The Guild Counsel: A look at Race to World First

As MMOs grow in popularity and age, they're being seen as a serious subject of study. And as they gain acceptance, we're beginning to see more exposure on paper and in film. Recently, we looked at the documentary The Raid, a portrayal of one guild's progression through World of Warcraft raid content. In this week's Guild Counsel, we'll look at yet another new documentary: Race to World First.

The film begins with the obligatory rundown of what MMOs are, what the basic game mechanics are, and what raiding is all about. It might be mundane to seasoned MMO veterans, but it reminds us that we're still not yet at a point at which the genre is considered mainstream. (I look forward to the day that it is and when MMO films get to skip past the pleasantries.)

After the slow start, though, the film introduces you to the World of Warcraft guild Blood Legion, one of a handful of high-end raiding guilds that are (at that time) preparing for the launch of Blizzard's Cataclysm expansion. Previously, the guild Paragon was ranked number one for world firsts, and Blood Legion wants to be the one to unseat Paragon's members and take the top spot.

The first player we are introduced to is Eric "Ararat" Abramian, a guild leader of Blood Legion. He candidly and confidently talks about his raid leading abilities and guild philosophies, yet his tone changes completely during an interview with his uncle, as he divulges how much time he actually plays the game. There's an interesting moment when his uncle echoes what many gamers have heard before: "If you go to an interview and in there they had that they were top ranked player in the game, that they were a guild leader, it's an interesting life, but I'm not sure I'd spend the time to learn whether it's applicable in the business world." As the film's story unfolds, it's interesting to see the juxtaposition of his career issues and the pull of the game and how he deals with each one.

Another intriguing story in the film is that of JB "Grunz" Daniel, a law student at the University of Kansas. In game, his Paladin is seen as one of the best in the game. But he's kept his gaming secret from his friends and ends up using the film as an opportunity to reveal this part of his life. You can tell he's hesitant to do so because of the fear of being stereotyped, using the South Park parody as the example of the typical gamer.

Next, the film takes you to the "Mother's basement," literally. Gamers have heard and used the expression countless times, and it's seen as the ultimate insult for a gamer with no life. We meet Daniel "Zoomkins" Thomacos, a soft-spoken young man who lives with his mother and siblings, and plays WoW in the basement. On the surface, he seems like someone who would easily get overshadowed in a room full of people, and yet in game, he's known as one of the best at his class. He even explained that he chose to play a Boomkin (WoW slang for a Balance-spec Druid) because he stands out in the crowd. He talks about the health problems that his mother has gone through, and while he speaks dispassionately about the family's financial and emotional struggles getting through it, there's a quiet sadness about his situation. After hearing his story, you're left with a completely different image of the "Mother's basement," and you can't help but sympathize with him.

The actual race through the endgame is short, and the documentary seems to have faced the choice of focusing on the players or the content. Directors John Keating and Zachary Henderson chose the players, and they did a terrific job in portraying the faces behind the avatars. But by doing so, did they unintentionally skew the outcome? There are several scenes of sit-downs with family members and friends, and in those arranged interviews, guild members were asked some difficult questions about their devotion to the game and their responsibilities out of it. Perhaps it's not the first time they heard those things brought up by people they love, but by setting up these scenes and pushing these issues to the forefront, did the producers end up affecting Blood Legion's performance when it dived into the raid content? Did it exacerbate tension when it comes to raiding expectations and player performance? And is it the reason that we end up seeing one player in Blood Legion basically disappear for a time? We might have seen a different documentary if the film had stuck to focusing purely on the race to be world first, but I actually think it's a better film because of path the directors chose to take.

Another surprise is that we get to know several members of Blood Legion very well, and yet we don't really get to see them in action raiding very much. In fact, during the race through the raid content, we hear more from raid leaders in other competitive guilds. It was a bit of a letdown because just as the viewers begin to connect with the guild and its members, the film shifts gears and leaves them in the background. And that's a shame -- it would have been interesting to see what these members were like in crunch time.

Also, we get a taste of the dynamics within the guild earlier in the film as Eric clashes with some of the more hardcore members over expectations and player performance. Seeing that discrepancy, even at the bleeding edge of hardcore content, is surprising, and it would have been valuable to show how that played out once the race to endgame began. While it's interesting to hear the post-game analysis of each boss from those who are literally minutes apart in progression, it gives the film a disjointed feeling. It's almost as if we're watching two films within one documentary, and I wish that the film had stuck with Blood Legion a bit more than it did.

When you see the stories of the Blood Legion members, you have to wonder how gaming has affected their lives. But it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Does their time in-game prevent them from having these things in their lives, or would they still be in the situation they're in now -- does gaming provide a respite from having to face reality? Does gaming detract from their lives, or does it actually provide a certain sense of fulfillment that they otherwise wouldn't have?

The end of the film finishes on a high note, and despite these uncomfortable questions, it's hard to ignore the scenes of thousands and thousands of players descending on conventions like Gamescom and BlizzCon. Sascha "Smasher" Lutz, from the guild For the Horde, describes his life in a sleepy village in Germany with a population of only about 3,000, and yet he's known around the world for his in-game success. What the film does best is put a human face on the cold world of competitive raiding. And while it leaves unanswered many difficult questions about the inherent value in racing for world firsts, it treats the subject with a fair hand, and it's well worth seeing.

Do you have a guild problem that you just can't seem to resolve? Have a guild issue that you'd like to discuss? Every week, Karen Bryan takes on reader questions about guild management right here in The Guild Counsel column. She'll offer advice, give practical tips, and even provide a shoulder to lean on for those who are taking up the challenging task of running a guild.