It’s strange to think that I, as one of the most anti-social people that I know, should love MMOs so much. You don’t know me, but I am the type of person who will do pretty much anything to avoid actually talking to someone on the phone. I can lead meetings (in my business suit/leader persona), but put me into a club or party where I don’t know anyone, and I’ll be petrified. I have an almost total inability to remember people’s names without keeping business cards, and if I’m honest I’ll admit that it’s probably because I just don’t give a damn about other people. I have my closed circle, my loved ones, and I’m happiest with them.
So why would I love games which pretty much force me to talk to and group with total strangers, many of them absolute tits? I don’t know. I like being able to see other people in game, it’s important to me to not be playing alone. I still hate pickup groups, but I love my guild.
And here’s where the title of this post ties in…I totally love the guild that I’m in now. This is a secret crush because it would be so uncool and geeky to tell anyone that. But they’re important to me in a way that non-gamers would never understand. They’re the people I hang with most nights – I spend more time with them than with my family. I raid with them, which (even though it’s completely virtual), still has a comrades-in-arms feeling to it. I trust these guys not to fuck up four hours of my night, as I feel an equal responsibility to do my best for them. Old and young, from everywhere from Spain to Russia, telling jokes in a rainbow of accents, they are my guys, and I have so much fun with them.
Part of it is leadership…we have a totally awesome guild leader/raid leader. Part of it is nice people bringing nice friends into the group. There’s very little backbiting or conflict (knock on wood). They tell jokes and get drunk and spam guildchat with the tunes they’re currently listening to. If you’re a couple of hundred gold short for something that you need, someone will get it to you. People get royally cussed out at times for messing up in raids, and no harm is done. It’s a nice place to be.
Sometimes, we make our own families. :)