keith-parkinson
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SOE teases new EverQuest Next art
SOE is drumming up a little social media publicity for EverQuest Next. The forthcoming fantasy MMO, scheduled to be formally unveiled at next month's SOE Live convention in Las Vegas, is the subject of a new concept art painting that's being revealed as part of a teaser promotion. SOE is parceling out additional characters in Gabor Sziksai's artwork as fans join the firm's social networking spaces. If the painting looks familiar, that's because Sziksai has reimagined original EverQuest artist Keith Parkinson's seminal concept art, which is also viewable on the official EQN website. [Thanks everyone who tipped us!]
EQ's tenth anniversary book art unveiled at CES
March 16th will mark the tenth anniversary of the original EverQuest, and Sony Online Entertainment plans to make this year something special for its fans. To kick off the festivities, they're unveiling the cover art for a new book that showcases the game's legacy. EverQuest: The 10th anniversary Collector's Edition includes "essays and photos of the events, products, personalities and art that graced the world of Norrath over the years." It also boasts some amazing cover art created by Donato Giancola, and dedicated to the late Keith Parkinson, the painter of EQ's original box art. Parkinson passed away on October 26th, 2005 after a battle with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. You can pre-order the book from Brady Games, before it becomes available in March.
A Vanguard Retrospective
Genda of The Grouchy Gamer was a gamer with a dream; to hitch himself to Sigil's rising star. He created a one-stop shop for all news and information about Vanguard's crafting sphere, joined the Vanguard affiliate program, and gained a unique outsider's perspective to what would become one of the MMO world's most legendary disasters. It's a story of how lack of leadership and vision could turn EverQuest's spiritual successor and the hard work of dozens of talented designers, artists and programmers into tears in a parking lot in Carlsbad, California.The retrospective is in three parts. In the first, Genda tells about Brad McQuaid's departure from SOE and the first news about the game that would become Vanguard, his lunch with the late fantasy artist Keith Parkinson, and Brad's increasing absence from the Sigil offices. The second part tells how many of the best innovations in Vanguard died on the vine because the programmers were busy rewriting all the scripts from the Unreal 3 engine and the increasing trouble within Sigil. The last part brings Vanguard from its troubled beta, through its disastrous launch and acquisition by SOE.
