2011 was a fairly eventful year. Highlights included my new gig at Enjin, BlizzCon 2011, and Cataclysm. We saw a new expansion announcement while this expansion began to wind down. The new Star Wars MMO came out this month. We’ll see what the MMO market place is going to be like with two competing MMOs. I’ve already hit 50 after approaching it like a single player game with multiplayer elements. As I’ve always been more of an end game player then an “experience” player, I’m going to have to wait until the rest of my new SWTOR crew levels out. 16 players is a far cry from 25.

In a way though, this was a year where I just felt my energy had been sapped completely. Additional professional responsibilities and guild rebuilding takes a rather large toll. Unfortunately, the blog and my projects had to suffer slightly. I decided to close and consolidate different projects because I was stretching myself way too thin and I couldn’t possibly maintain the level of care required.

It’s a tradition for me every year to take a look back at some of my favourite posts published this year on the blog. Other bloggers, I encourage you to do the same!

Top Posts of 2011

Did Cataclysm Fail?

A provocative piece by Lodur who examined the positives and negatives of this expansion. Some elements were well received but others not so much.

How to Come out of Raiding Retirement

You’re feeling the itch again. You can feel your mouse and keyboard call you. Does your raid group even want you? Exercise caution if you make the jump back in.

Why Ready Checks Suck

“Ready checks are an opt-in system, and opt-in systems deflect responsibility.  Instead, we make the choice to assume that everyone is at keyboard and ready to play when we’re raiding – when they’re expected to be.” As quoted from the bible of Mel. Read on for the full interview with Mel and his take on raid leading.

Does Your Guild Need Social Media Guidelines?

With more and more gamers taking to Twitter and other social media aspects, it might be wise to lay down a set of guidelines that they should look over.

GMs Talk: Things We Share, Things We Do Not

When you take the rank as a GM, there’s a certain level of social rules that needs to be observed especially when conversing with other GMs. Don’t worry, some of your secrets are safe.

A Lesson in Guild Ultimatums

It’ll happen from time to time. It never hurts to be prepared for the occasion.

Topping Meters vs Assigned Role

Which takes priority? Lodur laid down the law. One of these elements will lead to personal glory while the other will lead to glory for the guild.

11 Suggestions for the New Guild Leader

Veteran guild masters and leaders share some nuggets of wisdom for new GMs. The great thing is that this post isn’t platform specific. Starting a guild in SWTOR can be just the same as in WoW.

Breaking Up With your Guild is Hard to Do

One of the highlights for me was when Lodur made the switch to come and join my guys. I knew it was going to be a difficult process for him but he’s still a champ.

Handling the Guild Dirty Work

It’s a crappy job, but someone’s got to do it. It’s a great way to demonstrate to the troops that you still have the spark and that you’re not just some suit leading from the rear.

11 Raid Finder Personalities You Will Never Escape

The raid finder is proof of the diversity among our player base. Which one are you?

The E-Book

I keep talking about it for years and it’s something I’ve really wanted to do. I keep getting sidetracked by different things (a job, games, etc). With a blog that’s 4 and a half years old, I’ve got more than enough material to put together an E-Book. The topic is going to be about guilds and raids. Anything from recruiting, to discipline, management, leadership and so forth.

Here’s where I’m stuck.

• Design – I don’t have a clue about things like colours. Maybe I’ll just keep it simple.
• Contributions – I would love to ask bloggers. I approached Kurn the other night with a basic idea. If you could only share one guild management related post with the world, which one would it be? She’s sitting on it and mulling it over. But who else can I approach?
• Title – Coming up with blog post headlines takes up half my time. Can you imagine how much time an e-book title would take?
• Technical – Do I use Word for this? Publish it to a PDF?

So yes, this is my first resolution. I’m going to write and finish this book.

Someone get me a post it note.

The first chapter’s almost done actually.

Hmm, maybe that’s what I’ll do. I’ll release a chapter a month. That’s way less daunting then putting together a book. Plus I can always piece it together after.

Alright team, I’m relying on you to make me honest. Poke me two days before the end of January.