Guild Wars: What Can I Do?

Way back when I posted this. Because I believe at the time just as now that in an interactive medium like blogging it's up to the blogger to create the opportunity for people to interact with them. But also because I also when something goes wrong it's my fault not anything else's. In so many words, I expect others to be fulfilling their part of the bargain so any failings I assume to be my own. It's not exactly a healthy attitude but it means that when things go wrong I look to myself and what I can do to make them better. My first instinct then when I perceive a problem is – what can I do to help? It, you know, makes people think I'm actually nice and helpful.

Anyhow, there's going to be a massive tournament thing being put in place over the next few weeks in Guild Wars. Since one of the motivating factors to change from the preexisting ladder system to the automated tournament one was, as I understand it, just how difficult it is to pull together the tournaments that capped those ladder seasons off, I'm a bit concerned. The developers have had their (understandable) troubles putting together even 32 team tourneys and now they're going to be staging one with 50~5000 teams? I sense ruination and glitches ahead. I don't know, maybe I've been reading too many forums – there seems to be this pervasive spirit of doom and gloom hanging over the people posting, well, everywhere (Contrasted, of course, with the sort of willful disbelief that so aggravates members of the reality based community – ie “If we will ourselves to having fun we'll all get ponies! It's all the negative nellies who are the problem! Lockstep! Lockstep!” I'm not sure which one is worse, really.) that the game is suffering and people are leaving and it's all going to be awful. I don't know, maybe it's just because I've been around so long but the game has always lost players and the top of the competitive scene has always been turning over – look at the teams who cleaned up during the BWEs (Or the test. Or the early days of release.). Some of them are still around but, for the most part, those guilds are gone. LotD, for instance, used to be fearsome but for whatever reasons they pulled an e-dramatic exist. I don't think the game's poorer for it because other people got better. Better than LotD ever was although maybe if they'd stayed and played they might still be in the top tier. I'd like to name some other examples but I can't remember any of those other guilds that aren't around anymore. And that's my whole point – losing players is fine as long as you're pulling in new ones. So this idea that the game's being dumbed down and it's costing them skilled players is, I think, wrongheaded. Giving poorer players a reason to stick around isn't a bad thing because the better players are always going to find ways to play better – but they won't have anyone to play against if the middle tier's devastated because the barriers of entry are too high.

But, this tournament is going to be a big thing and it might be a disaster. So, of course, my first impulse is to say “Hey, how can I help?” And, you know, I'm not quite sure. Beyond thinking and discussing it (Which I can't very well do until I learn the rules.) I'm powerless here. At one point I had a much bigger stage than this little blog, though. So, if I was still running a forum (And I'm glad I'm not. I would have gone completely off the rails by this point.) and had that microphone in my hands, here's what I'd say:

Attention: Developers and Anyone Interested in Helping the Tournament Go Off Without a Hitch

We can argue over whether the game is healthy or not. We can disagree over whether it's headed in the right direction or not. But one thing I think we can all agree is that this upcoming tournament is important.

It might be here because the ATS is delayed and the devs are trying to quell the masses. Or it might be here because they're apologetic about an unexpected hitch and want to give us all something instead. The reasons don't matter. It's going to be here and it's a massive project. We're talking about a Swiss Tournament with potential hundreds of participants to register and schedule and just plain deal with. It's going to be the biggest tournament the developers have ever staged. And, let's face it, even smaller tournaments they've held have had their problems. There's nothing mysterious about that – with so many people and machines involved and so many things that can go wrong it's only natural that something will. It's only unnatural to assume that every contingency can even be known let alone prepared for. Mistakes, glitches, bugs, errors and plain dumb luck happen. And if you're on the ball you deal with them. That's how things go around here. That's how things go around the company where I work. And that's, I'm sure, how things go at ArenaNet.

Let's remember, though, that ArenaNet is, like most developers, a relatively small company. The number of people who comment here alone probably outnumbers their staff members. And the posters here represent just a small portion of the people actually playing the game. The developers have only so many people working for them and most of them are already involved in other matters – like working on fixing bugs or preparing the next expansion or answering e-mails or whatever else it is they do all day – matters that take precedence over making sure this tournament is planned and carried out successfully. The people who are going to be taking care of this kind of thing, then, are going to be a small and overwhelmed handful compared to the number who take part in it.

