Why Volunteers?

Cost reductions, although substantial, are not the only reason why game companies create volunteer programs. Often, the players themselves demand it. Most interviews with the developers of future online games feature the question, "Will you have a way for volunteers to work with the game?" [Strand00] states: "I am convinced that online gaming would not be what it is today if it hadn't been for the volunteers."

Volunteers can improve the community aspects of the game world and provide much more game experience and dedication than a temporary agency employee working for near minimum wage. Furthermore, those who excel as volunteers in the industry often hold degrees and lucrative jobs and would not be interested in fulltime employment even if the companies could afford them. A large number work with the games for enjoyment and to be a part of the special behind-the-scenes community. Most volunteers are "hardcore" gamers with years of experience as players and the vast majority are at least part-time students in college.

The downside of volunteer programs is twofold: there is a risk of litigation, and managing volunteers is very time consuming. If your staff is comprised of volunteers who average as little as five hours of work a week, you will need eight times as many volunteers as you would full-time employees to offer the same coverage. Worse: in reality, you might end up needing 30 times more volunteers than you would paid staff, because you must account for the fact that you cannot force a volunteer to adhere to a specific, regular schedule.

Asheron's Call, Ultima Online, EverQuest, DragonRealms, and Anarchy-Online all began life with the devotion and caring of hundreds of volunteers. Asheron's Call later disbanded their volunteer customer support staff and Ultima Online removed their volunteers in the North American and European game worlds due to concerns of legality.

Case Study 4.3.4: Comparison of Games and Support Models

Table 4.3.1 lists several popular games and their service models.

Table 4.3.1: Customer Service Models

Game	Producer	Player Base	Type of Game	Customer Service
Everquest	Sony/Verant	Very large	MMORPG	Mostly volunteers with limited powers
DragonRealms	Simutronics	Large	Pay to Play Mud	Paid/volunteer mix
[*]Asherons Call	Microsoft	Very large	MMOG	Paid staff only
[*]Ultima Online	Origin	Very large	MMOG	Paid staff only
Anarchy-Online	Funcom Inc.	Large	MMOG	Mostly volunteer
[*]Both games started off with large volunteer staff groups and discontinued due to fear of legal complications.