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''EverQuest'' is a 3D
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...
-themed
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) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for
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. It was released by
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 ...
in March 1999 in
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, and by
Ubi Soft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include ''Anno (video game series), Anno'', ' ...
in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
in April 2000. A dedicated version for
Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
was released in June 2003, which operated for ten years before being shut down in November 2013. In June 2000, Verant Interactive was absorbed into Sony Online Entertainment, who took over full development and publishing duties of the title. Later, in February 2015, SOE's parent corporation,
Sony Computer Entertainment Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC (SIE) is an American video game and digital entertainment company that is a major subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Sony, Sony Group Corporation. It primarily operates the PlayStation brand of video game co ...
, sold the studio to investment company Columbus Nova and it was rebranded as Daybreak Game Company, which continues to develop and publish ''EverQuest''. It was the first commercially successful MMORPG to employ a 3D game engine, and its success was on an unprecedented scale. ''EverQuest'' has had a wide influence on subsequent releases within the market, and holds an important position in the history of massively multiplayer online games. The game surpassed early
subscription The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It ...
expectations and increased in popularity for many years after its release. It is now considered one of the greatest video games ever made. It has received numerous awards, including the 1999
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
Game of the Year and a 2007
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
. While dozens of similar games have come and gone over the years, ''EverQuest'' still endures as a viable commercial enterprise, with new expansions still being released on a regular basis, twenty-five years after its initial launch. It has spawned a number of spin-off media, including books and video games, as well as a sequel, '' EverQuest II'', which launched in 2004.


Gameplay

Many of the elements in ''EverQuest'' have been drawn from text-based
MUD Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
(Multi-User Dungeon) games, particularly DikuMUDs, which in turn were inspired by traditional
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
s such as ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''. In ''EverQuest'', players create a character (also known as an
avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...
, or colloquially as a ''char'' or ''toon'') by selecting one of twelve races in the game, which were humans, high-elves, wood-elves, half-elves, dark-elves, erudites, barbarians, dwarves, halflings, gnomes, ogres, and trolls. In the first expansion, lizard-people (Iksar) were introduced. Cat-people (Vah Shir), frog-people (Froglok), and dragon-people (Drakkin) were all introduced in later expansions. At creation, players select each character's adventuring occupation (such as a wizard, ranger, or cleric), a patron deity, and starting city. Customization of the character facial appearance is available at creation (hair, hair color, face style, facial hair, facial hair color, eye color, etc.). Players move their character throughout the medieval fantasy world of Norrath, often fighting monsters and enemies for treasure and
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s, and optionally mastering trade skills. As they progress, players advance in level, gaining power, prestige, spells, and abilities through valorous deeds such as entering overrun castles and keeps, defeating worthy opponents found within, and
looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
their remains. Experience and prestigious equipment can also be obtained by completing quests given out by
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s found throughout the land. ''EverQuest'' allows players to interact with other people through
role-play Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to Acting, act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-p ...
, joining player
guilds A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
, and dueling other players (in restricted situations – ''EverQuest'' only allows player versus player (PVP) combat on the PvP-specific server, specified arena zones and through agreed upon dueling). The game-world of ''EverQuest'' consists of over five hundred zones. Multiple instances of the world exist on various servers. In the past, game server populations were visible during log-in, and showed peaks of more than 3000 players per server. The design of ''EverQuest'', like other
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 ...
s, makes it highly amenable to cooperative play, with each player having a specific role within a given group.


