One day our PR manager, Sean Kauppinen, came to me with the idea of bringing some folks from various EverQuest II fansites out to our offices to give them a chance to play the game and let them know how much we appreciate their efforts in helping build our community. I thought it was a great idea. After all, my first real contact with SOE came when I ran my own EverQuest fansite and was brought out for a similar event, so I was excited to help give the same opportunity to others.
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We sent out the invitations, and flew people in on August 5, 2004. They came from all over North America to attend the event and endured long plane rides with sketchy in-flight movies and questionable airline cuisine to spend a weekend with us.
Folks arrived throughout the day and were greeted by our famous San Diego traffic as our own Tom Taylor ensured that they were brought safely to the hotel. We held a meet-and-greet party that night attended by members of our dev team. Over finger foods and beverages we met the fansite guests and had our first chance to chat with many of them in person and answer a few questions. But most of the time was spent just hanging out and getting to know one another.
Attendees included OnyxRaven and Hannar from EQII.com, Sylvene from Stratics, Deathstryker from EQ2 Vault, Tamat from WarCry, Ladred from Druids Grove, Nanyea from The Runes, Leonai_Art from Online Gaming Network, Kunou from MMORPG.com, Ravenkil from Kingdoms of Norrath, Gemdiver from Graffe's, Ressa from EQ2 Fantasy, Azhreal from Caster University, Ioo from EQ-Squared, Kate from Gamerslegend.com, and Illia from AllaKhazam's.
Friday started out with a bus ride from the hotel to the SOE offices. We brought everyone into our game room, a comfy area filled with snacks, sodas, about twenty computers set up to run our game. We could tell our visitors were eager to check out EQ2, as grabbing a seat and starting to play was more important to most of them than snagging a bagel and coffee!
The morning was spent creating characters and jumping into the game. Some had attended FanFaire or E3 and already had a chance to play the game, so these seasoned vets sailed through our tutorial and began discovering all the additional quests and encounters that have been added to the Isle of Refuge. Those who never had a chance to play before learned the basics of the game and quickly got up to speed. Groups were formed and many goblins were slain as our intrepid fansite brigade drove back the invading menace and acquired some nice loot in the process.
Let me tell you, watching people play our game with so much enthusiasm is a real treat! One of my favorite moments came in a chat with Tamat. At the hotel Thursday night he had asked me, as a long-time EverQuest player, whether I thought our game had the same intangible feeling that we got from the original game. My reply was that I honestly believed it did, but since I'm so close to the project on a daily basis he should judge for himself and let me know what he thought. Well it wasn't long into playing that Tamat came up to me on Friday and excitedly told me that our game does indeed capture that magical EverQuest feel. We get a great sense of pride out of statements like that, because it lets us know that our team is definitely on the right track to making a fun and memorable game.
We dragged the fansite folks away from the computers for a lunch of ribs and chicken, with another chance to chat casually with the dev team. Our dependable San Diego weather provided a nice opportunity to sit outside and enjoy some fresh air before heading back inside again.
The afternoon was mostly spent in interview sessions with various team members. Subjects included spells, mechanics, art, audio, game design, tradeskills, and more. We used a roundtable format that let folks react to one another's questions and find out some very detailed information on the game. Some people couldn't resist the draw of EQ2, however, and opted to play or snap screenshots instead of attending all the panel discussions.
After a pit stop at the hotel to rifle through their goody bags, we loaded the fansite folks up on the bus and headed downtown to a rather informal eatery to engage in an evening of dining and throwing napkins at one another. (Yes, I said throwing napkins. Don't ask.) We all had a good time, and our visitors caught a glimpse of San Diego's famous Gaslamp Quarter where the local nightlife happens.
Saturday morning we boarded yet another bus for a trip south of the border. We headed to Rosarita, Mexico, and hung out on the beach enjoying beverages and ATV rides. We took over the rooftop of a local taco shop for lunch and played a few games of billiards in the hot Mexican sun. After some shopping, we headed further south to Puerto Nuevo and ate some fantastic lobster dinners at an ocean-side eatery. At the end of the day we were sunburned but well-fed, and I think it's fair to say that a fun time was had by all.
I wanted to thank all the people who agreed to come out for this event. It's great to finally put faces to the names, and it gave us a chance for a direct dialogue with people in the community on how we're doing and where we're headed with EverQuest II. The dev team really enjoyed it, and I hope we get a chance to do it again down the road after the game is released.
But don't just take my word for how much fun we had. Follow the links below to read the impressions of some of the folks who paid us a visit.
Steve Danuser
EverQuest II Community Manager