A large portion of what makes our guild interesting and fun is the many events we hold.
Yet holding an event is not a simple matter. The following is a short guide to organizing a successful
event. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact any Elder.
Ideas
Having a good and interesting idea is the first step towards organizing an event.
There are, however, a few guidelines to follow to ensure that the idea will make
a fun and successful event.
- Keep ideas simple
Perhaps the most important rule of thumb when it
comes to choosing the right idea is to keep it simple. Simple ideas are
the easiest to put into play and they are also the easiest to adapt or
change if the need should arise. Contrary to belief, simple ideas are not
any less fun than complicated ones. The events are, above all, for
participants to have fun. They do not want to spend an hour trying to figure out what
the event is about. Complex ideas also take a lot more planning and are
more difficult to change if something should go wrong. As such, to
ensure a successful event, keep the idea simple.
- Look at previous events for inspiration If you wish to hold an event, but cannot think of
a good idea, take a look at previous events. Looking into previous events
is not shameful nor wrong in any way. Previous events can give you an idea
of what Elves (or other participants) are interested in. By looking at previous
events, you may also be able to spot potential problems or strong points.
If you can, also take the time to speak with the Elf who held the event to
gather their input on how they organized the event, how successful it was,
and what they would do differently next time, etc.
- Incorporate Role Playing in your events Always have a Role Playing element to your event.
It doesn’t matter whether the Role Play is a mere couple of sentences at
a beginning of the event or if your event is Role Play only. It is, however,
essential that you add some Role Play to your event. If you’re not sure
how to incorporate the Role Playing element, ask an experienced Elf for
suggestions.
- Get feedback on your ideas Run your ideas by an experienced Elf (a member of
your path, your path leader, an elder or anyone else you can think of).
Get as many opinions as you can, and consider incorporating some of their
ideas. But remember that this is
your event and that you are the
one organizing and hosting it. Do not let anyone pressure you into
changing your idea or your plan. We all have definite ideas on what a good
idea is but the success of the event depends on much more than that idea.
So take all criticisms and comments with a grain of salt.
Realizing the ideas
Once you have a clear idea, it is time to implement it
and put it into practice. This can, at times, be a rather complicated and
confusing process which can be rendered worse with a complex or unclear ideas.
Here are a few guidelines that can help facilitate this process:
- Make clear and simple rules for the event
Once again, simplicity is the key. The rules need
to be stated in such a way that they are understood by everyone. They also
need to be short and easy to follow. For example, if you are holding a PvP event,
you need to make sure that the participants understand which skills they
may use, which weapons to equip, how they may heal, where they can move,
and so on. Do not get caught up in unnecessary details (such as
‘you
can use three pots but you can’t use them all at once and you can’t
use them if you’ve used a refresh potion and/or if your weapon is
equipped on your right hand’), instead make sure that the rules are
only there to make the competition (if any) fair. Explain the rules before
the event. Note that if your explanation takes longer than 2 minutes, it
is probably too complicated.
- If possible, have a practice run the day before the event
Meet with all the people helping in the event and
have a trial run. This will help spot potential problems and give you
time to make any last minute changes to the event. It also gives you the
opportunity to make sure that the people helping you to understand their role
and are comfortable with it. It can also give you an idea of how long
the setup for the event may take and how long the event may last.
- Have a back-up plan in case situations go wrong
Obviously, we cannot predict every possible
problem, but it is a very good idea to make up a list of potential
problems and how to solve them. Things like making sure that you have
someone to fill in if a helper doesn’t show up, or back-up prizes if the
ones you have don’t work. It might be helpful to talk to other Elves and
see some of the problems they encountered and how they countered them.
- Have a back-up host
Often, when events are posted in advanced, members will make arrangements
to set aside their own time to attend your event. However, as we cannot predict
what may go wrong, there may be times where your internet connection or a
real life situation prevents you from attending or requires you to be late for your
event. This situation is understandable and often excuseable but can still be frustrating
for those members who were able to attend and made arrangements otherwise.
If you host more than one event which you must cancel, members tend to be hesitant
to attend any future events which you may wish to host.