Classes

''EverQuest'' featured fourteen playable character classes upon release in 1999, with two others - Beastlord and Berserker - added in the '' Shadows of Luclin'' (2001) and '' Gates of Discord'' (2004) expansions, respectively. Each person falls within one of four general categories based on playstyle and the type of abilities they use, with certain classes being restricted to particular races. Melee classes are those which fight at close quarters and often use direct physical attacks as opposed to magic. These include the
Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...
, a
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
-based character which wears heavy armor and is designed to take damage for its group using a taunt ability; the
Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...
, a character which uses a combination of
martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...
and barehanded fighting techniques; the Rogue, a combination of thief and assassin classes which can sneak and hide in the shadows as well as steal from enemies; and the Berserker, a strong fighter who specialize in two-handed weapons such as axes and are able to enter a state of increased fury and power. Priest classes are primarily healers who learn magic that can heal their allies or themselves. The Priest classes are made up of the
Cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, a heavily specialized support class that wears heavy armor and is adept at healing and strengthening their allies; the
Druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking priestly class in ancient Celtic cultures. The druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no wr ...
, a magic-user who draws power from nature which can restore the vitality and magic power of their teammates; and the
Shaman Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...
, tribal warriors who draw upon the spirit realm to heal, empower those around them, and weaken their enemies. Casters are magic-users and sorcerers which wear light armor but command powerful spells. Those among them include the Wizard, a specialized damage-dealing class which uses the power of fire, ice, and pure magic energy for devastating effect as well as teleportation abilities; the Magician, a summoner who is able to call upon elemental servants which aid them in dealing damage; the Necromancer, a dark caster who uses the power of disease and poison to wither away their opponents while commanding undead allies to aid them; and the Enchanter, an illusionist who can take on many forms, support allies with strengthening spells, and pacify enemies with mesmerizing abilities. Hybrid classes are those which can perform multiple roles or have abilities of various types. These include Paladins, knights who possess the ability to take damage or heal with magic or
laying on of hands The laying on of hands is a religious practice. In Judaism, ''semikhah'' (, "leaning f the hands) accompanies the conferring of a blessing or authority. In Christianity, Christian churches, chirotony. is used as both a symbolic and formal met ...
; Shadowknights, dark warriors who use a combination of melee attacks and disease/poison abilities to damage foes as well as take damage for the party; the
Bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is an oral repository and professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's a ...
, a
minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...
who is able to use magical songs for a number of effects - including damaging enemies, strengthening allies, and improving the movement speed of themselves and others; Rangers, protectors of nature who learn healing and support magic in addition to being able to damage enemies in close combat or at a distance with bows and arrows. They also have the unique ability to track their quarry, mastering the tyranny of distance out in the wild unknown reaches of Norrath. Finally, Beastlords are primal fighters who are constantly joined by their animal wards which help them deal damage, and can assist their teammates with healing and support skills.


Deities

There are several deities in ''EverQuest'' who each have a certain area of responsibility and play a role in the backstory of the game setting. A wide array of armor and weapons are tied to certain deities, making it only possible for those who worship that specific deity to wear/equip them. Additionally, deities determine, to some extent, where characters may and may not go without being attacked on sight by the deity's minions and devoted followers.


Zones

The ''EverQuest'' universe is divided into more than five hundred zones. These zones represent a wide variety of geographical features, including plains, oceans, cities, deserts, and other planes of existence. One of the most popular zones in the game is the Plane of Knowledge, one of the few zones in which all races and classes can coexist harmoniously without interference. The Plane of Knowledge is also home to portals to many other zones, including portals to other planes and to the outskirts of nearly every starting city.


History


Development

''EverQuest'' began as a concept by John Smedley in 1996. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost. It was developed by Sony's 989 Studios and its early-1999 spin-off Verant Interactive, and
published Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
by
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 ...
(SOE). Since its acquisition of Verant in late 1999, EverQuest was developed by Sony Online Entertainment. The design and concept of ''EverQuest'' is heavily indebted to text-based MUDs, in particular DikuMUD, and as such ''EverQuest'' is considered a 3D evolution of the text MUD genre like some of the MMOs that preceded it, such as '' Meridian 59'' and '' The Realm Online''. John Smedley, Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover and Bill Trost, who jointly are credited with creating the world of ''EverQuest'', have repeatedly pointed to their shared experiences playing MUDs such as '' Sojourn'' and '' TorilMUD'' as the inspiration for the game. Famed book cover illustrator Keith Parkinson created the box covers for earlier installments of ''EverQuest''. Development of ''EverQuest'' began in 1996 when Sony Interactive Studios America (SISA) executive John Smedley secured funding for a 3D game like text-based MUDs following the successful launch of '' Meridian 59'' the previous year. To implement the design, Smedley hired programmers Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover, who had come to Smedley's attention through their work on the single player RPG ''Warwizard''. McQuaid soon rose through the ranks to become executive producer for the ''EverQuest'' franchise and emerged during development of ''EverQuest'' as a popular figure among the fan community through his in-game avatar, Aradune. Other key members of the development team included Bill Trost, who created the history, lore and major characters of Norrath (including ''EverQuest'' protagonist Firiona Vie), Geoffrey "GZ" Zatkin, who implemented the spell system, and artist Milo D. Cooper, who did the original character modeling in the game. The start of
beta testing Software testing is the act of checking whether software satisfies expectations. Software testing can provide objective, independent information about the quality of software and the risk of its failure to a user or sponsor. Software test ...
was announced by Brad McQuaid in November 1997.


