This week, we bring you recollections offered by developers on the EverQuest Development Team, as they look back fondly over eleven years of this groundbreaking game world. We hope you all enjoy their thoughts, and that you will share your own memories on our forums!
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Eleven years ago I was sitting in my dorm room surfing the web, waiting for my turn to come up for the next game of Golden Eye. My roommate had gotten me in a MUD he’d been playing and I was looking around for information. Somehow while searching I came across some references to some new 3D MUD that was being worked on and needed Beta testers. What the heck, I’d never had much luck getting accepted into Betas, but figured I might as well sign up. A month or so later I received a CD in the mail with the game installer on it. It was a standard CD with “EverQuest Beta” written across the front. Little did I know that this little disc would help shape the rest of my life.
First as a player, then as a Game Master, and finally as a designer, the last eleven years of my life have been completely changed by the world of Norrath. If it wasn’t for EverQuest, I’d most likely be cleaning test tubes in some chemical lab (I was chemistry major in college). I clearly wouldn’t be living in San Diego, and I wouldn’t have met the love of my life that I married last September. Every year at Fan Faire I hear similar stories from people who have been changed by playing EverQuest. I can only imagine how many friendships, jobs opportunities, and marriages can be traced back to this amazing game.
I’m sure many of you remember the original marketing slogan, “You’re in our world now.” This was a great tag line. It embodied the scope of the world, the feeling of an imminent challenge, and the idea of playing in a community. There was one thing they got wrong though. It wasn’t really their world. The past and current development team may be creating the world that we’re playing in, but it is shaped just as much by the people playing it. Anyone who has ever played EQ has contributed in some small way to the evolution of the world as it marches forward. We should all be proud of the legacy we’ve created as players and developers.
Every year when this anniversary comes around, I find myself thinking of all the people I met from EQ, and all the fun I’ve had killing and creating every kind of monster imaginable. As you celebrate EQ’s birthday this year, I hope you look back on it as fondly as I do, and hope for as many good memories still to come.
~ Ryan Barker, Lead Designer
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“I’m coming up on my ten-year anniversary, as I’ve been with the EverQuest team since The Scars of Velious. It has been incredible to watch the game grow into what it is today and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our players. Here’s to eleven more years in the future!
~ Bob “Vyrinn Shadowmyst” Painter
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“It’s so magical to be able to experience the 11th Anniversary of EverQuest after spending so many years involved in the game one way or another. In many ways it’s not just the birthday of my game project, but the birthday of the game that took many, many fun years of my life, the loot I’ve earned, and the wonderful friends I’ve made. I look forward to another 11, 22… 55 years more!”
~ Zieri, EverQuest Apprentice Designer and Quality Assurance Analyst
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“Though I have not been on the EQ for nearly as long as the others, it is exciting that EverQuest has hit this important landmark. I look forward to many more years of EverQuest, both in Dev and its Community.”
~ Sajinn – Game Designer
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Greetings, Norrathians. Raramor here.
Eleven years ago, I don’t think anyone would have believed that EverQuest – indeed, any online game – might be destined to captivate a large enough audience to not only become a blockbuster hit entertaining hundreds of thousands of players, but also endure for eleven years.
Think about that for a moment.
Eleven years. I remember vividly how the world changed in that time since I first set out upon the North Desert of Ro to start building my Ranger’s fame and fortune. Some of the highly-touted technologies of that era which seemed like they would never go away, did. How many tech gadget fads and dot-com firms were hyped, rose, peaked, fell, and were forgotten during those years – not to mention game products? EverQuest, interestingly enough, is still around. No surprise – this is a game that offers deep gameplay and rich lore, ever-increasing ways to improve one’s characters, topped off with a steady progression of expansion areas to explore and wonder over, inspiring players to invest themselves for long periods of time, building up many rewarding relationships with each other, helping to define a cultural phenomenon.
Though in many ways working on EverQuest is certainly a labor of epic proportions, I love developing content for a loyal base of fans who appreciate the attention to quality – few other games are lucky enough to have such a dedicated and passionate audience. Having the honor to work on several EverQuest expansions with a team of extremely talented and knowledgeable developers has been the privilege of a lifetime, and one I will always appreciate wholeheartedly. I eagerly await the next chapters of EverQuest’s unfolding saga as eagerly as any player – partly for the sheer excitement I feel at helping to create new ideas, extrapolate old ideas, and run with them to continue building upon a mighty gaming tradition.
How long will EverQuest really endure? That is a question only you can answer. We designers stand ready to create more compelling content and inspirational challenges to keep all of you engrossed in the ever-unfolding, ever-deepening story of Norrath and its inhabitants. There are always more awesome ideas available than we can possibly put into the game. With your steadfast support and avid interest, we have overcome daunting challenges, expanded into worlds and planes beyond imagination, kept the game going these past eleven years, and may keep it going eleven more. We have shown you wondrous places, from Kerafyrm’s Lair to the Plane of Fear; from Discord Tower to the depths of Underfoot, and many, many places (and time periods, and planar realities…) in between. Where will we go tomorrow?
They say a great journey begins with a single step. So too does it continue with a single step. There is always another EverQuest adventure right around the corner, and your familiar characters beckon you ever onward.
~ Raramor, Game Designer
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“It’s amazing that it’s still going after 11 years.”
~ John Roy, Lead Artist
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“I first found out about EverQuest when I saw a game trailer in Electronics Boutique. I thought it was the most amazing game and couldn’t wait to play it. Two years as a player, one year as Game Master and eight years creating zones. Eleven years of fun. Happy anniversary, EverQuest!”
~ Allen Bond, Assistant Lead Artist
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It’s hard to believe that it’s been eleven years since I was eagerly downloading the launch-day patch on my super-cool hardware modem, and harder still to believe that this is the fourth anniversary event I’ve been a part of from the other side of the screen. If EverQuest were a child, it would be obsessed with the Jonas Brothers by now. I think we’re all glad that hasn’t happened. Happy anniversary, everyone.
~ Ed “Aristo” Hardin, Game Designer
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I have been working on EverQuest off and on since the year 2000, and it is an honor to be around for the 11th anniversary and to see EverQuest still going strong! Thank you to all of our fans for making EverQuest the great game it is.
~ Norm “Normando” Freeman, Game Designer
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Eleven years of wizards blasting, rogues poisoning, crafters clicking. Imagine if it was all done in one instance. We would blow up a moon, make a world uninhabitable, or shift its orbit. Thank you for keep us going for eleven fun years. And don’t you all click at once!
~ Adam “Ngreth” Bell, Game Designer
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“It’s an epic tale of love, tragedy, and giant robots!”
~ “Chandrok”, Game Designer
