2Fer #7 - Alan Li

Alan Li

Ms. Pahomov

English 3

19 April 2018

Gathering Players in a Never-Ending Quest

Before Everquest was created, there were games like Dungeons and Dragons and Adventure that captivated people who were interested in roleplaying as fantasy characters. Unlike most massively multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs today, those games relied heavily on text messages detailing what was happening in the game in order for players to play the game, which is probably bizarre to many people today when looking back to games produced in the 1980s. It was the 1990s where users were able to start playing MMORPGs that are three-dimensional. Unlike other games of the genre at the time, Everquest offered near to impossible quests users would have to complete in order to traverse the world of Norrath—the setting where Everquest takes place in. Although the difficulty of Everquest ended up detracting many people from playing the game, Daybreak Game Company—the company that owns the rights to Everquest—has helped influence the MMORPG genre and can arguably be the most influential MMORPG so far. The impact Everquest had compared to other role-playing games can because of the difficulty level encouraging members of the community to form stronger bonds with one another.

Everquest was able to build stronger bonds between players trying to explore a difficult environment to play on by allowing them to communicate with each other through quests. For many role-playing games today such as TERA and World of Warcraft, users are able to have an easier time completing quests compared to Everquest due to quest logs appearing on the user’s screen that tells him or her what to do and where to go next, which would lead to players being able to traverse through the game without having to interact with any other person in the game. In Everquest, there were no quest logs that would be able to help players with their journey so users would have to look up tutorials written by other players in order fulfill quests in the game. Steven Messner, who is an editor working for PC Gamer, states in an article, “At the time, grinding seemed exciting. It forced you to play with strangers in order to kill tough monsters, and was the only real method to level up your character. By existing in such a harsh world, Everquest inspired strong relationships forged not by the joy of surviving, but of growing together.” From the quote, by noting how players would grow together in the game, it shows how users would be able to make lifelong friends in a stressful environment, which gives users support that cannot be found in other games of the genre. Due to players having to rely on each other for a long time in order to progress through the game, it led to players building friendships and camaraderie in a way that would be impossible to form in any other MMORPG due to its challenging nature.

Along with challenges that built stronger bonds between members of the community, it allowed these players to find the motivation to play the game. Because of the overwhelming difficulties players would have to endure, users would have to be motivated in order to continue the game. In other online games like World of Warcraft, since users are given quests that are easier to complete compared to quests in Everquest, users are able to complete the quests in the game earlier, which would lead to them no longer having any motivation to playing the game due to not having any more objectives. Senior Editor Mike Fahey of Kotaku—a company that talks about video games—notes in a Kotaku article, “The original EverQuest changed the way I interacted with people. By giving me a well-defined role to play, the game made me feel like an important part of any adventuring party, which did wonders for my confidence and self-esteem.” Based on the quote, when he states how he has a well-defined role, it could be interpreted that he is not just talking about his character in the game; he is also talking about his purpose. With comrades having to rely on each other and having that sense of determination to succeed in the game, Everquest gave many users purpose to playing a game that would deter many people who have little to no experience playing the game.

In spite of there being more MMORPG games users can now play other than Everquest, when it came to building a community of dedicated users, Everquest helped facilitate that through difficulties in the game. Besides being one of the first games in the MMORPG genre to be three-dimensional, Everquest helped introduce many users to many mechanics today such as quests, dungeons, and bosses, which can be found in MMORPGs that came after it like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. However, despite those games being more popular than Everquest, Everquest is still played by many despite its age. To end on a final note, when talking about the success the staff team had with Everquest, Brad McQuaid, who is one of the creators of Everquest, once stated in a GameSpot interview, “While they're very proud of their first creation, they feel a need deep down to keep going, upward and onward.” From this, it shows the struggle, determination, and effort the staff team had that could be reminiscent to their player base when it came to developing the game since it was one of the first game of its kind.

Works Cited

Messner, Steven. “A Brief History of MMO Games.” Pcgamer, PC Gamer THE GLOBAL

AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES, 28 July 2017,

www.pcgamer.com/a-brief-history-of-mmo-games/.

Fahey, Mike. “Happy 15th Anniversary, EverQuest.” Kotaku Australia, Kotaku Australia, 17

Mar. 2014, www.kotaku.com.au/2014/03/happy-15th-anniversary-everquest/.

Walker, Trey. “Brad McQuaid Interview.” GameSpot, Gamespot, 11 Jan. 2002,

www.gamespot.com/articles/brad-mcquaid-interview/1100-2838404/.