Release

''EverQuest'' launched with modest expectations from Sony on 16 March 1999 under its Verant Interactive brand and quickly became successful. By the end of the year, it had surpassed competitor '' Ultima Online'' in number of subscriptions. Numbers continued rising rapidly until mid-2001 when growth slowed. The game initially launched with volunteer "Guides" who would act as basic customer service/support via 'petitions'. Issues could be forwarded to the Game Master assigned to the server or resolved by the volunteer. Other guides would serve in administrative functions within the program or assisting the Quest Troupe with dynamic and persistent live events throughout the individual servers. Volunteers were compensated with free subscription and expansions to the game. In 2003 the program changed for the volunteer guides taking them away from the customer service focus and placing them into their current roles as roving 'persistent characters' role-playing with the players. In anticipation of
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
's launch, Sony Interactive Studios America made the decision to focus primarily on console titles under the banner 989 Studios, while spinning off its sole computer title, ''EverQuest'', which was ready to launch, to a new computer game division named Redeye (renamed Verant Interactive). Executives initially had low expectations for ''EverQuest'', but in 2000, following the surprising continued success and unparalleled profits of ''EverQuest'', Sony reorganized Verant Interactive into
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 ...
(SOE) with Smedley retaining control of the company. Many of the original ''EverQuest'' team, including Brad McQuaid and Steve Clover left SOE by 2002.


Growth and sequels

The first four expansions were released in traditional physical boxes at roughly one-year intervals. These were highly ambitious and offered huge new landmasses, new playable races and new classes. The expansion '' Shadows of Luclin'' (2001) gave a significant facelift to player character models, bringing the dated 1999 graphics up to modern standards. However, non-player characters which do not correspond to any playable race-gender-class combination (such as vendors) were not updated, leading to the coexistence of 1999-era and 2001-era graphics in many locations. The expansion '' Planes of Power'' (2002) introduced The Plane of Knowledge, a hub zone from which players could quickly teleport to many other destinations. This made the pre-existing roads and ships largely redundant, and long-distance overland travel is now virtually unheard of. ''EverQuest'' made a push to enter the European market in 2002 with the ''New Dawn'' promotional campaign, which not only established local servers in Germany, France and Great Britain but also offered localized versions of the game in German and French to accommodate players who prefer those languages to English. In the following year the game also moved beyond the PC market with a
Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
version. In 2003 experiments began with digital distribution of expansions, starting with the '' Legacy of Ykesha''. From this point on expansions would be less ambitious in scope than the original four, but the production rate increased to two expansions a year instead of one. In the same year the franchise also ventured into the console market with ''
EverQuest Online Adventures ''EverQuest Online Adventures'' (EQOA) is a discontinued 2003 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is part of the ''EverQuest'' franchise and ...
'', released for Sony's internet-capable
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
. It was the second MMORPG for this console, after ''
Final Fantasy XI also known as ''Final Fantasy XI Online'', is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), originally developed and published by Square (video game company), Square and then published by Square Enix as the eleventh main installme ...
''. Story-wise it was a prequel, with the events taking place 500 years before the original ''EverQuest''. Other spin-off projects were the PC strategy game '' Lords of EverQuest'' (2003) and the co-op '' Champions of Norrath'' (2004) for the PlayStation 2. After these side projects, the first proper sequel was released in late
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, titled simply '' EverQuest II''. The game is set 500 years after the original. ''EverQuest II'' faced severe competition from Blizzard's ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...
'', which was released at virtually the same time and quickly grew to dominate the MMORPG genre.


