I get up at 6:30am, walk the dog, and clean the kitty litter. I quickly shave and ahower, put on my work cloths and head out the door. From 7:30am to 5pm I frantically run around at work going to meetings, resolving issues and training new people. As soon as I walk in the door at 5pm, I quickly cook the night's dinner (it its my turn), walk the dog , and do any daily choirs that my wife has set out for me. Once that is all done, I login into the guild website and in-game, then my second job starts!!
Being a guild leader can be an exhausting job, and I do mean job. The "guild leader" title was once just something I had while I played games but, as FoE grew, new processes came into place and the growth of the leadership pyriamid put me in aposition where I now put 15 to 20 hours a week doing work for a video game guild outside of the game! While the life of a guild leader can be hard work it is thoroughly enjoyable and full of challenges.
In the past five years (and still going) of being a guild leader, I think Ive seen it all. Many women -- and many shims -- have tired to flirt with me to make their way to the top; I've had pelple threaten to kill me, and people I wish I could kill; I've meet game developers and have been interviewed by both magazines and website blogs; I've heped people do their hoemwork and even given advice on life. Hell, I've even helped four members get married! When looking back at all of these experiences it has been well worth the troubles.
As the gaming industry grows by lengths and bounds so do household names in guilds. This puts greater pressures on guilds and guild leaders to become more "professional" with shinier websites, catchy names, and even guild logos. The days of old where a successful guild could get away with back-alley forums are long gone. In direct result, a plethora of cottage industies has popped up all over the IT community to suppport guilds and clans as they go through this transformation. Sites like Guildportal, GuildoMatic, and Guildcafe, make thier living by providing guilds a virtual home while they plow through the newest dungeon or kill their enemy in battle. As a guild leader you have to know your resources and use them wisely. A guild leader isn't jut a leader in a game but is also a tech savy decision maker for his community of players. Quickly, a guild leader wil have to decide where (not if) to host their site. Then there is the VOIP hosting that more often than not, is completely seperate provider than your web hosting.
On top of it all, guild leaders are faced with "people" challenges. Yes, being a guld leader means you have to deal with all the people who have had bad days. During the privilege of bing the FoE guild leader I've had people cry to me about their significant others, ask me what they should do at work or how they should interact with their girlfriend. Now granted these aren't major issues, but when you get a pissed off, angry member that got "shat: on throughout their day angrily taking out vengeance in guild chat, you as the guild leader have to uit up in your shit kickers and start working the guild leader magic.
Then there are the meetings. As with any organization, guilds MUST have meetings. That means, as a guild leader, I have to be Grand Pumba of the meeting, attempting to organize the next big raid to take down a dragon, or to determine the manning strength of the imperial faction on the next rebel base attack. Any successful guild must have its organization and what better way than a meeting. Personally, I have alwyas struggled with meetings. I want them to have meaning and an agengda, but a lot of times they just turn into, "hey this is what we are doing for the week..." But through it all the guild gets out there to make it happen!
And yet some where in it all, you have to make time to play the game. Even as I finish up this blog, I've put off playing TF2 to have a meeting wtih guild leadership so we can raise more funds for the guild and discuss the next FoEpod podcast. A guild leader's job is never done.