Virtue - World of Warcraft Gaming Guild

Project Title: Virtue Guild
Address: http://www.virtueguild.com
Industry: Gaming, Entertainment
Services: Development, Design
Cycle: 8 days
Launch Date: 7th January 2009

Overview

Virtue, an online gaming group focusing on the World of Warcraft approached Spearbox Media with the aim to provide a new, vibrant, cross-functional website. We were more than happy to take on the challenge. Virtue requested an arsenal of features to be implemented, cross-networking with other websites and a heavy focus on the communal aspect of pushing the site forward through its user base.

The Client

Virtue is a gaming group (known as a Guild) within the online gaming sensation, World of Warcraft, by Blizzard Entertainment. World of Warcraft currently boasts a massive 11.5 million users initially launched in November 2004. Virtue leaders were a part of the sensation from the very beginning and had a formidable member base.

The previous website consisted of just a forum, strung together overnight on a whim at 3am with just hopes in mind during spring 2008. Prior to the new website, Virtue boasted over 250 members, and a website that did not meet their requirements.

The Brief

The initial brief submitted to Spearbox Media requested mandatory integration throughout all aspects of the website. They wished to have a website entailing;

• Elegant, yet modern style
• Focus on the user, with only requiring one set of user credentials to work throughout the entire website
• A wiki knowledge base usable by members
• Community Forums
• Community Gallery
• Ease of use
• Integration with external API’s
  • WoWWiki.com
  • WoWHead.com
  • WoWArmory.com
• Online Store, selling Virtue-branded merchandise
• SEO Friendly
• To be built compliant to xHTML 1.0 standards/CSS on a PHP mainframe.

Approach

The project was large and demanding; it required a customised solution, bridged with pre-existing products. A quick brainstorm showed a simple mainframe would quite easily suffice, with a user-bridge between different areas of the website.

Our first task was to break down the databases and rewire them to use a central database for just users and their access credentials to bridge the primary website, forums and "raid" planners (online diary management system).

Second, we targeted the extraction of data via API’s that in turn extracted requested data into the Spearbox Content Management Systems and forum software, identifying methods to produce an efficient data flow.

Finally, we looked at the design for the website, adhering to an agreed structural layout, user hierarchy and initial brief on the design requested.

The Final Result

Upon release, Virtue members are able to contribute to their own community using a user managed content system, with everything they requested integrated into a single package. The design and usability was welcomed greatly throughout and positive feedback given by everyone.

Gallery