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Welcome to the ninth episode in our “Where Are They
Now”
series. I’ve been a gamer since the days of Pong, and I
thought the time for
someone to take a look at famous game developers from days gone by, and
find
out how (and if) they're still involved in making the games we love to
play,
was long overdue. Most of the developers we’ve covered in
this series have been
men, but it’s time to swing the pendulum the other way and
take a look at one
of the most influential artists, let alone women, in the entire game
industry.

style=""> style="font-size: 14pt;">Claim to Fame

Whether
you like the game or not, there is no denying
that EverQuest changed the landscape of MMORPG games forever and the
woman at
the helm of its art ship was Rosie Rappaport. With the exception of a
couple
years near the turn of this last century, Rosie has been an Art
Director for
Sony Online Entertainment since 1995.

 

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That’s
18 years for those paying attention. Think about
what that really means. Hell, if you pay attention to the interwebs,
women
didn’t even know video games existed, and they sure as hell
didn’t hold any
major positions in game companies. Thank the gods we’ve made
significant
strides to change that image. There’s no doubt we still have
a long ways to go,
but it’s thanks to women like Rosie we have to thank for
having the courage to
step forward and hold their own in a male dominated field.

 

Rosie
has been at the helm of virtually every SOE MMO
title since blowing the world away with the art of the original
EverQuest in
1999. EverQuest, EverQuest II, multiple expansions for both franchises,
Free
Realms, and more – all of these titles felt the guiding brush
stroke of Rosie’s
vision. In 2009, she was recognized as one of the top 10 most
influential women
in MMOs by Beckett Massively Online Gamer magazine. The women that
stood at her
side in that article are all powerhouses in their own right, but Rosie
has more
than proven her right to be hailed among them.

 

style=""> style="font-size: 14pt;">Where Are They Now and Why
the Hell Should I Care?

 

Cool.
So Rosie has been involved in the MMOs I’ve loved
the most. What good is all that if we don’t know what
she’s doing now? None!
But… we do know what she’s doing and the majority
of the Ten Ton Hammer staff
is chomping at the bit to see or hear every single nugget of
information we can
scrounge or corral out of anyone. Ever… Quest…
Next!

 

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That’s
right. Rosie is hard at work directing the art
teams working on EverQuest Next. Considering how incredibly gorgeous
the
graphics and lighting are looking right now, I wasn’t
surprised to hear that
Rosie is behind it. Not in the least. EverQuest was the MMO that
changed the
direction of my personal career goals long before I realized it.
That’s due in
no small part to the art that initially drew me into the world
completely.

 

So
thank you, Rosie! Thank you for the blood, sweat, and
tears you’ve given us (many of us have heard the complete
horror stories of the
early EverQuest development period), thank you for being a pioneer for
women
that wanted to work in the game industry, and thank you most of all for
continuing to share your visions with us in the artwork you provide.
Your
imagination inspires our own.

 

That’s
it for this week’s episode. There’s only one more
episode left in this series! Can you believe it? Who’s going
to be our chosen
developer next week? You’ll have to come back next week to
find out! Thanks for
joining me!

 


To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our EverQuest II Game Page.

Last Updated: Mar 29, 2016

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