Guild Expansion Readiness Program: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Expansion|1]]
[[Category:Expansion]]
[[File:AIE_Games_Banner_Stacked.png|right|600px|borderless]]


AIE has been growing and changing for some time now--we started out as a WoW guild created by the hosts, fans and friends of the podcasts The Instance,
= Phases =
ELR, Buzz Out Loud and Jawbone Radio. Since that initial small guild was formed, AIE has grown into a community that extends way beyond Warcraft.


We have expanded into many games; including EVE Online, Rift, and Star Wars: the Old Republic.  As we expanded the AIE's community, we saw that
== Discovery ==
the AIE officers and council members could not investigate and evaluate all the new games.  Plus, we didn't want to limit new AIE games to just games that officers were interested in (or have time to support). So we made a system to get guildies involved in getting AIE into new games. We call this our '''G'''uild '''E'''xpansion '''R'''eadiness '''P'''rogram--our '''GERP'''.
GERP is our basic framework for how AIE will investigate, try out, and staff a new game universe. It involves four phases. Each phase may lead to nothing--or it may set the stage for expanding into the next level.  The GERP is a guideline, and will probably differ a little for each game--but will still have four phases.


An exception is for mobile games or lightweight games--for those we use the [[MiniGERP]].  We call these our AIE Minor League Games.
Information is collected about the game and community interest is gauged by the [[GERP Team]].  The GERP Team is only responsible for evaluating community interest in the game and selecting the director, efforts to build interest or rally support must come from the general membership.


'''These are the voyages of the gaming community AIE...'''
=== Activity ===


:Our continuing mission: to explore strange new games, to seek out new members and new '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilization_V:_Gods_%26_Kings civilizations]'''--to boldly game where AIE has not gamed before!
* Discussion about the game should be posted in the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-l%C5%ABd%C4%AB/ Imperium Lūdī].
* Suggestions for entry into the game may be sent to the [[GERP Team]].
* The [[GERP Team]] begins internal nomination and selection of the game director.
* The [[GERP Team]] assigns one or more advisers (known as champions) who will work with the new game director through the rest of the process.


__TOC__
=== Completion ===


== Discovery Phase ==
* Game director has been selected by the GERP Team and approved by the AIE Council.


[[File:Civ5 Library.png|right|120px|borderless]]
== Expedition ==


The information-gathering phase for games in development. Any AIE member is encouraged to bring up games they think would be good for AIE to get into, and discuss it in the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-ludi/ Imperium Lūdī board] section of the forums.  This phase may last a long time since some games are a long time in development. The AIE council likely has little involvement at this point, we rely upon the community to find interesting new games and determine what level of interest the games will maintain.  
The Expedition phase is the period during which preparations are made for launch of the guild. The new game director will build her or his leadership team and will determine which parameters will best meet the needs of the AIE community (realm, faction, PvE/PvP, etc.)


=== What happens ===
=== Activity ===


* Through forums discussions and polls in the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-ludi/ Imperium Lūdī board] we see if there is enough interest in the community to go for it.
* A new forum is created for the game in the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-l%C5%ABd%C4%AB/ Imperium Lūdī].
* The game is listed on the [[GERP Status]] page to track it through the process.
* The game director selects the starting officer corps for the game.  All officers must be approved by the GERP Council.
* Parameters such as faction and realm are decided upon by the game director and game officers.
* [[UMAMI]] integration development begins.


== Expedition Phase ==
=== Completion ===


[[File:Civ5 Scout.png|right|120px|borderless]]
* Game has entered general availability.
* The guild has been created in-game.
* A process for joining the guild has been published.
* A policy, based upon the [[Unified Policy]] has been approved by the AIE Council and published.


This happens when there is widespread availability of the game. This may be open beta or when the game is released... basically when most anyone that is motivated to play it, can.
== Settlement ==
This phase may last a long time or short time, based on the developer’s schedule. Ideally, we would like it to be about a month.


=== Entry Criteria ===
The population of the guild begins!


* One or more of the groups that have formed during the discovery phase send an e-mail message to [mailto:gerp@aie-guild.org gerp@aie-guild.org] with a '''brief''' description of the game milestones (open beta, early access, planned release, etc.) and stating that they wish to set up an expedition.
The game must be in '''open beta''' or '''general availability''' at this point.
* The game must be consistent with the culture and policies of Alea Iacta Est.  


=== What happens ===
=== Activity ===


* A subforum will be added to the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-ludi/ Imperium Lūdī board]. This board will be shared by all expedition groups in the game.
* An ad hoc member tracking system may be used if UMAMI integration has not been completed..
* At this point it is just AIE people playing the game, the expedition groups are not official AIE guilds, clans, or corporations.
* Guild settings, policies, and processes are tuned.
* The expedition chooses whatever servers or factions it wishes to explore.  We encourage different scouting parties of the expedition to try different options and compare the experiences they have.
* Expedition guilds should be considered experimental, the decisions made in this phase will not necessarily carry over to later phases.


{{Ambox | nocat = true | type = warning | text = If starting from scratch and re-rolling your character on a different server or as a different faction is not something you are willing to do, we highly recommend that you wait until the game has entered the [[#Settlement Phase|Settlement Phase]] before participating.}}
=== Completion ===


== Settlement Phase ==
* [[UMAMI]] integration has been completed.
* The subforum has been promoted out of the [http://forum.myextralife.com/forum/52-imperium-l%C5%ABd%C4%AB/ Imperium Lūdī].


