Paper short abstract:

MMORPG is a vast genre of online games hosting millions of players from all around the world. Following raiding guilds my aim is to provide a deeper look into in-game communities of World of Warcraft, their roles, and interactions.

Paper long abstract:

Many online games allow their players to merge into small scale communities usually referred to as guilds. Using ethnographic methods of participatory observation, and both formal and informal interviews as well as my own experience as a long-standing player of MMORPGs this paper explores the world of such virtual communities. Guilds in World of Warcraft are volatile entities, often dying and being rebuilt by leftover players. Raiding guilds are also being greatly influenced by the ebb and flow of game content, as well as by skill and ambitions of each player. Such conditions create enormous pressure on leaders of the guilds - to keep the guild alive one needs to maintain a stable environment, with group of players of matching personalities and in-game skill. This presentation is following my master thesis' research based off several different guilds in WoW, pointing out what helps guilds stay together through both game induced issues, like content drought, and social problems, like formation of cliques, and what role does the redistribution of goods play in it.