We are seeing the beginning of a new on line community. A community that gathers around one centralizing ritual – playing Matrix Games. I believe that Matrix Games are just what the internet needs. They do what other games can only dream of and are easy and quick. This method of running games is going to spread. But spreading requires organization. ARCHITECTURE OF AN ON LINE COMMUNITY Traditional organizations are built on pyramid hierarchies. Where the guy on top has the say about where resources are allocated. The Hobby Game Industry has always been structured this way. Interestingly, the historical miniatures part of the hobby has not followed this structure – remaining largely amateur driven. This is probably due to there being no money in historical games! Computer time, communication, distribution and availability make it possible to create a very different type of organization. Still a pyramid, but this time an upside down pyramid. One where the players are on top and those further down the ladder serve them rather than rule them. How could this be?!? Players control the main resource of gaming – their time. Since electrons are nearly free, there is no need for there to be printed games available before the game can be played. In the past to play a game, someone had to see a set of rules. Even if only once. That met it had to be printed and as I well know, printing costs a lot! So companies had a hold on the supply of games. That is no longer necessary. Now companies only control the printing of professionally made games. So they have a place but not a place on top! Instead of basing the hierarchy on money, a Matrix Game organization can be controlled and run by the people it serves. The levels of the pyramid are based on "What you do" rather than "Who you are". Which I for one think is marvelous. IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION The essence of any on line community is communication. Without it there is nothing. The communication is about whatever centralizing ritual brings the group together. I our case it is playing Matrix Games. In doing this we will likely fall into the following activities. GAMING: The majority of people in our community will be players – lets call them "Matrix Gamers". REFEREEING: Some people will take the next step and run a face to face game or a PBEM. Lets call these people "Matrix Game Referees". SCENARIO WRITING: Many referees will likely also try their hand at writing scenarios. Lets call such people "Matrix Game Writers". This is where the fun ends and the lower levels of the inverted pyramid come it. As the said in ancient China – these people are widowed and orphaned. They do their vital work for the good of us all and are unlikely to ever be well know or appreciated. Lets call all these people "Matrix Game Organizers" or if you like Secret Masters of Gaming! EMAIL LIST ORGANIZERS: Each list need one person who takes on the task of setting up a new list and being a constant contributor to that list. This person leads by example and makes new member of the list feel welcome. In a word a host! HELPERS: When people send in messages asking for help, someone needs to answer. People who do are helpers. The internet is full of helpers. That is one of the things I like about it. WEB PAGE MANAGERS: The internet make distribution of ideas cheap because a web page cost next to nothing and often looks as good as professionally printed games. I foresee hundreds of amateur Matrix Game scenarios becoming available on line. Web pages will also be available to make game rules available to people, and to allow game sellers to make their products available for sale. Since amateur games are free, most of these web page designers will be doing this as a labor of love. MANAGING A LINKS PAGE: What with all the web pages and email list likely to come into existence, there will need to be a few web pages that act as links to other pages. Whoever runs these pages gets the thankless task of keeping it up to date. It will take a lot of web surfing to make certain all is correct but if done well such pages will become entry points for new people into the community. MAGAZINE EDITOR: Hmmm...Could that be what I'm doing? Nahhhh! Putting out newsletters on Matrix Games both on line and eventually in print is a lot of work but a great way to meet people! I've done such writing for seven of the last eleven years! When someone else wants to take this task on – I ready to give it up!!! Don't worry, I'll be your biggest article writer! Anyone...someone...oh well…maybe next year… "OUR LEADERS ARE BUT TRUSTED SERVANTS THEY DO NOT GOVERN" As you can see. The Matrix Game on line community I'm purposing to build is not lead by "leaders". In fact people only become "leaders" by doing one of the jobs listed. How does one get the job? Well, no one will give it to you. You get it by deciding you want to do it and do it!!! Some people will follow you, others will not. A few people will even accuse you of trying to "take power"! HA! The structure will work because it does exactly what people want it to rather than trying to dictate action. Lead by following. Lead by serving. Lead by yielding. The whole thing will work best if we cooperate with one another in setting up the inverted pyramid. An much as possible I hope we can leave egos out of it. They will arise in time but by then the structure should be too large for it to matter. Matrix Gamers – The bulk of the community. Email List – Where Matrix Game referees run games. Web Pages – Where scenarios and for sale products are found Nexus Link Pages – Where people can be directed to pages or email lists of their interest Newsletters – That spread the word beyond the web to people who still live off line. WHAT DO WE NEED TO SET UP FIRST? Well, we have a few position openings! Right now we have a number of web pages set up, and one email list going (which is running games, holding rules discussions and acting as a trouble shooting nexus). Of course this is the newsletter – but it is not printed (because I'm cheap!) So we need the following… A links page coordinator: Who will set up a web page that lists all our web pages and email lists so that people can go and see. This people needs to update it frequently and try to play those weird little internet tricks that make web pages come up earlier on browser searches. Web page designers: Who will set up web pages about scenarios and examples of play (from past games) so that people new to the community will be able to see what we've done. New email list hosts: Who will set up and run a list to run games when the MatrixGamer egroup list gets too full. It will happen! Drummers: People who go out to other lists and newsgroups and put in mentions of this newly developing community. I think going to the various PBEM sites and running a game there will bring in a lot of people. I'll do my bit but I see that the time has come where I am no longer the lone voice for this cause. So let me step aside and let the credit go to you...you know who you are! WILL IT WORK? Hell yes!!! It's inevitable! Back to Table of Contents -- Matrix Gamer #15 To Matrix Gamer List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2000 by Chris Engle. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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