DARKFALL, KGB AND THE FUTURE

Hello friends, enemies and acquaintances,

I have followed the recent announcements and innuendo with some amusement and some sadness. I was unaware that there had been a great schism within KGB in AOC. How many of those have occurred over the years? It is sad to contemplate. For those of you who do not know me, I was once a member of the finest guild in all of UO, KGB. In the heady days of Pacific, membership was about doing the right thing, defending the weak and cracking the skulls of some of the most notorious guilds that Pacific and then Siege had to offer. We did it with style and grace. We were a huge family then, and as with all families, we had a uniqueness which other guilds envied. We also had the typical infighting and problems that all families had. Even with those, and I was surely a part of a few, we prevailed in a game world in which we seemed to be the most hated “good” guys out there. Our leadership was strong and the personalities continue to herald their merit even today; Nathan Rahl, Hard Cash, Toxiclore, Kia, Wildcard, Azryk Azur, and many others who have gone on to greater things or have left this world for the next in r/l.

Regardless, through good times and bad, we prevailed, we saw members rise above themselves, putting aside their own needs in games for the good of KGB. I still recall the first house, just outside Trinsic, that everyone worked so hard to obtain. And then the second, and the great war with the Imperium that followed. In time, we were still there and the Imperium was gone.

The greatness of KGB existed in UO because of who we were and what we did. We were not fractured across multiple game worlds, but mostly focused on UO. We did have a few members go off to EQ and then come back, but mostly, we stayed focused on the world that meant the most, allowed us to be the most and in which we thrived. A world like that was not seen again until Shadowbane. Alas, SB brought with it so much promise and also so much pain. In fighting and personality conflict led to my resignation, much to the delight of some. But KGB thrived there still, becoming one of the key names in the game and for a time, ruling without peer. Why? Because the membership stayed focused yet again on each other, and the world you chose to dwell in. Of course, SB had its flaws, as all games do, but it came closer than many. DAOC provided some amusing relief and we had fun there, but it also saw the loss of a core group from KGB, again, over the personal desires of some who could not see past their own selfish needs rather than support the guild and the success of the group who would leave. Then there was SWG and WOW and finally AOC and WARHAMMER. None of those four provides or provided the game environment that KGB thrives in, in which real consequence exists and there is a need for a good aligned, solid force that thrive on both the mechanics of the game and the protection of the innocents.

Darkfall appears to have the qualities that many KGB and I myself have searched vainly for these past years. It contains elements which were the best of both UO and SB and it will provide KGB with the driving world needed for the continued enjoyment of the members and the expansion of one of the longest standing, renowned guilds in on-line games of this type. But only if you remember who you are and where you come from. It will only work if the vast majority of your membership dives in with the full gusto that you gave UO and SB and DAOC. Darkfall promises to be different from the grind that has become the norm and promises to enrich you if you give back to it wholeheartedly. What does that mean? It means you bypass the need to be an individual who is renowned and feared and you work to make KGB renown and feared first, then yourself. Individual accomplishments will only be effective and worthwhile if you do them to bring glory to KGB and your guild mates. Those members who are not interested in Darkfall, as THE focus of your guild, should be minimal at best, in other words, a very small percentage of your membership. If I was king for a day, it would be simple, but that is not Jets way. He wants you to be happy and to enjoy your game time as a member in whatever game you choose. But the membership should also recognize that Darkfall is the game of focus and limited membership, support and other resources will be given to other realms you find yourselves in. This was the old way and it worked well before the faction stuff went in.

KGB’s strength has always been in its ability to draw together, to find the most effective way to meet the game world’s demands head on and to over come the enemy with skill and determination. A battle may be lost here and there, but the war never is. Look back into the history of the guild. You will see that I speak from both experience and knowledge. KGB has never lost the WAR. (We did come close in SB, thank God Jet can talk smack with the best of them..LOL)

I guess my message, long winded as usual, is this. KGB can once again rise to the greatest it has ever been, if in deed DF is the game we have waited for. I am thinking it is, from all of the information I can find on it. I hope that you who are members also will come to this realization. KGB will only succeed if the vast majority of you (note that I would love to be able to say ALL OF YOU) enter the game world and work together as the true embodiment of all you have ever wanted to be. Anything less will see you fail, and in that end, a dynasty of on line gaming will go with it.

My 37 cents.

Special shout out to my friends Owain and Kalypso, whom I look forward to seeing in DF, whether across the field or beside me on the line.

Vuldan


[Linked Image from nodiatis.com]