Clan (video games)

"Clan Wars" redirects here. For a PC game by Team17, see Worms Clan Wars. For the mobile game by Supercell, see Clash of Clans.

In computer and video gaming, a clan, guild or faction is an organized group of players that regularly play together in particular (or various) multiplayer games. These games range from groups of a few friends to 4000-person organizations, with a broad range of structures, goals and members. The lifespan of a clan also varies considerably, from a few weeks to over a decade. Numerous clans exist for nearly every online game available today, notably in first-person shooters, massively multiplayer games, role-playing video games, and strategy games. There are also meta-groups that span a wide variety of games.

It is commonly argued that a "clan" or "guild" becomes like a family, and that all opinions and decisions represent each single member in the "clan" or "guild". Clans also tend to have a "try outs" initiation system established to weed out those who might not share common interest. A variety of methodical initiations are user-generated challenges ranging from jump courses, in-game achievement hunting.

In FPSs

As the first-person shooter (FPS) genre became increasingly popular, the idea of a competitive clan became widely accepted. Clans became teams, or elite clan members form teams to represent the clan in online battle. FPS clans normally host servers with rules that they like. For instance if a group of gamers like to use pistols only they could join a clan that runs a pistols only server and the clan would enforce the rules. So it is important to join a clan that has server rules you enjoy or you could easily find yourself booted from the clan.

In RPGs

Clans also exist in other genres, where they are often referred to by a different name and serve a purpose more suited to the game. Many massively multiplayer online (MMO) and role-playing video games (RPGs) tend to call them "guilds" or invent their own term. Examples of this include Star Wars Galaxies ("player associations") and EVE Online ("corporations",). EVE Online is also notable for having defined the system in more detail than is common in most MMOs, with "alliances" being a larger grouping. In the superhero-based game City of Heroes, they are called "supergroups", and are similar in structure to comic book hero organizations like the X-Men. Lastly, in Final Fantasy XI, such clans are called "linkshells" and players of the game have the tendency and ability to be in more than one at once.

In simulation games

Many simulation games, such as those in the Microsoft Flight Simulator series, have clans that follow similar patterns to other genres. Notable types of simulation clans include virtual airlines (VAs) and Virtual Military Organizations (VMOs). A virtual airline is a dedicated hobby organization that uses flight simulation to model the operations of an airline. VAs generally have a presence on the Internet, similar to a real airline. It has been proposed that there are over 100 VAs of significance currently active, with tens of thousands of participants at any one time.

Further reading

• Harvesting the Hive:How online games drive innovation article from Esther Dyson's EDventure, see section "Beyond collaboration:Group to group interaction".
• Computer Games and the Mi Games" by J.C. Herz.
• Youth in Transition:The Challenge of Generational change in Asia proceedings of the 15th Biennial Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils released by UNESCO Bangkok, see section 16 "Youth culture in online game worlds: Emergence of cyber lifestyles in Korean society" by Sang-Min Whang, Department of Psychology Yonsei University.