2002 Syndicate World Conference


Sept 13/14/15 of 2002, The Syndicate held its World Conference in Washington DC. At that point in the gaming world, some guilds might gather 8-12 people together to talk and drink beer. This was the first time a huge conference was ever attended and like all things The Syndicate does, it was large and and done with a focus on quality. Almost 100 members attended the conference with 50+ more participating via conference call. The conference instantly became the largest single guild gathering in the history of online gaming.

On Saturday we held a large guild meeting. Invited to that meeting was our special guest speaker: Chris "Vosx" Mancil. To us, his pledge of attendance at the meeting spoke volumes for Ubisofts commitment to Shadowbane and their recognition of groups that have existed for years and have had a large affect on the gaming world. One question im sure all well organized guilds are asking is: How much commitment is there from Ubisoft and will we have too many broken promises when the game goes live? The fact that they do show up for major events such as these, showed they do have a firm commitment.

As the meeting got underway, Vosx wasnt there yet. The guildmaster, Dragons, concluded his talk to the assembled group plus another 50 or so people on a conference call listening in. Still no Vosx. Migrations Coordinator and guild Advisor Faust was introduced and he discussed various major games in development, our relationship with those companies and our thoughts on those games. Still no Vosx. Just as Faust was about to conclude and we'd begin "winging it" with a talk on Shadowbane, Vosx strode through the door. His grand entrance was perfectly timed and soon the podium was his.



Vosx talked for 2 hours and then hung around all afternoon and into the evening talking to players 1:1. He got thunderous applause when he told every person present that they would get into the beta. He later raised the number to 150 accounts allowing some of the members who couldnt attend, to also get into the beta.

The weekend was a smashing success. Dozens of members got to know each other very well. We partied. We talked. We had meetings. We learned about Shadowbane. We discussed future leadership roles and how to better lead the guild into the future. And we clearly transcended the boundries between gaming guild and player community. Not only was the record for largest single guild gathering shattered in a way most guilds can never hope to break, but The Syndicate solidified itself even more and grew stronger and larger.

Once the weekend was over, lots of media attention was focused on the event. A video of Vosx's question and answer was released. Syndicate members got to see pictures of fellow members. The Syndicate once again set the standard for the online gaming world. The 2002 conference was a HUGE success! No sooner had the conference ended than planning began for the 2003 conference.

After the weekend ended, many news sites released writeups about the weekend and many players saw the video and The Syndicate made new friends and allies as a result. Some of the more noteworthy articles are:


Warcry's Writeup

UbiSofts Writeup

SB Vault Explains Things To Whiners


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