However, that doesn't mean that those of us who'll only be playing can't do our part. The sheer size and complexity of things here means that there's going to be some frustration – it's important to be patient and calm as fixes are made. And at the same time, every post, every comment, every time you take the time to make your voice known and your opinion heard even if it's a critical one, you're helping that process. If there's an error, report it. If you think there's a problem, bring it up. Just as with the Test Weekend when the details of this event are made clear, it's up to everyone of us to provide the developers with the feedback they need to make the improvements we'll benefit by. Remember, again (And you know who I'm talking to here. There is still no tolerance for anything out of bounds. Period. Not while I'm still around. Just try it and see if I'm kidding.), that we don't have the power to actually make any changes. All we can do is point out where we think the problems are and try to offer some constructive solutions. Even if you only agree with someone else's idea, don't be afraid to say why you think it's important.

That's a given, though, we're in the era of live testing and we're going to be communicating that very way all the time now. But, for something like this that's coming up so quickly and, from what I gather, being put together so hastily the role we, as a community, can play goes well beyond that. Recently, the community responded to the internet outages in souteast Asia with a welcome display of generosity. The collection and distribution of those Wintersday presents demonstrates that we as a community and as a forum can do so much more than just talk about things. Given the opportunity and the means, we can actually accomplish things in game and out that will actually change things for the better.

Well, what we have here is an amazing opportunity to prove just what the Guild Wars community is willing, ready, and able to do given the chance. I've been involved with other games and other forums and, honestly, I can't say I've found better people than the ones that play this game with me. We can do this.

This tournament is going to be a big project and each of us, in our own way, can help. So, here's what I'm proposing. To the developers, I'm asking for the details of what's being planned to be released as soon as possible. They don't have to be final, they don't have to be firm, but the more time we all have to go over them, the better. More than that, having those plans in hand allows us all to identify just what needs to be done in order to create this event. To the rest of us, I want us to pour over those plans and look for any snares that might develop, sure. But never having even seen them I imagine the biggest problem is going to be logistics – guilds need to sign up, matches have to be made, times have to be arranged, schedules and rules enforced. All this and more that's going to take up the organizer's precious time.

So, here's the thing: When I was in school (And, I'm probably dating myself here but I imagine others have had similar experiences.) when there was a snowday or some other emergency that required the school to be shut down the school would, of course, make an announcement. But they'd also have a list of volunteers they'd call. Let's say five of them. Just parents of students who'd signed up some time in the past. They'd call them up and say “school's closed, make your calls.” And those people would each call five more people. Who'd call the five people on their lists. And so on the chain would go until every parent of every child had gotten a phone call letting them know what was up. There were hundreds of students at my school but to get a phone call to us all it only took the school five calls. And a little advanced planning.

It's that sort of distributed network I'm talking about creating here. This forum, this website, and others have plenty of people who, I hope, have proven to the developers that we're hard working and dedicated to this game. Trust us with a small piece of the planning of these things – maybe even something as simple as sending out e-mails to all the guilds involved letting them know what time their match is and periodically reminding them to show up, we're not talking anything critical here. And we'll, in turn, go to our circles and trust more people to do their own small bits. Eventually, whatever it is, we'll have it covered with minimal effort on the organizer's part. And the time and effort we save them can be spent on other, more important things. If we can do something as altruistic as spread a little holiday cheer, then we can surely take on something that a lot of us care so deeply about. Even if we've never PvPed, I'm sure some of might help out if only to help out the community – this is the kind of thing that can help us set aside our differences and realize just what we have in common.

But even if that idea of volunteerism is nothing more than candyfloss in the noonday sun, my underlying concern remains. This is a big event and I'd like it to go off as smoothly as possible. Let the organizers think big, I'll think small: What, exactly, can I do to help?

If everyone here asks that question and finds their answer, I think we might just have something.

Then I'd probably ban a few people for good measure on my way out the door. But, then, I used to be good at that sort of thing. Actually, I'd probably just have fired off an e-mail to someone at ANet or something to see if there was any call for that sort of thing first but, back then, I liked to work behind the scenes.