The Pitch: Why are we here again? Dopamine, Serotonin or… Something more? <Return to Our Cave> is devoted to find that metanarrative. Our members should hold interests in psychology, history, philosophy, neurobiology or game development. We are people interested in the pursuit of knowledge, we play to observe ourselves and others to keep an eye on the “why” of every player action or design choice of Everquest. This guild is for those not interested in skipping along the surface of an MMORPG, we are here to both take part in the community and gain deeper understanding. Long-Term Goals: 1. Develop and host questionnaires to APA standards that we incentivize players to take. (Validity/Reliability/Precision and errors of measurement/Fairness in testing/etc.) a. https://www.apa.org/science/programs/testing/standards 2. Research and discuss development in “serious games,” the history or developments of why people play videogames (with a focus on MMORPGs). 3. Create a database of relevant books, podcasts, research and materials relevant to our communal interests. 4. Possibly publish our research one day with a list of member’s contributions. Or keep the data collected for members interested in their own research or content creation. Why you Weirdo?: I care deeply about this particular Interactive Mythos, this genre and its players. One day I want people to willingly individuate themselves Jung style, explore the positive or negative emotions, present and future experiences, all in order to shed light on our individual, cultural and collective unconscious. I may use the data or what I learn in my thesis in a few years. But I do not want to be a dispassionate or disconnected observer. I want to be a participant in understanding this microcosm of “The Zeitgeist,” starting with these experimental rule servers. We are all returning to “The Cave,” equipped with skills we gained alongside age and education. Let us gain more than loot while we play this time. The Catch-22: This is not a guild for everyone, it may not fulfil the wants or needs of raid DKP or casual play. It has a different intent, and that will not appeal to most. <Return to Our Cave> is what you make of it. You can call me Philemonic. I want to be a guide through this postmodern MMORPG era. Application Link: http://cave.gamerlaunch.com/recruiting/create_apply.php?gid=586574 Guild Site: http://cave.gamerlaunch.com
