MMORPG.com features a fantastic interview today with original lead designer and producer of EverQuest Brad McQuaid, in which he provides some interesting backstory on the inspiration and development of the game.
This is great fun to read for a longtime fan, but as someone who enjoyed (read: suffered through) the olden days of “The Vision,” I do have to take issue with some of the interview’s assertions.
First of all, I can’t agree that original EQ created “themepark” style games. I really think World of Warcraft deserves that distinction, and though EverQuest was undeniably the inspiration for and spiritual progenitor of WoW, calling EQ a “themepark” is a huge stretch. A “theme park” is not simply an area centered around some kind of theme, it’s also a place for harmless play, a place carefully constructed to create the idea of adventure while simultaneously ensuring that no actual harm can possibly befall you. Playing original EQ, with its punitive consequences for failure and bad luck alike, was really more akin to being a deer on a game preserve.
Secondly, though McQuaid insists that their intention was to create a game first/world second, I don’t think they managed to meet this goal. Much of the “game” in launch-era EQ was sort of like winding a jack-in-the-box toy which, 99 times out of 100, would punch you square in the jaw when triggered. The 100th time, though, you get a great, gleaming golden egg.
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