Decline

Since the release of ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...
'' and other modern MMORPGs, there have been a number of signs that the ''EverQuest'' population is shrinking. The national ''New Dawn'' servers were discontinued in 2005 and merged into a general (English-language) European server. The 2006 expansion '' The Serpent's Spine'' introduced the "adventure-friendly" city of Crescent Reach in which all races and classes are able (and encouraged) to start. Crescent Reach is supposed to provide a more pedagogic starting environment than the original 1999 cities, where players were given almost no guidance on what to do. The common starting city also concentrates the dwindling number of new players in a single location, making grouping easier. 2008's '' Seeds of Destruction'' expansion introduced computer controlled companions called "mercenaries" that can join groups in place of human players, a response to the increasing difficulty of finding other players of appropriate level for group activities. As of ''Seeds'' the production rate also returned to one expansion a year instead of two. In March 2012 ''EverQuest'' departed from the traditional monthly subscription business model by introducing three tiers of commitment: a completely free-to-play Bronze Level, a one-time fee Silver Level, and a subscription Gold Level. The same month saw the closure of ''
EverQuest Online Adventures ''EverQuest Online Adventures'' (EQOA) is a discontinued 2003 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is part of the ''EverQuest'' franchise and ...
''. Just a few months earlier '' EverQuest II'' had gone free-to-play and SOE flagship ''
Star Wars Galaxies ''Star Wars Galaxies'' (''Galaxies'') is a discontinued '' Star Wars-''themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Microsoft Windows, developed by Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) and published by LucasArts. The open worl ...
'' was also closed. In June of the same year SOE removed the ability to buy game subscription time with Station Cash without any warning to players. SOE apologized for this abrupt change in policy and reinstated the option for an additional week, after which it was removed permanently. The sole Mac OS server Al'Kabor was closed on November 18, 2013. In February 2015 Sony sold its online entertainment division to private equity group Columbus Nova, with Sony Online Entertainment subsequently renamed Daybreak Game Company (DBG). An initial period of uncertainty followed, with all projects such as expansions and sequels put on hold and staff laid off. The situation stabilized around the game's 16th anniversary celebrations, and a new expansion was released nine months later.


Expansions

There have been thirty-one expansions to the original game since release. Expansions are purchased separately and provide additional content to the game (for example: raising the maximum character level; adding new races, classes, zones, continents, quests, equipment, game features). When the players purchase the latest expansion they receive all previous expansions they may not have previously purchased. Additionally, the game is updated through downloaded patches. The ''EverQuest'' expansions are as follows:


Servers

The game runs on multiple game servers, each with a unique name for identification. These names were originally the deities of the world of Norrath. In technical terms, each game server is actually a cluster of server machines. Once a character is created, it can be played only on that server unless the character is transferred to a new server by the customer service staff, generally for a fee. Each server often has a unique community and people often include the server name when identifying their character outside of the game. There is an official ''EverQuest'' server list, as well as unofficial 3rd-party servers. For example, the Project 1999 EverQuest servers are intended to recreate ''EverQuest'' in the state it existed in the year it launched and the two subsequent expansions, referred to as the "Classic Trilogy".


OS X

SOE devoted one server (Al'Kabor) to an OS X version of the game, which opened for beta testing in early 2003, and officially released on June 24 of the same year. The game was never developed beyond the ''Planes of Power'' expansion, and contained multiple features and bugs not seen on PC servers, as a side-effect of the codebase having been split from an early ''Planes of Power'' date but not updated with the PC codebase. In January 2012, SOE announced plans to shut down the server, but based on the passionate response of the player base, rescinded the decision and changed Al'Kabor to a free-to-play subscription model. At about the same time, SOE revised the Macintosh client software to run natively on Intel processors. Players running on older,
PowerPC PowerPC (with the backronym Performance Optimization With Enhanced RISC – Performance Computing, sometimes abbreviated as PPC) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture (ISA) created by the 1991 Apple Inc., App ...
-based systems lost access to the game at that point. SOE closed Al'Kabor server in November 2013.


European

Two SOE servers were set up to better support players in and around Europe: Antonius Bayle and Kane Bayle. Kane Bayle was merged into Antonius Bayle. With the advent of the ''New Dawn'' promotion, three additional servers were set up and maintained by Ubisoft: Venril Sathir (British), Sebilis (French) and Kael Drakkal (German). The downside of the servers was that while it was possible to transfer to them, it was impossible to transfer off. The servers were subsequently acquired by SOE and all three were merged into Antonius Bayle server.


