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The Syndicate is one of the
oldest and largest guilds in online gaming today, with over 550 members worldwide.
Last weekend, The Syndicate held it's annual World Conference in Washington
D.C. and invited Vosx to come and talk to the assembled members about Shadowbane.
Vosx started by shouting the guild's slogan "Long live The Syndicate!"
and proceeded to give a two hour lecture to a room of nearly 100 Syndicate members,
with several dozen more listening via a conference call. He discussed the finer
points and philosophies about Shadowbane's design and aspirations in the MMO
genre.
Like many large player organizations, The Syndicate is home to a wide variety
of diverse players and game styles. They can be found in several games like
Dark Age of Camelot, Ever Quest, and Ultima Online. However, many of the members
had very little knowledge of Shadowbane, so Vosx spent his time answering questions
ranging from the game's basic fundamental game play to the finer arts of siege
warfare and the production level economy.
The Syndicate's Guild Master and Founder Dragons said that many of the guild's
members were worried about the focus on player vs player combat and sieging.
"While we love PvP, we were worried that it would get boring after a few
months," wrote Dragons. "Vosx explained all the great plans for Feature
Characters, uber monsters and quests and the overall story line of the game.
He also explained the need and features involved in trade skills including rare
NPC hirelings, which all sound great!"
The Syndicate's Migrations Officer Faust added "Unlike the other games
currently offered in the MMO Industry, Shadowbane is a game specifically created
for Guilds. This was a fantastic opportunity for our members to directly ask
questions of a developer. Our Migration Team has been working on Shadowbane
for over three years but many of the members have only heard the horror stories
or remember the ganking and griefing, " he said. "After hearing about
Shadowbane from Vosx, guild members who were once ambivalent about Shadowbane
are now extremely excited! We are looking forward to it!"
The Syndicate had been discussing future plans for beta testing and a possible
move to Shadowbane after launch. As an invited guest of The Syndicate for the
world conference, Vosx brought a gift from Ubi Soft of 150 Shadowbane beta accounts
for the guild. "When Vosx told us the news, the applause was thunderous!"
said Dragons.
The entire meeting was taped by The Syndicate which will soon be made available
to the Shadowbane community.
"The Syndicate and it's members would like to thank Vosx for coming to
visit with us. The fact that a Developer is willing to put forth the time and
effort to speak at a gathering of players gives Ubi Soft and Wolfpack an outstanding
credibility with gamers," wrote Dragons.
You can also find more information about the gathering, including some of the
discussion points, over at Shadowbane
Warcry.
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