Brad McQuaid (April 25, 1969 – November 18, 2019) was an American

video game designer Video game design is the process of designing the rules and content of video games in the Video game development#Pre-production, pre-production stage and designing the gameplay, environment, storyline and characters in the Video game development ...

who was the key designer of ''

EverQuest ''EverQuest'' is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North America, ...

'', a highly successful

massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

(MMORPG) released in 1999. He later co-founded Sigil Games Online where he was CEO and executive producer of '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes'' until

Sony Online Entertainment Daybreak Game Company LLC is an American video game developer based in San Diego. The company was founded in December 1997 as Sony Online Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment, but was spun off to an independent investor in ...

's acquisition of Sigil Games Online in May 2007. On July 6, 2012, SOE announced the re-hiring of McQuaid to continue his work on Vanguard. On January 13, 2014, McQuaid announced his role of Chief Creative Officer at Visionary Realms, Inc. for the PC MMORPG, '' Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen''.

Biography

EverQuest

Brad McQuaid's start in the

video game industry The video game industry is the tertiary industry, tertiary and quaternary industry, quaternary sectors of the entertainment industry that specialize in the video game development, development, marketing, distribution (marketing), distribution, ...

came in 1989 when he co-founded MicroGenesis with Steve Clover. In their free time they created ''WarWizard'', a

shareware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer. ...

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

that they released in 1993. McQuaid and Clover then developed a ''WarWizard 2'' demo in 1995, which caught the attention of John Smedley of

Sony Interactive Studios America 989 Studios was a division of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) that developed games for PlayStation consoles and Microsoft Windows, Windows personal computers. Their games include ''EverQuest'', ''Twiste ...

. Smedley hired McQuaid and Clover in 1996 to work on an online role-playing game, later named ''

''. McQuaid started as the project's lead programmer but was made the producer and one of the lead designers. While ''EverQuest'' was being developed,

Origin Systems Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games ...

launched ''

Ultima Online ''Ultima Online'' (''UO'') is a fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) released on September 24, 1997 by Origin Systems. Set in the '' Ultima'' universe, it is known for its extensive player versus player combat syste ...

'' in 1997 which became the top MMORPG. ''EverQuest'' became a huge hit and within months of its March 1999 launch it topped the subscription numbers held by ''Ultima Online''. ''

PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...

'' called McQuaid one of the "Next Game Gods" in its November 2000 issue, believing that he would eventually become one of the industry's most influential game developers. After

acquired Verant Interactive, Brad McQuaid was promoted to

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

of Premium Games and

Chief Creative Officer The title Chief Creative Officer (CCO) typically describes the highest-ranking position of a creative team within a media company. Depending on the type of company, this position may be responsible for the overall look and feel of marketing, media, ...

Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

He left Sony to create Sigil Games with fellow game designer and EverQuest development team member Jeff Butler in January 2002. Several years later, McQuaid announced that Sigil would release a new ''next generation'' MMORPG. This game was given the name '' Vanguard: Saga of Heroes''. The game was released to the public in January 2007, five years after Sigil was founded. Brad McQuaid admitted that the game was not ready in January but was released early due to "financial resources
Full quote
On May 15, 2007, Sony Online Entertainment officially announced that it had purchased the key assets of Sigil Games Online. Brad McQuaid resigned from his position of leadership within Sigil and was given a role of creative consultant.

Later years

On July 6, 2012, Sony Online Entertainment announced the re-hiring of McQuaid to continue work on ''Vanguard'' including its free-to-play transition. On March 6, 2013, McQuaid announced that he had returned to working on EverQuest. On September 9, 2013, McQuaid released a statement saying that he had left SOE, but would continue to work with them. This news, coupled with a string of hints dropped throughout Twitter and various message board posts, led the community to believe that McQuaid intended to work on a true spiritual successor to EverQuest and Vanguard independently. On January 13, 2014, the game was announced as Visionary Realms' '' Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen'' alongside a

Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...

campaign, with McQuaid as chief creative officer. McQuaid died at his home on November 18, 2019, aged 50. No public information about his cause of death has been released.

References

External links

Brad McQuaid
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controlle ...

Official website of Visionary Realms
{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuaid, Brad 1969 births 2019 deaths American video game designers EverQuest Place of birth missing Place of death missing Sony Interactive Entertainment people American video game businesspeople