Reception

Reviews of ''Everquest'' were mostly positive upon release in 1999, earning an 85 out of 100 score from aggregate review website
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. Comparing it to other online role-playing titles at the time, critics called it "the best game in its class", and the "most immersive and most addictive online RPG to date". Dan Amrich of ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' magazine declared that "the bar for online gaming has not so much been raised as obliterated" and that the game's developers had "created the first true online
killer app A killer application (often shortened to killer app) is any software that is so necessary or desirable that it proves the core value of some larger technology, such as its host computer hardware, video game console, software platform, or operati ...
". The reviewer would find fault with its repetitive gameplay in the early levels and lack of sufficient documentation to help new players, urging them to turn to
fansite A fansite, fan site, fan blog or fan page is a website created and maintained by a fan of or devotee to a celebrity, thing, or particular cultural phenomenon. Fansites may offer specialized information on the subject (e.g., episode listings, ...
s for help instead. Greg Kasavin of
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
similarly felt that the game's combat was "uninteresting" but did note that, unlike earlier games in the genre, ''EverQuest'' offered the opportunity to play on servers that wouldn't allow players to fight each other unless they chose to, and that it heavily promoted cooperation. Despite saying that the combat was little "boring", that the manual was "horrible", that the quest system is "half-baked", and the game having small share of miscellaneous bugs, he ultimately called ''EverQuest'' as one of the most memorable gaming experiences he had. Baldric of
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likewise stated that the game was more co-operative than '' Ultima Online'', but that there was less interaction with the environment, calling it more "player oriented" instead of "'world' oriented". Despite server issues during the initial launch, reviewers felt that the game played well even on lower-end network cards, with Tal Blevins of
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
remarking that it rarely suffered from major lag issues. The reviewer did feel that the title suffered from a lack of player customization aside from different face types, meaning all characters of the same race looked mostly the same, but its visual quality on the whole was "excellent" with "particularly impressive" spell, lighting, and particle effects. '' Next Generation'' said that ''EverQuest'' set a high standards for its genre. '' Computer Games Magazine'' commended the game's three-dimensional graphics, first-person perspective, environments, and simple combat system, remarking that ''EverQuest'' gave the players the first step towards to the true virtual world.


Accolades

''Everquest'' was named GameSpot's 1999 Game of the Year in its Best & Worst of 1999 awards, remarking that after the game's release in March, the whole gaming industry was grounded to a halt, that a least one prominent game developer blamed ''EverQuest'' for product delays, and that for several weeks GameSpot's editors were spending more time exploring Norrath than they were doing their jobs. The website would also include the game in their list of the Greatest Games of All Time in 2004. GameSpot UK would also rank the title 14th on its list of the 100 Best Computer Games of the Millennium in 2000, calling it "a technological tour de force" and the first online RPG to bring the production values of single-player games to the online masses. The
Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
named ''EverQuest'' their " Online Game of the Year" during the 3rd Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, while Game Revolution named it the Best PC RPG of 1999. It was included in ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's Best of 1999 in the "Tech" category, and ''
Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' would include the game in their Top Ten Hall of Fame Video Games of the '90s. In 2007, Sony Online Entertainment received a
Technology & Engineering Emmy Award The Technology and Engineering Emmy Awards, or Technology and Engineering Emmys, are one of two sets of Emmy Awards that are presented for outstanding achievement in engineering development in the television industry. The Technology and Engineer ...
for ''EverQuest'' under the category of "Development of Massively Multiplayer Online Graphical Role Playing Games". During the 2nd annual Game Developers Choice Online Awards in 2011, ''EverQuest'' received a Hall of Fame award for its long-term advancement of online gaming, such as being the first MMORPG to feature a
guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
system and raiding. Editors of ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'' and GameSpot each nominated ''EverQuest'' for their 1999 "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards, both of which ultimately went to '' Planescape: Torment''. CNET Gamecenter likewise nominated it in this category, but gave the award to '' Asheron's Call''. GameSpot would also nominate the title for Best Multiplayer Game of 1999, but would give the award to '' Quake III Arena''. In 2012, 1UP.com ranked ''EverQuest'' 57th on its list of the Top 100 Essential Games.
Game Informer ''Game Informer'' (''GI'' is an American monthly Video game journalism, video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and video game console, game consoles. It debuted in August 1991, when the video game reta ...
placed the game 33rd on their top 100 video games of all time in 2009.


