As the beta and launch of Rise of Kunark starts to loom close on the horizon, the EverQuest II development team is starting to put in some extra time at work. Months of work have already gone into the coming expansion, and now it's time to put everything together, polish it up, and share it with our community. So the lights are staying on later in the SOE San Diego offices, as the team puts in extra hours to get things done.
As you can see though, SOE gets 'crunch time' right and takes care of our dev team when the long hours start!
That's right, the EQII dev team is being well cared for to ensure that it's not just pizza and energy drinks going into their system as they work late. Healthy and full developers are good developers, and the daily buffet is a part of making sure everyone has the energy they need while working late.
Getting the food
Sadly, our attempts to summon food have failed, so each day one of the EQII Producers will get in touch with someone to bring in the good eats.
Kirstie checks with everyone to make sure we are aware of and conscious of food allergies and eating habits and then places an order for the food!
Time to Eat
When the food gets here, an email is sent out to the team and everyone stampedes to get in line and eat! Yes, that's Scott Hartsman sprinting down the hall (OK, pretending to for comedic effect).
Yummy
On the day that I took all the photos, the EQII team actually had two meals brought in! For lunch we had sandwiches and tested Rise of Kunark. I know, I know, the horrors of game development!
As you can see, Gallenite and Kirstie were on hand to make sure everyone got something to eat and didn't skip out on the veggies!
After filling their plates, the devs headed back to the desk to eat while playing. Above is a shot of Saerkin putting on the angry face to keep people from poaching his sandwich.
Later on in the same day, it was dinner time. The producers try to make sure that the menu changes every meal so nobody gets sick of the grub.
Crunch time at SOE isn't all that bad; the EQII Producers work hard to make sure everyone is being taken care of, so they can stay healthy and focused on the games. I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into Crunch Time meals, since it's not something people often get to see.
Share your thoughts, and 'crunch time' food suggestions in the EQII Official Forums.