An Interview with EQ2 Designer Steve Kramer

by Jeff "Ethec" Woleslagle

One of the most mindblowing experiences that occurs during a face-to-face community event is meeting someone that's designed (or played a large part in the design of) something you and others really enjoy- it's like meeting the creator of a world part of you lives in. Of all the people I met at the EverQuest 2 Community Summit in San Diego last month, few rivalled the intensity, knowledge, and passion for the game that I found in SOE game designer Steve Kramer. I was thrilled when he agreed to do a quick "general interest" interview with me, highlighting a little bit about what it takes to design these games.

Ten Ton Hammer: By way of introduction, can you tell us a little bit about what you do in EverQuest 2, and perhaps some of the zones that you've had a major hand in? What's your role in the design of these areas and is there any one zone you're particularly proud of?

Steve Kramer: Hi everyone, I'm Steve Kramer and I primarily work on zone population and quest implementation in Everquest II. All of our designers usually get their hands into a zone at some point or another, because EverQuest II is a collaborative effort, but I did do quite a bit of work in Obelisk of Lost Souls, The Caves, and Crypt of T'haen for example. I would say that I am most proud of the Splitpaw Den from the Splitpaw Saga adventure pack. Taking an empty cave and filling it with personalities was a fun challenge.

Ten Ton Hammer: For our young aspiring game designers out there, can you briefly tell us how you got this gig? What sort of technical skills and mindset does it take to step behind the MMO curtain?

Steve Kramer: I have to admit, getting this job was almost like winning the job lotto. I saw call for designers while logging into EverQuest and reading the latest news notes, so I freaked out a bit, dug up the ole' resume and tried to figure out how I would go about getting this job. I ended up sending two different documents along with my resume, one being a short story using EverQuest lore, and the other outlining a dungeon idea with everything I would put in it. It took quite some time, but eventually I managed to get an interview, and here I am!

My first experiences working in the game industry started when I got hired on as a part time game tester for another company. Over the years, I spent a bunch of my free time learning new software like 3d modeling packages, music software, and proprietary internal tools to try and hone my skills and make myself a more valuable asset to the company. Over the years, I found that strong writing skills and the ability to learn new programs were probably the most important skills I had to bring to the table. Most game companies use proprietary software tools to make their game tick, and it takes perseverance and the willingness to learn something new each day to really get the job done.

Ten Ton Hammer: Could you tell us a little bit about the typical workday for a game designer- what time do you head in to work, how long do you get for lunch, what time do you punch out, that kind of average-joe thing? Can you give us some insight into how crazy things get in crunch times around game and expansion launches?

Steve Kramer: I usually get to work between 9:00am to 9:30 am, pay homage to the coffee shrine, then start downloading the thousands of files that have been modified since yesterday. We do the typical one hour lunch and put in our eight hours. Of course, once crunch hits, 12 to 16 hour days are not unheard of.

I wouldn't necessarily say that things get crazy here around launch time. Many of the developers here are seasoned veterans and it really shows as we get closer and closer to a launch. This team seems to thrive on the excitement and pressure of getting our latest work to the players, be it an expansion, or even an update to the live game.

Ten Ton Hammer: I t was obvious to me that you have a lot of passion and expertise for your craft from when I met you at the EverQuest 2 Community Summit in early October. Aside from EQ2, what other games and MMOs do you play? Have an all-time favorite? How about a game you've played that's so awful it has its own kind of charm?

Steve Kramer: You name it, I've played it. I've probably spent significant time in every major MMO that has come out over the past few years. I'm a big fan of the genre, and I always look forward to seeing it evolve as each company brings their own style and ideas to the table. I've been trying to get back to my roots lately and have been getting really interested in game emulation and such. I would love to build an emulation cabinet someday.

All time favorite game? Castlevania IV

There are some "not so great" games out there that have caught my attention for one reason or another in the past. I liken some of these games to the experience of watching a B movie. You enjoy the B movie's questionable quality purely based on the fact that it is questionable. You don't try to judge it against something AAA, it just is what it is, and you like it! For example, I remember an old 3DO game with Shelley Duvall in it called "It's A Bird's Life" that I would play over and over just because it was so odd.

Ten Ton Hammer: Obviously you get a lot of feedback from players via the forums and bug reporting system- some constructive, mostly spiteful. How is the useful feedback sorted out and disseminated to the dev team? Have you gotten used to the occasional negativity from the stank-bots, especially when going through the official forums, or does it still sting?

Steve Kramer: The majority of the developers on EverQuest II read the forums on a daily basis. While you may not see a thousand posts from some of us, we are definitely monitoring the feedback given in our respective areas of expertise. All of the /bug and /feedback reports are compiled on a daily basis and readily available to all team members to go through, and our community manager also compiles a list of hot topics that gets sent to the team.

Negativity? What negativity?! It seems that every game forum goes through the same rollercoaster of anger and praise that our forums go through. I went through a bit of shell shock when we first opened our forums to the public, because I've never had every word I write so thoroughly scrutinized and dissected to this degree before. Writing a post can sometimes be downright intimidating depending on what the subject matter is. Our players are very passionate about EverQuest II and it definitely shows on the forums! We have made quite a few changes to the game based on the feedback we received in the forums and it is my hope that our players recognize that we are as passionate about EverQuest II as they are.

Ten Ton Hammer: Can you point to any sources of inspiration for the lore you write and names you use for in-game characters?

Steve Kramer: The stories and lore of Norrath practically write themselves honestly. Norrath itself is just such a treasure trove of history and tradition that the places and people just come to me. When preparing to write a quest or create a character I like to browse through our lore repository, discuss Norrathian history with other designers, and explore the zones for inspiration. While some of the names I come up with are rooted in that Norrathian history, others are inspired by friends, family, or players that I've come across in my travels.

Ten Ton Hammer: We have to ask - cake or pie?

Steve Kramer: *Feels the burning eyes of Froech* pp..p..i..ee?

Much thanks to SOE EQ2 Designer Steve Kramer for his willingness to sit down with us for a quick interview about what goes on behind the scenes in the development of EverQuest 2 and in the day to day life of the developers.