العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolGAMES WORKSHOP ONLINE COMMUNITY
The 'Games Workshop Online Community' refers to the registered members of any internet fora or websites specifically for Games Workshop's miniature wargames, including The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, Warhammer Fantasy Battles and Warhammer 40,000, and the influence that the community has on these products.
Official Community
Games Workshop PLC has a range of official websites in different languages and representing different countries in its global market, such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, ''etc''.[2] These sites currently provide various gaming and hobby resources to those who play its miniature wargames, in addition to news releases, its online store and support for the online community and events. In early 2005, one magazine described the website as having "literally thousands of pages" and "an incredible amount of hobby material".[3]
The site also used to provide a forum service for the registered members of its online community, which was available in English on the UK and US sites. A forum was provided for discussion of each of the core wargames, as well as ''White Dwarf'' magazine, although discussion of the company's business practises and prices were banned from their forums (as well as linking to any other commercial websites). In December 2005, the community had over 300,000 registered members, with an average 2700 posts across the message boards each day.[4] This average increased to 3000 by November 2006.
In June 2006, the company closed down the forum dedicated to discussion of ''White Dwarf'' magazine, while on November 15 2006, all of the core game forums were closed down.[5] This closure generally forced fan discussion into the wider community of unofficial fansites dedicated to the hobby. Not all members had registered to the Games Workshop site to use the forum, however, as many wanted to receive newsletters or use the hobby articles on the website (indeed, the registration for membership pages still remain).[6]
Worldwide Campaigns
Regional map used for recording battles in a Worldwide Campaign.
Games Workshop has run numerous ''Worldwide Campaigns'' for its three core game sysyems. In each campaign, players are invited to submit the results of games played within a certain time period. The collation of these results provides a result to the campaign's scenario, and in the case of Warhammer, often goes on to impact the fictional and gameplay development of the fictional universe. Although in the past, campaign results had to be posted to the United Kingdom to be counted, the more recent campaigns have allowed result submission via the Internet:
★ 2000 - Third War for Armageddon (Warhammer 40,000)[7]
★ 2001 - Dark Shadows (Warhammer)
★ 2003 - Eye of Terror (Warhammer 40,000)[8]
★ 2004 - Storm of Chaos (Warhammer)[9]
★ 2005 - The War of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game)[10][11]
★ 2006 - The Fall of Medusa V (Warhammer 40,000)[12]
★ 2007 - The Nemesis Crown (Warhammer)[13]
These Campaigns were run to promote its miniature wargames, and attracted interest in the hobby, particularly at gaming clubs, Hobby Centres and independent stockists. Forums for the community were created for each campaign (in addition to those on the main site), as a place to "swap tactics, plan where to post your results, or just chat about how the campaign is going." In some cases special miniatures were released to coincide with the campaigns; the promotional "Gimli on Dead Uruk-hai" miniature, for example, was available only through the campaign roadshows or ordering online.[14] As a whole these events have been highly successful; the War of the Ring Campaign, for example, had 3007 registered participants, with 27239 recorded wargames.[15]
Wider Community
In addition to the official website, "Community" innately implies Games Workshop's fan base, which has influenced various aspects of the hobby. In the past, the company has recognised the work of unofficial fansites, notably for their participation in the ''Worldwide Campaigns'', and has given them credit in White Dwarf magazine. These events would not have been possible without the "overwhelmingly positive response" of the community. In addition, numerous unofficial campaigns have been run, such as the "''Campaign of LoTRs''" by ''The Dark Council'' and ''Cheeseweb''.[16] (These sites had originally been founded as "player created strategy groups" for the official campaigns.)
Like the original forums of the Games Workshop site, those of the wider community are generally dedicated to a single game (or sometimes a specific theme).
The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game
Map of Middle-earth used in an unofficial online campaign.
