As memberships expire next week, I wanted to put up some updates beforehand to cover what we have going on over Summer, and also what changes will be going on towards the start of the next academic year!
Major Changes
Community Discord Overhaul
One thing that we want to focus on more as a Committee is building a stronger community within the Society itself, and one way we want to do this is to focus the LUGES Discord Server towards members only.
This means that from the 10th August, anyone who is not a current Society member with the “Member” tag on the Discord (Excluding Honorary Members), will lose access to the majority of channels.
If you were a member but did not have the tag, follow the instructions in the #get-roles channel that will show up on the day, and we will sort it out ASAP.
On the 1st September, all users with the Member rank will be given the Past Member rank, which allows access to most of the Discord Server. We will then begin selling memberships for the next year, so if you purchase the membership again, just let us know following the instructions in the #get-roles channel.
Esports Discord Launch
Alongside the main Discord being hit with the old factory reset, your very own Esports Coordinators, Karen and Ryan, have been working on a new Discord server tailored specifically to our Esports Players.
This server is open for those who play in our teams, those who are interested in getting involved with the team, as well as just those who have in interest in more competitive gaming and want to see how our teams are doing.
The invite for this new server is https://discord.gg/w6Zps4U and over the next few weeks, we hope to begin using it proactively.
Facebook Group
The Facebook Group, for those that still know it exists, will be getting archived and a new group made for members only will be created to further our plans of becoming more member-oriented as a Society. The page will still exist for the purpose of public image and for people to get in contact with us on, however, and all important updates will still make their way to the page!
Membership for 2019/20
With our revised budget for next year, we have increased the membership fee to £7.50 for next year, with the added funds going towards more equipment for members to use as we move towards more member focussed events and socials. It will also go towards the development of the Esports Branding and Image in order to provide a distinct identity for those representing the Society and University in the various Esports Tournaments.
Membership will be available to purchase from the 1st September and will be paid more attention to at Socials to keep events based around our members rather than just anyone.
Society Laptop
With the funds we have leftover this year, after allocating funds for an Esports logo and for Welcome Week, we’re also hoping to purchase a decent spec laptop that we can use to host some new and upcoming ideas, and also for people to use at events and socials for either gaming or streaming!
Realistically, our maximum budget for the laptop is £900, so if you have ideas or suggestions please get in contact with on the Committee either by email or the Discord Servers.
I’m told we’ll have a poll up soon with a shortlist, so let us know soon, and keep an eye out!
On top of just this one laptop, we are also planning to apply for additional support directly from the University to access the alumni funding pot to purchase a set of 6 laptops that can be used by our Esports Teams to practice together, and for use by members at events and socials.
Kieran’s Big Community Overhaul!
Your Community Officer has been hard at work with plans to completely overhaul the Community System, having it encompass all aspects of the Society, which will allow for wider ways of engaging, as well as more organisation of the communities within LUGES, putting them in the spotlight, and making it easier than ever to find people with similar interests to yours!
Here’s a little taste of some of the ideas Kieran presenting to us, but there’s plenty more to come in the run-up to the start of next year!
Community Cast
This initiative will bring about the introduction of bi-weekly podcasts, hosted by a member of the Committee (Usually Kieran) with a panel of some Committee Members, Reps and Guests, and will allow us to talk about what we have got going on in the near future, including the themed social of the next 2 weeks, any other events, and a community spotlight.
The community highlight and spotlight will give each community within the Society the opportunity to let members and others see what they have to offer, and how they can get involved, whilst also helping viewers get a little bit more insight into our Community Reps and the Committee.
Streaming Opportunities
One thing that we have always tried to touch on has been ways to try utilise the Twitch Channel more, and part of the new Community system, on top of the Community Casts, will be the introduction of prime opportunities for members to create their own content to stream, or get involved with Society run streams at events.
We’re currently looking into this in two ways, the first being having a dedicated streaming room at LAN. With the hopeful purchase of a laptop and the equipment we already have as a Society, we hope to work with Community Reps to plan content to play and stream on a schedule at each LAN so we always have some content up that people can engage with either in person or just via Twitch.
The second idea is to host separate Community Stream events, which would tie in really well with things such as game releases and updates, and also just in general if a Community wants to give running a longer stream a go. This could also be tied into running more general Society events on twitch, such as running Jackbox and such for those that don’t come to the weekly socials.
Why join a Community?
One of the biggest questions we’ve had between ourselves, and I have had with prospective communities, is the lack of any particular benefit of being a Community Rep or joining a Community within LUGES.
Moving forward, we hope to introduce some tangible incentives that will actually benefit those who wish to get involved and grow a Community within the Society;
Discord
With the refreshed Discord Server, we are going to provide each Community with their own section on the server, so that they can both engage with all members, but also then have private channels and voice channels for Community members only.
Hoodies
Once we find a new provider, we’ll also hopefully offer the opportunity for each Community to order custom hoodies that showcase their Community and are more relevant to them.
Awards
As our Community Reps will be the heart of the new system, we will also provide the opportunity for those who have contributed greatly to their Community to get recognised for their efforts. Stay tuned for more info on this though!
Upcoming Events
Discord Community Games (MC Hunger Games)
Despite everyone being up and yeeted out of the Discord Server, if you want to take part in the 2 Minecraft Hunger Games events we are running, feel free to rejoin the server as everyone will be able to use the Community Games channel without membership.
We’ll be running the Hunger Games in both August and September on the following dates and times:
● Saturday 17th August @ 4:30 pm
● Saturday 14th September @ 4:30 pm
Anyone is free to join, and hopefully (If I actually set it up properly this time), it will completely run itself from 4:30 pm onwards, and I’m sure we’ll probably come up with a prize or something closer to the event!
Welcome Week Events
We’ve currently got 2 events confirmed for Welcome Week, with more in the works for those who will still be with us!
● Furness Games Night – Furness Bar & Common Room on 29th September from 7 PM
● Fylde Games Night (ft. Senet) – Fylde Common Room on 3rd October from 7 PM
We’re also hopefully going to have an event in Pendle, with the return of Rock Band, and we’re planning an event with Cartmel as we speak!
That just about covers everything I can think of that we thought you would want to know, but as always, updates will be posted on the website (www.lancaster.ac.uk/luges) and the Discord Server (discord.gg/luges) so we can keep you up to date as things develop!
We hope everyone has been enjoying their summer and/or studies after the end of the year, and we look forward to seeing those of you who will be returning to Lancaster in October!
Lots of love,
Brent – LUGES President