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The Game Archaeologist and the NeverEnding Quest: A cozy chit-chat with Thom Terrazas
Welcome back to the Game Archaeologist's third week of our EverQuest expedition! So, OK, we lost a few valued members of our team crossing the wilds of Norrath, but who would ever think that 10 rats could be so vicious when out for vengeance? It comes with the territory, and really, it's well worth the loss of human life if we can educate just one soul on one of the most influential MMOs of all time. Their mothers will understand their sacrifice. We've already taken a look at the highlights of EverQuest and the perspectives of several veterans of the game, which means this week we must be gearing up for an inside look into the machinations of grinding, hell levels, alternative advancement and DKP. For this, we struggled through the Swamp of Sony to find the ramshackle hut of Thom Terrazas -- and he was expecting us. A fight ensued, with many a chicken flung in anger, not to mention a few pokes in the eye, Three Stooges-style. But in the end, Terrazas capitulated and told us everything we wanted to know. Thom Terrazas almost has all his SOE merit badges, having worked on Planetside, Vanguard and now EverQuest in various roles. I was curious -- what was it like to be handed the keys to not just a game, but a veritable institution? Hit the jump to see what Terrazas has to say about his favorite memories, the future of the game, and why EQ hit it out of the park in 1999.
Massively celebrates 10 years of EverQuest
March 16th, 1999: It was on this day that Sony's 989 Studios released what would soon be known as the gateway to a gaming movement. Sure it wasn't the first, but it was responsible for redefining the quality that we know today in the massively multiplayer online genre. That game, of course, was EverQuest, and this month marks its 10th anniversary.To celebrate this unique occasion, Massively has teamed up with SOE to offer some of the greatest retrospective coverage, galleries, opinion pieces and much more concerning the last ten years of EQ. From today until March 16th, we will present a new article counting down to the anniversary date. You can also check out our EQ 10th Anniversary gallery which will be updated on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays with new artwork and screenshots, showcasing the last ten years for the game. The final days of this countdown will get progressively more exciting, so stick with our coverage to see what unfolds!%Gallery-46192%
Behind the Curtain: What's in a name?
How much attention do you pay to the names behind the MMOs we're playing just now? Do you dig up as much information as you can on the developers, producer and designers involved in up and coming games? Do you even pay any attention at all?I'll be honest – I picked up Star Wars Galaxies based on the licence alone. While I've been a gamer since my Uncle gave me a ZX Spectrum as a child, I didn't know anything about the people behind Galaxies. I had heard about Everquest of course – I wasn't stupid after all – but Galaxies was my first MMO, and I was a noob in every sense of the word. I didn't know anything about the designers, the developers, and I didn't even think to check up on them.I was a little more aware when I came round to World of Warcraft. I was, and still am, a big Diablo 2, fan, so I knew who Blizzard were. I hadn't picked up Warcraft 3 when it came out, due to the PC I had t the time not being to run it, but I knew that it'd been a huge commercial and critical success for Blizzard, so I knew that it was a safe bet. Plus, it was taking the world by storm already, so it was a bit of a no-brainer. Maybe I'm just older and wiser now, or maybe the information is just easier to get a hold of, but I pay more attention to the people actually making the game that I'm interested in – I thought this week, we could have a look at some of the names you should be aware of.
