My interview with Downfall started at the tail end of a failed raid of SSC.I was amazed at how everyone was in high spirits.They had spent an evening dying and here they were joking around about the next attempt.They were confident that they would be able to adapt and move forward.One would be hard pressed to see a guild as upbeat and positive in the face of defeat as I saw that night with Downfall.

As I spoke in depth with the players and their leader, Garreth, I began to realize that this positive outlook was not an anomaly.Many guilds talk about community when describing their guild.In this case, I was actually seeing a group of people that had transcended the traditional guild structure to create something stronger.

Downfall plays on the Gorgonnash NA server.While they do raid (they downed Hydross on 6/29/7), that is not what makes this guild special:

Garreth:

Our guild is made up of many people whose first experience with video games is WoW. We're about 50/50 female to male with a lot of real life couples. We have a disproportionately high number of active female guildies, which adds a dimension to the game I don't think a lot of guilds get to experience (but really should). We are, as a group, older players in our early to mid twenties and beyond; a lot of professionals with families, a few academics and many students. It is my opinion - simply from witnessing many other guild chats – that we tend to be more educated as a whole. Granted, this doesn't necessarily mean more "mature". We roll with West- and East-coasters, Aussies, New Zealanders, Texans and "The Canada Contingent".

Magieck:

I played for a few guilds in my past wow-playing, and was in a guild further progressed than downfall back in the day. I got a bit tired of raiding with folks I didn't know in the real, and started missing my friends from the past. I got to come in and be a part of Downfall as we grew. I like to feel like I had a hand in it. Since I have rejoined and made even more connections I have come to enjoy the personalities of many people in this guild. I also enjoy the intellect of many of the players. (There are) lots of variety in terms of professional experience, academic achievement, and family situations in guild.

People also are interested in playing many aspects of the game including developing the community on this website as well as in game. It's been a place Garreth has pushed (and made amazing) for us to use. People USE it, not just surf it and that helps make the connections that make the game fun. It is a community and a hobby.

Glowy:

It has always been about the people for me. It is really hard to put into words why I love these people so much! Downfall is my home (err my online home?). These people taught me how to play and I have so much more to learn but I know I will learn it with them. Many of us know the in and outs of each others lives. It is more than a guild. We have built trust. We know when someone is sick, happy, or going through a hard time because we listen. I have seen people mess up, in most cases they welcomed back in and given the guidance they need to be better players and better people. This is a truly rare group of individuals and I am honored to call myself one of them.

Kleinejaeger:

This is) Where I come to hang with my RL friends and my online friends, where people understand my weird geek speak and I can be sassy if I want to! Also, just when you meet someone and find out they play WoW, it's like an instant spark of a friendship. Some people in our guild I never knew until I played wow and I lived literally a few miles from them!

Aidin Selene:

We definitely aren't the most "Hardcore" raiding guild, but we have the same level of skill and talent as those that would fall under this heading. We are a guild of mothers, fathers, teenagers, old fogies (yes I fall in the old fogy category) and people with real lives that far out weigh that of a game. Weather your friends are in your home town, or sitting behind the computer across the country, or (anywhere in) the world for that matter, they have a significant impact on your life. I spend a vast majority of my time with the people in Downfall…

Garreth:

I've always been uncomfortable with the cliché of guilds describing themselves as a "family". Families have strict rules governing the interaction between parents, children, pets, etc. We're a lot more free-for-all, anything goes. We are a community, a clique, a social circle, a team. Take your pick. Guild chat can, at one moment, seem like a boy’s locker room with poop jokes and towel snapping and, the next, a deep existential discussion of socio-politics with MLA-formatted references.

Over a dozen members of Downfall came out of Washington State University and are a pretty tight group of real life friends. We can finish up a raid and then all meet down at the local bar. We'll honestly try not to talk WoW, but inevitably we've got the whole table discussing strats and performance and why warlocks should be hit with the nerf bat. There is a direct carryover between the game and how we build our social circles in real life. I guess this is the same for any subject that people have a passion for. I would bet good money that Red Sox fans really do prefer to hang out with other Red Sox fans and discuss the Red Sox.

In my brief time in other guilds on alts and what not, I was shocked at the walls those guild members had put up between themselves. The guild seemed like a tool for them to get what they wanted - a means to their ends of loot or PvP ranking or bragging rights. This is really foreign to me in that Downfall members really have to answer to each other. There is a reason we have a photo gallery on our site of the real people playing our toons. We're close and often call each other by our real names. Yes, we have drama like any other guild out there. It's inevitable when dealing with the reward systems innate to WoW. However, I'd like to think that we fix those problems based on the strength of our bonds.

How many guilds at level seventy in WoW can claim a 50/50 male to female ratio? Why do female applicants flock to this guild (even cross over from the Horde) when it isn’t even the top of its server in raiding? What quality gives this guild its strength?Nihilum told us last week:

Awake:

Our weakness could be that you can't always get along with everyone, since our primary focus has always been (and will remain so) to progress-- not to be a family guild. 

This begs the question—“Do you have to sacrifice family to be successful?”

Garreth:

Repair bills are just gold and wiping is a learning experience. I'd rather run-back a dozen times on a new boss than destroy the sense of community and bonds we've formed. Of course, we're coaching and encouraging and training people to improve in every aspect that is important to end-game, but that's just it: we care about these people and we want to succeed together. We're never going to be doing world firsts, nor do we want to be. However, we know we can progress as friends and have a hell of a time doing it.

As with any guild, running Downfall takes a lot of work. What is it like to run Downfall?