[[File:Civ5 Settler.png|right|120px|borderless]]
== Domain ==


In this phase, the official AIE presence is established in the game with an
The game guild becomes a full-fledged division of AIE.
acting settlement leader. This phase is expected to last several months as the
game moves beyond the initial honeymoon period and our guild infrastructure is
established. The settlement leader and his or her team are responsible for the in-game ramp-up: getting the guild going, inviting people, etc.


=== Entry Criteria ===
=== Activity ===


* The settlement phase should start shortly before the game goes into general availability, when any guild establishment is permanent.
* Members are requested to register in [[UMAMI]] within some reasonable period of time to track membership or the data from the ad hoc tracking system is imported into [[UMAMI]].
* Any expedition interested in settling the official AIE presence should provide impressions of the game to the [mailto:gerp@aie-guild.org the GERP team]. The expedition leader should identify the justification for settling the game and the significant choices with respect to the establishment, such as faction(s) and server.  The letter should also outline any significant challenges that are anticipated.
* A team of officers from other game divisions in AIE and the AIE Council, collectively known as "the GERP team", takes this information and recommendations and makes the decision of whether to settle the game and who the settlement leader will be.


=== What Happens ===
= Timeline =


* The settlement leader documents the characteristics of the AIE presence in the game.  This should include all server, faction, and rank details.
The amount of time that it takes to progress through the phases will be different for every game.  However the timeline will be governed by the following constraints.
* The game is incorporated into UMAMI.
* The expedition forum board is relocated as a subforum of the AIE board.  The subforum structure is decided upon and implemented.
* Recruiting and building the guild.
* Anyone interested in becoming game director (guild leader) can submit their Letter of Intent via e-mail to [mailto:gerp@aie-guild.org the GERP team] (Suggested format for the letter is below.)
* Periodically, the GERP team meets with the game team (settlement leader & officers) to discuss the settlement progress and identify any settlement issues.
* The settlement leader and the GERP team decide upon a date for the delivery of a final settlement report.  This report is a brief sumamrization of the success of the settlement and the outastanding issues that must be considered as the AIE guild moves to the doamin phase.


== Domain Phase ==
* Settlement may not begin until the game is in the general availability phase.  This is the point where anyone can join with no restrictions other than purchase or subscription within a geographical region.  An open beta period will be considered general availability.
* Access permitting, the Discovery and Expedition phases should be conducted during pre-beta or closed beta for new games.


[[File:Civ5 Palace.png|right|120px|borderless]]


The guild is considered an official, mature AIE guild in the game with established guild management procedures and officers.


=== Entry Criteria ===
[[File:GERP_2.0.png|frame|center|A visual representation of the GERP phases.]]
 
* The GERP team considers the Letters of Intenet that have been submitted and the advice of the settlement leader.  A domain leader is selected by the council.
 
=== What Happens ===
 
* The new game director selects her initial set of officers from the settlement officers.
* The new game director and team publishes the official game policies from the settlement draft.
* Continue recruiting and building the guild.
 
 
== Recommended Content for Settlement Leader's Letter of Intent ==
 
[[File:Gerp_Up_Badge.png|right|180px|borderless]]
 
Here are some items you should include:
*    Name, forum.myextralife.com ID and any other names you are known by in the community.
*    Your interest in the game.
*    Your background in gaming and the AIE community.
*    Your thoughts on how the guild structure would be set up under your leadership.
*    How you plan on forming of a leadership team and their relationship to the community.
*    Your thoughts on how to handle disciplinary issues.
*    Ideas on how this new game can add to the rest of the AIE family--for example, opportunities for interacting and “cross-pollination”.
*    Anything else you care to say to impress us :)

Revision as of 01:24, 4 April 2014


Phases

Discovery

Information is collected about the game and community interest is gauged by the GERP Team. The GERP Team is only responsible for evaluating community interest in the game and selecting the director, efforts to build interest or rally support must come from the general membership.

Activity

  • Discussion about the game should be posted in the Imperium Lūdī.
  • Suggestions for entry into the game may be sent to the GERP Team.
  • The GERP Team begins internal nomination and selection of the game director.
  • The GERP Team assigns one or more advisers (known as champions) who will work with the new game director through the rest of the process.

Completion

  • Game director has been selected by the GERP Team and approved by the AIE Council.

Expedition

The Expedition phase is the period during which preparations are made for launch of the guild. The new game director will build her or his leadership team and will determine which parameters will best meet the needs of the AIE community (realm, faction, PvE/PvP, etc.)

Activity

  • A new forum is created for the game in the Imperium Lūdī.
  • The game director selects the starting officer corps for the game. All officers must be approved by the GERP Council.
  • Parameters such as faction and realm are decided upon by the game director and game officers.
  • UMAMI integration development begins.

Completion

  • Game has entered general availability.
  • The guild has been created in-game.
  • A process for joining the guild has been published.
  • A policy, based upon the Unified Policy has been approved by the AIE Council and published.

Settlement

The population of the guild begins!

The game must be in open beta or general availability at this point.

Activity

  • An ad hoc member tracking system may be used if UMAMI integration has not been completed..
  • Guild settings, policies, and processes are tuned.

Completion

Domain

The game guild becomes a full-fledged division of AIE.

Activity

  • Members are requested to register in UMAMI within some reasonable period of time to track membership or the data from the ad hoc tracking system is imported into UMAMI.

Timeline

The amount of time that it takes to progress through the phases will be different for every game. However the timeline will be governed by the following constraints.

  • Settlement may not begin until the game is in the general availability phase. This is the point where anyone can join with no restrictions other than purchase or subscription within a geographical region. An open beta period will be considered general availability.
  • Access permitting, the Discovery and Expedition phases should be conducted during pre-beta or closed beta for new games.


A visual representation of the GERP phases.
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