Thus, it is always important to have a back-up host, guildmate, friend, who would
be able to cover for you in such a situation. This is also mandatory when hosting a
major event (such as an event at the Elven Carnivals) or when you send out invitations
for other guilds to attend your event.
Setting up a time
Once you’ve worked out the basics of your
event, it is important to set a time when you would like to hold it. It
goes without saying that you should choose a time when you can attend your
event. But there are a few more things to consider:
- Try not to have your event coincide with another
You do not want participants to have to choose
between two events. Nor do you want conflicts between the hosts of these
two events. It would be a much better idea to postpone an event for a week
than to have it be in conflict with another.
- Choose a time that would accommodate most Elves
Be mindful of the times Elves can attend. The
prime time is from 7pm (PST) to 10pm (PST), however, there are still Elves
who are only able to attend other times (earlier or later). There might be
a few that will ask you to hold your event at a different time, especially
if your event is exciting and interesting. Keep in mind that you cannot
find a time where every Elf can attend as we have Elves in different areas
of the world.
- Post it on the calendar a week or two in advance
Make sure that Elves know about it in advance, so
they can plan on attending. Realize that Elves often have busy schedules
and that by posting your event on the calendar, you allow the Elves to
plan around it. It also gives an opportunity to invite other friendly
guilds and potential members to join as well.
- Ensure the event does not start late
Latecomers will have to catch up accordingly.
Don't wait around. There is nothing worse than making the participants of
your event wait for a long period of time because a few more people might
show up. It is not only long and uninteresting, it also shows a lack of
respect towards the participants that arrived on time. For those latecomers
you wait for, you may end up loosing those who arrived on time as they may
have only scheduled to attend your event for the hour it was scheduled and
thus may have to leave in the middle of the event which can lead to interuptions
and lowered attendance after you event starts.
Resources
Resources are items (and people) that make your
event come alive. As such, make sure that you have the appropriate
location, decorations and cast. Pay attention to details as they can
enhance the experience.
- If you are offering prizes, make sure you have
enough for everyone.
There is nothing more embarrassing than when one
promises a prize and then is unable to give it. If you are offering a
prize, make sure you have it available at the end of the event. Consider
keeping the prize in a safe location for the duration of the event (such
as your house or the bank). As such, should something happen to your
character (untimely death and being unable to get to your corpse), you
will still have the prize at the end of the event. If you are giving out
door prizes, make sure that you have enough for at least 15 or 20
participants (having too many prizes is not a problem, as you can use them
in other events).
- If you have Elves helping you, offer them a
compensation for their time and effort
Be sure to thank the Elves that helped out. Your
appreciation is the best reward you can offer.
Getting help
- If you are overwhelmed by the immensity of your
task, seek help
There is nothing shameful about seeking help when
it is necessary. While organizing your event, you are bound to find a few
bumps on the road. The best way to take care of these is by asking an
experienced Elf to help. No one expects you to handle everything on your
own, and as such, seek help when you need it.
- Ask your path leader (or an elder) to be
present and help ensure that things go smoothly
Path leaders and Elders have had a lot of
experience in hosting events. Participants can get unruly at times,
especially when having fun. This may be difficult to handle, and, as such,
it is a good idea to have an Elder (or a path leader) nearby to help calm
issues down.
Advertise
Advertising is the
single most important factor that determines the success of your event. Good advertising can
make even the most boring event popular where as bad advertising can make
even the most interesting event have a poor turnout.
A good rule of thumb when it comes to advertising
is to advertise it to death. Take any opportunity to speak about your
event and to remind people that they will enjoy it immensely. Here are
some things to do to advertise:
- Post a story in the RP forum
- Post in the General Forum a week before your event
An hour before your event, announce
it in the main chat (use colors for more attention) and repeat the
announcement regularly until the event begins. Advertising
an hour, thirty minutes, 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 5 minutes,
prior to an event is often the norm)
- If necessary, send a private message to Elves you'd like to see at the
event (especially Nessas)
General tips
- Even if there is a poor turnout, run the event.
Never postpone an event due to poor turnout,
entertain the few elves that
did make an effort to show up. Word
will spread about the fun of your event and more will come next time.