Translation by Nineveh

Below you will find a translation of a danish article written about our guild about two months ago in the magazine PcPlayer, older news can be found below the rather lengthy text update

For several years, Everquest has set the standard amongst the diverse selection of available massive multimedia online role playing games. Though at times it seems somewhat hard to comprehend how such a game manages to keep a constant player base with the continuous stream of newer games to the marked. Perhaps there are more to games than merely graphics and revolutionary gaming concepts?

Entering a net caf is for the blissfully ignorant often associated with inaccurate prejudice, depicted through the following urban legend.

Entering a cave dimly illumined by glimmering lights of monitors, hunchbacked youth glaring aimlessly into an alternate reality, apparently without aim whatsoever. As an outsider the sole feeling of being totally ignored reduces you to an analog footnote amidst a digital universe, immune to alien entry from the outside world. Accompanied by the repulsive bodily odors such as unwashed hair, cigarette smoke and dry sweat, captivating merely half of these scents would more than suffice for an arsenal of chemical warfare utiLities. Even an experienced gamer might have trouble familiarizing themselves in the middle of seemingly endless aisles of Counterstrike and Diablo II playing machines.

Though the most pleasant surprise of them all, was encountering an arrangement which dissipated all these rumors and thoroughly inverted any existing tales

Raging Fury

The Everquest guild Raging Fury originated in the beginning of 2001, when a small group of players abandoned a larger guild due to differences with the residing management of the guild Gathering Storm.

The thirty players founded a new guild in February the game year with the name Raging Fury, led by Eberan and Rani. After moving from the American Rathe server to the European Antonius Bayle server the guild got properly settled through an established group of devoted players gathering during the same timeframe. The guild then consisted of 50-60 members, and one of the trademarks of the guild, even at such an early stage, was that the dominating part were considered older people than those one usually found in similar online games. Most of the members had lives outside the boundaries of the game, limiting their online time accordingly. Despite not being able to compete with other leading guilds playing times, Raging Fury has experienced great success through basing recruitment on quality instead of quantity, and during the creating of this article; they hold the position as second highest guild on Antonius Bayle, with Darkwind occupying the pole position.

Raging Fury has 73 active members and 34 non active members. Activity is measured through raid attendance, in other words how many raids each member participates in, compared to the total amount of raids held during a specific period of time. Also, the Hall of Honor was created to recognize those people who do no longer have time to play the game, but have in some way greatly contributed to the guild.

Read more about the guild at http://www.raging-fury.org/

Arriving at the Boomtown net cafe an early Saturday morning in March, it is with somewhat limited expectations as to whether or not we would see anything out of the ordinary. A group of gamers staring into their monitors left hand resting over the keyboard with a firm grip around the mouse with the right hand, in addition to the necessities of soda supplies and cigarette packages within reach. Based on these assumptions it is therefore with great pleasure we enter a gaming scene vivid with personal relations, laughter and an ambiance none of us would have expected.

Jesper Angelo of PcPlayers has along with his American girlfriend Kianna arrived several hours ago and are already deeply involved in the game. They are borrowing two characters from Raging Fury, as a certain level along with equipment is required to actively participate at the level of todays raid. Kianna appears not to bother much with the actual playing, but is instead striding around the room making different acquaintances, within short time, she has gotten to know ten times the amount of people Jesper has.

Jesper and Kiannas characters, named Humakt and Zarria Truesword respectively, met each other within Everquest in November 2000, a meeting which triggered sparks in both ends, resulting in a real life meeting which again has made them into a couple who are moving in together in a newly bought house in Amager, where they will be living with Kiannas two children.

Couples

Jesper and Kianna are not the only couple present today however. In a remote corner resides another couple, named Carsten and Pernille, also known through the aliases Dimoe and Eppels. They appear to be playing the game as well, but are they really? Casting a quick glance over their shoulder most of the time actually seems to be spent chatting in the in game chat windows or enjoying a cup of coffee while waiting for something to happen. Carsten assures us though that a fair amount of concentration is required, and that this particular event is a ring event spawning several waves of enemies at specific times. Currently they are clearing the path to the point where the actual encounter will commence, and upon arriving, the actual preparation for the encounter will begin. This includes making groups, issuing special orders and buffing

One gets bewildered listening to the internal phraseology used amongst Everquest players, they assist, buff, loot and experience phenomena such as lag, trains and mobs which pop randomly after patches and similar. One could compare with watching an American football game without knowing any of the rules.

