EverQuest 10th Anniversary Interviews

More commemorating EverQuest turning 10 as Gamernode interviews Senior Procucer Clint Worley and Lead Designer Ryan Barker.

GN: Over the course of the game, do you find that you’re always striving to offer new experiences to keep things fresh, or do you feel like, being that the game has been around for so long, that the players who have stuck with it — the old school MMO crowd — sort of demand things to kinda stay familiar?

RB: Yeah, it’s kind of a mixed bag. We want it to still feel like EQ when people are playing, so there are certain aspects of it that we don’t want to change. We’ve specifically NOT upgraded or updated some things, just because we feel like they’re integral to the experience of what EQ is. However, there is a lot of other stuff that we want to keep making new and fresh and keeping people interested, because it doesn’t matter how much fun something is, if you just keep doing the same thing over and over again, you’re going to get sick of it after awhile. So, it’s a case of trying to find the balance there, like you said, not alienating some of the people who’ve been around for a long time who really like some aspect of the game, but still giving people a chance to do new things that fit in with the other stuff that’s already there. It’s definitely a challenge; it can be difficult at times.

CW: Yeah, it seems like when I joined the project, there were a lot of times where — with me coming onto a project that was eight years in — it felt like I would go to the design team or just the development team in general with a great idea, and then they would be really quick to point out that that idea was put in the game six years ago or something. You know, and it’s like, ‘it was a great idea then, and it’s still a good idea, but it’s been done, and we’re onto something else,’ type of thing. It is definitely challenging from that perspective, but there is a lot of backstory, and the characters and the game have developed a lot, so it’s like an ongoing soap opera where we’re creating it and making the rules. It’s challenging, but it’s kind of our own challenge, so it’s fun to deal with.

WarCry interviews community manager Lydia Pope.

Secondly, give us what you suspect are the reasons behind the glorious title.

Well, I guess people might give me that title because I have been around EQ and the company since back in the day when it was still Verant. It became SOE in 2000. I first was connected with the company during the days of Tanarus, being in beta in 1998. I got into EverQuest in the first phase of the original beta back in 1998, and, I started working on EQ in May of 1999. There are many people in the company that have been here longer than I have though. I know most people in the company and who to talk to for what. I also know the history of projects and even when I don’t know the exact answer someone is looking for, I usually know where to find it. Just the other day someone told me that they use to tell people, “Just call Lydia I’m sure she knows…” and I did! I have my own archives of various projects, lore, and random information. I never throw anything away; keeping most of my email, old documents, old pictures, etc. I also have a really good memory!