Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 25, 2010. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Germany’s largest community gathering for online gamers will take place from July 9 to 11, 2010, as part of GAMES CONVENTION ONLINE (July 8 to 11, 2010). In the Community Zone in exhibition hall 2, members of clans, guilds, teams, corporations, fan sites and forums will meet for three days to network, play and celebrate.
“The Community Zone will be a central component of the Planet World and is the meeting place for the communities in exhibition hall 2. Here, players will find a lounge, the Community Stage and an exhibition area where the communities can present themselves. This gives the communities their own meeting place tailored to their needs, close to other players, game providers and developers and, above all, the community managers,” says Silvana Kürschner, Strategy Director GC Global.
Gilde Gothic is a GCO partner
This year, Gilde Gothic, one of the leading German-speaking guilds, will once again present itself at GCO and is calling on all guilds, clans and teams to meet in Leipzig.
Even before the trade fair, they are available to answer interested players’ questions about guild and clan life, organising their own guild, setting up a website or TeamSpeak, or organising meetings as part of GCO (contact: wled@gilde-gothic.de). 250 members have already registered for the Gilde Gothic gathering.
“With the gathering, we are supporting the exchange of experience between the communities on a unique platform that understands the needs of MMO players,” says Werner Matthiesen, member of the supervisory board of Gilde Gothic. “Last year, we noticed that the members of guilds and clans welcomed GCO’s concept of organising an annual gathering. That is why this year we decided to provide GCO with greater support in organising it,” Matthiesen adds.
Two Pi Team is responsible for community management
Two Pi Team, a company specialising in community management, is once again a GCO partner and is taking over large parts of the communication with the communities and other interested parties, including in the official forum (http://forums.wheel-of-games.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1071). Two Pi Team will also accompany the event with a series of special radio broadcasts via Gilde Gothic’s well-known internet radio station “MMORPG Radio”, moderate the online event on the internet, organise the programme on the Community Stage and provide the moderation there as well. Information about Two Pi Team at http://www.two-pi-team.de.
“Online games live through their community. We can only support bringing publishers and communities together at a trade fair with a festival character. Our cooperation with Leipziger Messe last year was very successful, and we would like to build on that success,” says Thomas Lagemann, Managing Director of Two Pi Team.
Varied programme for communities
The first guild and clan conference will take place on the Friday of the trade fair. Here, questions can be put to game developers, publishers and community managers, or criticism and requests can be voiced. An exclusive guild panel will focus on current developments in community work. Workshops for website designers and discussion panels on clan life will offer tips for successful guild development. On Friday evening, GCO and the games industry will invite visitors to the Community Party at the Beach Club on the outdoor grounds of Leipziger Messe.
Recruitment Day at GCO
Anyone for whom discussion and celebration are not enough and who would also like to work actively in the industry will find everything they need to know about job profiles, vacancies and training opportunities at Recruitment Day on the Sunday of the trade fair, both in the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) and in the Community Zone. Workshops on applications and presenting game ideas will take place on the Community Stage.
Naturally, competitive gaming will not be neglected in Leipzig either. In the Public Gaming Area, several interconnected gaming zones invite community teams to compete against one another.
In addition to the Consumer World, which is open to visitors from July 9 to 11, GCO will host the Business Area in the Congress Center Leipzig (CCL) from July 8 to 10.