All of these expressions and terms seem to be a part of the everyday vocabulary for these players, and the initial impression is that they have spent far too much time playing the game, though that impression might be wrong. Carsten informs us that he is merely online due to it being a gathering, underlining the fact that there are more important things in life than playing eight hours a day, while glancing towards Pernille, being eight months pregnant. The desire to play lessens at a certain stage; the problem is that you have to invest a great amount of time to see the benefits in your character, especially if you are a member of a high end guild.

Carsten was already playing a great amount of Everquest when he met Pernille, and shortly after he told himself that he either had to get her involved in the game, or give it up himself. Shortly after creating her own character, Pernille found herself intrigued by the game, and shortly thereafter, they both found themselves playing for several hours each day. They both inform us that personally they see little difference in playing a game together in comparison to watching television or similar activities. Through Everquest they feel they are both actively participating in something, even though friends and family believe we are delirious, Carsten informs us. Even one of the speeches at their wedding contained elements from Everquest. Though it is not as abnormal as it might sound, as after a while one starts to think, breathe and live different aspects of the game on a daily basis. The most common thought is wondering what your guild is currently up to, but the most important thing is spending time together doing something both are comfortable with, and obviously being an influence in the gaming world.

Sense of reality

Pernille does not see any problems spending a huge amount of time within Everquest as long as it is with her husband. The fear of isolation and solitude applies more to younger players and not those already established with a place to live and a steady job. Currently we play when we find the time and want a break from everyday occurrences. Leveling your character to the next level is reward enough, even though attending raids has a tendency to procrastinate the progression. Quickly testing to see whether or not Carsten and Pernille have been deceiving us we are relieved to find out that their upcoming baby will be named either Christoffer or Rebecca, and not something originating in a fantasy game.

In the middle of the conversation, a large amount of activity arises on both Carsen and Pernilles monitors as the whole pack of Everquest adventurers suddenly move as one, and what seemed a calm environment is swiftly transformed into a myriad of graphical effects. Though the battle is won, it was a difficult victory as seemingly half of the guilds members were outside enjoying a beer.

Social Organizer

Raging Furys first gathering was held when the guild was formed and took place in the old Diablo net cafe, situated on Vrnedamsvej, Copenhagen. The next gathering was launched on Funen, but since then the remainders have been held in Copenhagen. The guild consists mostly of Danes, though French, German, English, Norwegian, Swedish, American and even a few Pakistani members complete the roster.

Post the 8th gathering, plans for the succeeding is already underway, and it promises to be one differing from the previous ones. It will be held in Dyrehavsparken, out in the analog world, and some of the plans consist of "rundbold", a game quite similar to baseball though without the role of the pitcher. Tim Jensen, responsible for arranging each of the gatherings, informs us that he would like to witness a gathering not involving Everquest to ascertain that the tone stays just as friendly even though a computer is not within the immediate vicinity of the gathering. Tim has been playing Everquest since a month post its release and has since day one been a member of different guilds. A close circle of 20-25 Danes have since the earliest days stuck together, and most of them are now members of Raging Fury.

Tim has never truly devoted himself to the amount of playing time as most of the players in his guild, shortly after Everquest went live, his daughter came into this world, and quality time with the family will always be treasured above the game he says. His role in the guild is therefore not a raiding one, but more of a social organizer making sure that gatherings occur frequently and that the ambivalence of the guild is a pleasant one. We are told it is mainly administrative work booking all the computers, negotiating prices and similar issues, though it is not done out of desire for respect or recognition, merely based on wanting to see people meet and enjoying each others company. Tim claims to be highly fascinated with the combination of communication through pixels and reality, and watching fellow guild members thoroughly enjoy themselves at a gathering he has spent close to 30 hours preparing, is ample reward.