There are a large number of unofficial websites and forums for Lord of the Rings players. Although primarily concerned with the Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game, many of these sites attempt to encompass all gaming to do with ''The Lord of the Rings'' (the main interest being upon the books by J. R. R. Tolkien and the movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson). Discussion often also covers ''The Lord of the Rings'' computer games (such as ''Battle for Middle-earth'' produced by EA Games) and other miniature wargaming manufacturers and fansites (such as Ebob Miniatures). The longest running of such sites was ''The One Ring'' (since 2002), although today ''The Last Alliance'' is by far the largest.[17][18]
The online community has held influence over the hobby in different respects: for example, resources for the game's naval ruleset, All at Sea, are based almost entirely on the internet (aside from coverage in a few White Dwarf articles).[19][20] Members of these webistes have produced articles for the public, in greater quantity than on the official site. ''The Last Alliance'', for example, is estimated to have over 1000 articles produced for its 10700 members, ranging from painting guides to step-by-step terrain making guides; while other sites, such as ''The One Ring'' have also strived for a high quality article library.[21] In the past, Games Workshop has reported in White Dwarf on the activity of the community, saying at the time that it had a "huge wealth of material".[22] Such websites have been key in organising sides in the Worldwide Campaigns, and indeed in creating their own campaigns and competitions.[23]
At present, the rules for Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game are in their fourth edition, but in addition to the official rulesets, Games Workshop has also encouraged the writing of unofficial "house rules" by wargamers.[24] As such, the online community has been responsible for the release of a number of unofficial fan supplements and other supplementary material on the internet; the first of which was ''The Age of the King'', made by ''The One Ring'', although some of its subject matter was later covered by official rulesets.[25][26] In many cases, supplements are written for areas where Games Workshop's licence does not extend, such as ''The Silmarillion''.[27] Some of ''The Last Alliance's members are even credited in official Games Workshop Supplements.
Another notable side of the community is the influence of its reaction to the company's products: many Tolkien purists, for example, reacted against the company's rendition of the Swan Knights of Dol Amroth, with some choosing to convert their own,[28] impacting the hobby and the sales of the products.[29] When Games Workshop subsequently showed the planned release of the Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth, it was suggested that they had taken the response of the community into account.[30][31]
Warhammer Fantasy Battles
Similar to the Lord of the Rings community, Warhammer Fantasy Battles has its own unofficial sites, although the community is substantially larger due to the relative length of time the game has been in existence (''Druchii.net'', for example, has almost 12000 members[32]). These too have produced large numbers of articles, as well as e-zines, miniature galleries and competitions, although it is mainly based around "race-specific" forums. These tend to only deal with one race or army within the game, such as Dwarfs and the High Elfs.[33][34]
The community has even been successful in turning the Orc faction into a decisive edge during the 2004 Storm of Chaos Online Campaign, against the Games Workshop plan for them to be a random wildcard fighting both the defending forces and the marauding Chaos.[35] Some sites have been noted for running their own campaigns, which are not sponsored by Games Workshop. The organisation of the Warhammer Fantasy Battle online communities has led to much competition and rivalry; the accusations of myriad players cheating in both the Storm of Chaos Online Campaign and the Shadows of Albion campaigns, has led Games Workshop into changing its policy to limit the amount of submissions of battles by players.
Warhammer 40,000
Since its 1987 inception, Warhammer 40,000 has garnered a sizeable online community, and its online community is not as centralised as that of the younger The Lord of the Rings. The bulk of the community's online presence can be seen in the many unofficial fansites, galleries and forums themed around Warhammer 40,000. The community has attracted the attention of Games Workshop significantly enough that some members have had articles published in White Dwarf.[36][37]
There are a multitude of sites devoted to almost every aspect of the game, and many are specifically dedicated to a single Warhammer 40,000 army, such as the Dark Angels Space Marine chapter or the Orks.[38][39] Some members of the community have also created web comics about the Warhammer 40,000 world, as permitted by Games Workshop,[40] including the webcomic ''Turn Signals on a Land Raider'', which has had more than 300 issues since it was first published online in 2003.[41] Some sites, such as the now-defunct ''Portent.net'', focus on other aspects of the game such as rumours of yet-to-be-released miniatures, rules and games. That site, at its height, garnered over 100,000 visitors per month.[42]
A professionally painted conversion - an example of the hobby-related resources to the online community.
In addition to these sites, there are a few large community sites that specialize in providing multiple game-related resources to the online community, aside from serving as discussion forums. These unofficial sites are often major endeavours, requiring significant financial investment and enterprise-level server hardware. ''Portent'', one of the major Warhammer 40,000 sites during the turn of the millennium, closed down in 2005 primarily because it had become too large and expensive to maintain. With over 20,000 registered members, the ''Bolter and Chainsword'' forum is a good example of one of these major Warhammer 40,000 online subcommunity sites. While the forum itself is primarily a message board, it echoes the breadth of the community by conducting painting and modeling contests,[43] allowing members to post battle reports of games they have played and featuring articles on gameplay and other Games Workshop-related issues written by the members themselves. Like many other Games Workshop fansites, it provides a gallery where members can upload photographs of their own miniatures.[44] A more general site would be the ''Dakka Dakka'' forums, which does not limit itself to just discussion on Space Marines and Chaos Space Marines (as ''Bolter & Chainsword'' does). The members of sites such as ''Dakka Dakka'' have provided a wide range of articles, ranging from painting guides, strategy manuals and army lists, to fan-made fiction and the occasional prose.[45] ''Librarium-Online''[46] is another notable site, focusing in particular more on articles rather than forum discussion. It has published articles on topics ranging from getting into Warhammer 40,000 as a new player,[47] to topics like miniature photography.[48]
One of the larger Warhammer 40,000 communities online is ''WarSeer'', formed in 2005 by former members of the closed ''Portent.net''. Like many of the larger community sites, the site is a collection of rumours, articles, galleries and discussion forums.[49] The forums themselves have over a million posts spread across almost 22,000 registered members.[50] On sites such as these, discussions between fans can arise regarding even comparatively minor details in the game's background story; For example, there is a 12-page discussion surrounding the removal of a minor character in a single background event in the game's official storyline. What is the deal with Ollanius Pious?