Garreth:

I'd like to pretend to you that I keep a very clear line between real life and WoW, but I'd be lying. Managing a guild is a full time job. When I'm working in RL, I still have the guild site open in a Firefox tab and am fielding questions, concerns and guild issues. Many people can put down WoW and walk away for a bit, but for a leader in a highly active guild, even when you /exit you're head is still in there working out policy, strats, human resources. But you know what? I love every minute of it.

Managing Downfall is like being team captain on a close-knit, hard-driving sports team. At some point you're not really telling people what to do, everyone can lead in their respective areas and you trust and count on them to do the right thing. It is a thrill to log in on a raid night, and watch this amazing group of people start to buzz and just make things happen.

Garreth:

Over a year ago we downed Rag for the first time. This was a HUGE deal for us, as we really weren't supposed to get that far given our level of nubness, chaos, and drunkenness. I pumped out a cheesy fraps with "The Final Countdown" (the Raid: Awesome theme song) and it proved to be very popular. Then...nothing. We went all the way through BWL, AQ40 and into Naxx with no vids being produced. We just didn't have the time, or the technical knowledge, in the raid to make it happen.

In BC we have two highly active members with the skills that have brought us back into the WoW vid arena. Nrcoolj and Keshini have been pretty prolific with fraps'ing boss fights and putting up their perspectives for the guild to see. So far, most are music overlaid on the video with some simple titling with a bit or silly machimina for fun

I see us taking this to the next level soon by adding a more personal touch to them that's missing from 99% of WoW videos. For the videos we've produced so far, check out our open videos section on the guild website.

Shihli:

I enjoy the PvE videos because I can learn encounters from them, as well as seeing how people choose to edit the videos.I also like to see people's interfaces when they play, see the game through their eyes. As for PvP, I like to watch SKILL videos, not LOLCRIT videos. Just seeing the twitch reflexes of some people – it is amazing.

Magieck:

Plot + clever editing + usefulness. I'd like to see more entertainment-based videos. Perhaps a serial of sorts such as Prom Queen on MySpace or Sam has 7 Friends. With wow it would be impossible to do unless written all in advance, but it would be cool to see/hear a guild a few nights per week and watch a daily progression with characters, personalities, action, etc. It could be a neat idea for a serial. Get a hold of me if you know someone who wants to fund it *lol*. Seriously—it's my idea though.

Jasmynn:

I’d love to see Ventrillo conversations: to be able to hear the verbal explanations and co-ordination.

Kleinejaeger:

I'm a very see/hear/do (type of) learner, so I like very solid explanations and a pretty solid idea example of what I will need to do…

Garreth:

WoW vids with text tutorials have been around since the Geddon days. But the power of a WoW vid is when you really describe what's going on so people don't miss out. We all watch WoW vids for different reasons like seeing world firsts, analyzing play style for tips or examining UIs (that's me!). The announcer at a football game really does make that game more enjoyable for those that aren't as detail oriented as diehard fans. I want the movies we pump out here in the next few months to either A) tell a story or B) really convey what it feels like to be there, on the ground, for a guild first kill of an SSC boss. That means having people, either in recorded vent or as separate voiceover, talking and describing what's going on in their heads and in game. Plus we have some super-secret-squirrel stuff we're cooking up, but can't talk about yet.

The potential for professional play is growing in leaps and bounds.What are the options for WoW in television?How many of the top guilds will find a way to become profitable?

Garreth:

Being as how this takes up a significant portion of my day, any form of revenue stream would be an improvement. Most money being generated by those involved with WoW (be it Nihilum or Team Pandemic or Myndflame) come from the popularity of the people playing. Popularity = hits to a site = hits to a sponsor/advertiser's site. It's all about doing something that gets eyeballs to a place where an ad can be positioned strategically. Can downfallguild.org handle that? Absolutely. I work in a highly technical position, but find my skills are just as challenged when hacking away at a mod or tinkering with the backend of the website. Being a guild leader is already a full time job, making an income off it would be a wonderful next step.

Keshini:

I am all into the online world. I teach some classes online and would love to have all my classes be online. I would love to be able to raid professionally as well, pt or ft; I’m online in wow alone 40+ hours a week as it is.

Shihli:

If WoW stuff ended up on G4/TechTV I'd cry - that network is dead.

Downfall has just recently moved into the Arena system. They are planning on sending a 3v3 Arena team to the WSVG Los Angeles. Yes this team will be completely comprised of women. The guild is expecting this to be a challenge, but it has the potential to be an amazing achievement. Not just for the guild: but for the industry as a whole.

Aside from its message of egalitarianism, what does message does Downfall want to send about their guild?

Katibug:

A year ago, we were discovering how amazing we were and how much potential we had to become great. In a year I can see us at least in BT and Hyjal, hopefully further. I'd love to see those who are playing today in a year as well. We have such a strong bond between players that I think we can accomplish a ton if we all stick together and help each other improve on the whole.

Garreth:

It is, hands down, the most rewarding experience of my life thus far. I know, that sounds silly since we're talking about a video game. But these are people - real people - that I'm interacting with and I've walked away with some bold life lessons. In college and grad school I was always the guy that ended up as "leader" in group projects because I can't stand indecisiveness. However, it took a video game to teach me the importance of the people in that group and what it takes to challenge them to be the best.

  There are many guilds in this game of millions. It is easy to point to the one that achieves the most World Firsts or gains the newest rare item. It is harder, however, to rate the quality of a guild’s sense of community. While most of us play this game with some degree of social connectivity— Downfall is truly a family.Next we look at a guild that has the top American seed for the World of Warcraft Arena Tournament. Join us next week as Stratics interviews Team Ice.

– JoeMcDoug

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