wow/guide/world-of-warcraft/guild) adds a game-specific twist to the self-help, how-to and leadership literature. It seems to be only a matter of time before the first guild consultants pop up.

Raiding guilds still seem to be in their infancy when looking at their recent and silent rise. Maybe the competitive members of those online game sports clubs manage to take things a little further. It happened before - take a look at the nationwide success, TV broadcasts and tournaments for the game Starcraft in Korea. If serious sponsors become interested, who knows - maybe dead dragons will soon be presented by Pepsi and you'll see Lenuvien, the Elf popping a can for the next commercial."