Specialist Games
In addition to the three major games, Games Workshop's Specialist Games also have their own online community. As the games and their components have been partially discontinued, support for the players has been almost entirely via Games Workshop's Specialist Games forums. It is notable that these official forums are provided by Games Workshop, which closed off their official fora for their major games in November 2006. In addition, new editions of game rules and game material are published entirely online on the official website. ''Fanatic Online'' is an official e-zine that Games Workshop publishes monthly for the Specialist Games online community.[51]
Footnotes and References
1. The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game forum page, as at November 14 2006.
2. Games Workshop Worldwide
3. ''Battle Games in Middle-earth 56'', The War of the Ring Campaign Booklet, p 1
4. "How big is this Forum?" Steve Hammatt, Forum Moderator
5. Message Boards
6. Registration
7. Third War for Armageddon Campaign Site
8. Eye of Terror Campaign Site
9. Storm of Chaos Campaign Site
10. The War of the Ring Campaign Site (United Kingdom)
11. The War of the Ring Campaign Site (Canada)
12. The Fall of Medusa V Campaign Site
13. Nemesis Crown Campaign Site
14. "The Wrath of Umbar"
15. Alessio Cavatore, "Victory for the Free Peoples". ''UK White Dwarf 312'', p 98-99
16. Campaign of LoTRs Site
17. The One-Ring.co.uk, answer #7
18. History of The Last Alliance.com
19. All At Sea Part One Nick Davis
20. The Ports of Pelargir
21. Article Submission Guidelines:
★ The One-Ring.org Guidelines
★ The Last Alliance.com Guidelines
22. ''UK White Dwarf 300, UK White Dwarf 282''
23. For example: The One Ring Awards
24. Games Workshop Intellectual Property:
"''We encourage fellow hobbyists to invent rules that work for them. There is no need to stick precisely to the published rules. However, if you are thinking about making your own Codex'' [eg.] ''for your Space Marine chapter (in addition to following the other guidelines in this policy), please avoid making it look official as this may confuse gamers and amount to a challenge to our trademarks. Also, do not copy our official publications or documents.''"
25. The Age of the King
26. Compare with Games Workshop's ''A Shadow in the East Supplement''
27. For example, supplements have been made depicting the Fall of Gondolin, [1] [2] based on ''The Silmarillion'' and ''The Book of Lost Tales'' respectively, as well as about the Kinslaying at Alqualondë and the War of Wrath. [3]
28. For example: Alternative Knights of Dol Amroth
Dol Amroth Army
29. 2005 Report
30. Discussion of Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth
31. Discussion of Men-at-Arms of Dol Amroth
32. Druchii.net
33. Bugman's Brewery
34. The Asur
35. [4] [5]
36. White Dwarf Articles by Dakka posters
37. Commorragh's Elite: A veteran tournament player proves the strength of the Dark Eldar., , Christopher, Bell, White Dwarf,
38. Codex Unforgiven: A fan site for Warhammer 40k
39. The Waaagh!
40. What you can do with Games Workshop's Intellectual Property
41. Turn Signals on a Land Raider
42. Portent
43. New Contest at the Bolter and Chainsword
44. Bolter and Chainsword
45. Dakka Dakka Forums
46. Librarium-Online
47. Warhammer 40,000; Getting Started
48. Miniature Photography
49. WarSeer
50. WarSeer Forums
51. Specialist Games
External links
★ Official Games Workshop website
★ Official Games Workshop community
The Lord of the Rings SBG
★ Official 2005 Games Workshop Online Summer Campaign website
★ Official 2005 Games Workshop Canada Campaign website
★ Directory of Unofficial LotR Strategy Battle Game Support Sites
★ Unofficial War of the Ring website, a monument to the participants of the War of the Ring Campaign
Warhammer Fantasy Battles
★ Official Storm of Chaos Campaign Website
Warhammer 40,000
★ Official "The 3rd War for Armageddon" Campaign Website
★ Official "Eye of Terror" Campaign Website
★ Official "Fall of Medusa V" Campaign Website
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