The work of organizing these events is made easier through Tim's job working as a concept manager with Jubii, a job consisting of commercials and a wide area of contacts, which again offer aid when it comes to securing reservations and events. Each reoccurrence adds to his experience and makes the next planning session easier than its predecessor. In addition to himself, Sren and Ricco, known in the game through their characters Faiar and Scoop, make up the gathering planning group of Raging Fury. Tim assures us that as long as people fly in from abroad to attend the gatherings, he will continue arranging them.

Blood sweat and tears,

Even though Raging Fury is a clan of considerable size and history, they have no ambitions of becoming the leading clan on Antonius Bayle, mainly due to the amount of stress and further devotion time wise it would involve. Tim Jensen informs us that the challenges of keeping the guild at its current level against mobs that are growing stronger and stronger in an environment that keeps everyone satisfied is more than enough. He feels that the guild is represented by pleasantry, seriousness and a fair amount of skills, which again is based in the average age amongst the members.

Raging Fury does not accept any members below the age of 16, and the age span of the current members is from 18 to 45. Each members individualism and ability to think for themselves is something that comes in handy during onerous times, and the guild also has a certain tone of communication which might be hard to comprehend at a younger age.

The guild structure is also important in regards to specific roles divided amongst the members during raids. As a guild you are constantly faced with the challenges of a newly created enemy, limited by the amount of resources available to you. Ambition and drive is also an important factor, how badly one wants to progress, in search of both new challenges and equipment.

The amount of time needed to accomplish all of this is one of the decisive factors as to why Everquest players have become so addicted to the game, and also one of the reasons why Tim Jensen does not believe the sequel will have an equivalent impact on the gaming marked.

Most of the older characters in Raging Fury have been developed over two to three years, and will not be easily abandoned for a fresh start within a new online game, Tim assures us. Raging Fury often experiences that some members take a leave of absence for some weeks whilst trying out a newly released game, but in most cases, they all return back within a month or so. Regardless of neater graphics or unique concepts, most will reside in Everquest as long as possible.

Timesink

Bo, playing the characters Rani and Timmok, is one of the older members of Raging Fury which originally founded the guild. He is one of the players in the guild who uses alot of time playing the game, both because he finds it fun, but also due to the challenge of keeping such a large amount of people in their reins during a raid. Bo informs us that the game is constantly becoming more and more time demanding as challenges grow harder and the general equipment base on the players improve, while trying to configure his keyboard into matching the setting he normally uses at home.

Bo studies computer science and spends about five hours a day playing Everquest when time permits, in addition to scanning a large amount of message boards for additional information, while drawing up new tactical ideas for the guild. He has been an online strategist since the early 90's through the role playing game DIKU-MUD, and openly admits to being one who snuck into databases merely to gain access to the game. Having gotten his interface satisfactorily configured, Bo returns to the game after removing a fair amount of labels and graphical effects in order to orientate through the assembly.

Christina is located merely a few feet away playing her character Trille. Her boyfriend Kasper is situated close by, but Christina is actually married to another character in the game. This even occurred when she suddenly received a backpack filled with roses, and such an offer is hard to resist. Kasper started playing Everquest shortly after he met Christina, and she was intrigued by the game, though somewhat nervous in the beginning, it soon adapted into her lifestyle. She, like Pernille, says that her family has hard to comprehend the addiction. Christina says that the cyber activity is an important part of the game for her, and has a theory that her particular class, the cleric, is a class popular amongst the female part of Everquest. Again she underlines the importance of the social aspect of the game, as she does not really consider herself a role player. A comparison she makes is to a virtual high school with little to no rules, challenged by each others personaLities and company.

Warmth

Our participation in the 8th Gathering of Raging Fury has come to an end, however the members of the guild are readying themselves for a night at the Bombay discotheque arranged by Tim Jensen. Nocturnal events have slowly begun to embrace Axeltorvet, and while leaving we understand more of the luring ability games such as Everquest possess. Jesper and Kianna appear oblivious to us leaving, and it is with a small feeling of envy we leave the net cafe for Copenhagens cold winter night.

Morten Skovgaard
morten.skovgaard@pcplayer.dk