Pugnacious Priest's Warcraft Blog

Is a ingame committment the same as a real life committment?

Its hard to explain to a non raider – or even a  non gamer that the answer to that question is most often YES! ( forgetting real – real life emergencies or unforseen circumstances but use your common sence.)

My current guild uses Calander where we need to sign up for each raid at least 1/2 an hour before each raid.  First signed up does not get you a garanteed run unless you are a Core Raider ( long term Guild raider)  Everyone else gets picked based on who else sign up and required classes for the raid.  Whats good about this is that you can update your availability and add notes. Eg.. Yes but I will be 10 min Late.  This system works but I have found that it does lead to some favourtism if more then whats required is signed up. Eg at easter we had 42 sign up for a 25 man raid. So we ran a 25 and a 10 so most got a raid, just maybe not what they wanted.

An Old guild began to use a Calander to post the raid, but didnt do sign ups. So at Raid start time we wouldn’t know where 2 of our people where because they didnt tell anyone they were late/not comming.

One Sat night I was out, and a guild wanted to do some more raiding back in the early days of Kara. I was like. Nope sorry have plans. But if I leave early I will email one of you and let you know. ( mobile Hotmail FTW ) and I did that – to tell them I wasn’t going to be home any time soon much to the amusement of my friends who laughed when I told them I was emailing my guild to let them know I wasnt comming home.)  Good thing I didnt rush home or canx with my friends as 2 people who said they would be there never turned up and the raid was cancelled anyway,

I have friends who ask imprompt on a friday after work -Lets go out for dinner/drinks, and I have to say no because I’ve signed up for a raid that Im not even gauranteed a place in.  Sounds like I have my priorities mixed up a bit, but the way I see it, is I’ve made a committment.  If I didnt want to make that committment I could have said no.

Its like saying you will turn up to a wedding, and then not. ( um yes I have done that..  /bad me 😦 ) 

If you sign up for a raid and then don’t turn up with a legitimate explaination then you will prob not be asked back – not only are you jeapodising your own future gameplay with the guild/raid your also affecting the enjoyment and lives of upto 24 other people – and thats enough to me for me to consider it as important as a real life committment.

Now Im not saying you can’t update  your availability or that things should take prority eg ( rehersals at the moment for me ) or Work. But if you want to see your friend/Bf..   then say so. Don’t sign up knowing that you probably won’t make it. Yes its a game – keep that in perspective, but  If it involves real people it  = real committment, and treat it like you would another committment.