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Questions by Jeff “Ethec” Woleslagle and Tony "RadarX" Jones

Answers by EQ2 Game Designers Nathan “Kaitheel” McCall and Kyle “Kander” Vallee
 
On June 17, 2008, the world of EverQuest II got a bit bigger as the developers at Sony Online Entertainment released Game Update #46, which reintroduced the reconfigured Runnyeye campaign along with the “Storms on the Horizon” player event. Recently, Ten Ton Hammer’s Jeff “Ethec” Woleslagle and Tony “RadarX” Jones had the opportunity to chat with two of EQ2’s game designers, Nathan “Kaitheel” McCall and Kall “Kander” Vallee, about the recently released Game Update and why particular decision were made in the development of the update. If you’ve ever been a fan of the EverQuest franchise, or are simply an interested player, check out this interview!

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Kyle Vallee and Nathan McCall

Ten Ton Hammer: In previous Game Updates, players could determine when the live event and all its trappings - gather and kill quests, loot, etc. - came to an end. When the building was built, the dragon would swoop in for the big fight, and anyone who hadn't experienced the GU quests and loot was out of luck. How have you taken a different tack with "Storms on the Horizon"?

Nathan “Kaitheel” McCall: The majority of live events do not have their time frames affected by player participation.  For example, holiday live events such as Frostfell, Nights of the Dead, and Erollisi Day run for a predetermined set of days (or weeks).  Likewise, the shipboard battles leading up to RoK in GU 39 were there for all to participate in during the entire GU.  But you are right that several previous events, such as the building of the spires that lead up to KoS, were advanced and concluded by player interaction.  It was both marvelous and frustrating, at the same time.  Marvelous, as it tended to bring adventurers together to work towards a common goal; frustrating, as it also meant that others missed out, depending upon how advanced their server was through the events at the time that they could participate.

With GU46’s event “Storms on the Horizon,” I wanted to give everyone enough time to participate and enough reason to.  If you come into game for only a couple hours a week, or you are on every day, you should be able to participate in this event and get to choose a reward you desire.

It isn’t enough that you can do something repeatedly; there should be reward in doing so, too!  And since we are all motivated by different rewards, the idea of reward merchants seemed perfect for this event.

This does not mean that you will not see future live events in which player participation advances the storyline, or the quests offered.  But we will be looking at ways of maxing the marvelous aspects (bringing community together, multiple rewards) while minimizing the frustrating ones (unpredictable time frame for event).

Ten Ton Hammer: Runnyeye: The Gathering is a complete revamp of the Runnyeye dungeon experience that players of both the original EverQuest and EQII are very familiar with and have long enjoyed. Has the popularity of this older, lower level content driven SOE to revisit areas like Runnyeye, renovating them for level-capped players, and will we see more of these kind of revamps in the future?

Kyle “Kander” Vallee: Right now we are busy concentrating on the next expansion, and we still have a lot of work to do. I am not aware of any immediate plans for a renovation, but there is always a possibility. I would really love to do a high level version of Solusek’s Eye in the future, given the opportunity. Who knows, maybe after we ship this next expansion, I may get the chance.