Sales and subscriptions

''EverQuest'' was the most pre-ordered PC title on EBGames.com prior to its release in March 1999. The game had 10,000 active subscribers 24 hours after launch, making it the high-selling online role-playing game up until that point. It achieved 60,000 subscribers by April 1999. Six months later, around 225,000 copies of the game had been sold in total, with 150,000 active subscribers. By early 2000, the game's domestic sales alone reached 231,093 copies, which drew revenues of $10.6 million. NPD Techworld, a firm that tracked sales the United States, reported 559,948 units sold of ''EverQuest'' by December 2002. Subscription numbers would rise to over 500,000 active accounts four years after release in 2003. By the end of 2004 the title's lifetime sales exceeded 3 million copies worldwide and reached an active subscriber peak of 550,000. As of September 2020, ''EverQuest'' had 66,000 subscribers and 82,000 monthly active players.


Controversies


Sale of in-game objects/real world economics

The sale of in-game objects for real currency is a controversial and lucrative industry with topics concerning practices of hacking/stealing accounts for profit. Critics often cite how it affects the virtual economy inside the game. In 2001, the sales of in-game items for real life currency was banned on eBay. A practice in the real-world trade economy is of companies creating characters, powerleveling them to make them powerful, and then reselling the characters for large sums of money or in-game items of other games. Sony discourages the payment of real-world money for online goods, except on certain "Station Exchange" servers in '' EverQuest II'', launched in July 2005. The program facilitates buying in-game items for real money from fellow players for a nominal fee. At this point this system only applies to select ''EverQuest II'' servers; none of the pre-''Station Exchange'' ''EverQuest II'' or ''EverQuest'' servers are affected. In 2012, Sony added an in-game item called a "Krono", which adds 30 days of game membership throughout ''EverQuest'' and ''EverQuest II''. The item can be initially bought starting at US$17.99. Up to 25 "Kronos" can be bought for US$424.99. Krono can be resold via player trading, which has allowed Krono to be frequently used in the real-world trade economy due to its inherent value.


Intellectual property and role-playing


Mystere incident

In October 2000, Verant banned a player by the name of Mystere, allegedly for creating controversial
fan fiction Fan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction. The author uses copyrighted ...
, causing outrage among some ''EverQuest'' players and sparking a debate about players' rights and the line between roleplaying and intellectual property infringement. The case was used by several academics in discussing such rights in the digital age.


Addiction

Some argue the game has addictive qualities. Some players jokingly refer to it as "EverCrack" (a comparison to crack cocaine). There was one well-publicized suicide of an ''EverQuest'' user named Shawn Woolley, that inspired his mother, Liz, to found Online Gamers Anonymous. In November 2001, Shawn Woolley committed suicide. Although he had been diagnosed with depression and
schizoid personality disorder Schizoid personality disorder (, often abbreviated as SzPD or ScPD) is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of interest in social relationships, a tendency toward a solitary or sheltered lifestyle, secretiveness, emotional coldness, ...
, Shawn's mother said the suicide was due to a rejection or betrayal in the game from a character Shawn called "iluvyou".


Sociological aspects of MMORPGs

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 ...
s (MMORPGs) are described by some players as "chat rooms with a graphical interface". The sociological aspects of ''EverQuest'' (and other MMORPGs) are explored in a series of online studies on a site known as "the HUB". The studies make use of data gathered from player surveys and discuss topics like virtual relationships, player personalities, gender issues, and more.


Organized protests

In May 2004, Woody Hearn of GU Comics called for all ''EverQuest'' gamers to boycott the ''Omens of War'' expansion in an effort to force SOE to address existing issues with the game rather than release another "quick-fire" expansion. The call to boycott was rescinded after SOE held a summit to address player concerns, improve (internal and external) communication, and correct specific issues within the game.


Prohibition in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

On 17 January 2008, the Judge of the 17th Federal Court of
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
State forbade the sales of the game in that Brazilian territory. The reason was that "the game leads the players to a loss of moral virtue and takes them into 'heavy' psychological conflicts because of the game quests".


''EverQuest'' franchise

Since ''EverQuest''s release, Sony Online Entertainment has added several ''EverQuest''-related games. These include: * ''EverQuest Hero's Call'' (
Pocket PC A Pocket PC (P/PC, PPC) is a class of personal digital assistant (PDA) that runs the Windows Mobile operating system, which is based on Windows Embedded Compact, Windows CE/Windows Embedded Compact, and that has some of the abilities of modern ...
, January 2003) * ''
EverQuest Online Adventures ''EverQuest Online Adventures'' (EQOA) is a discontinued 2003 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed and published by Sony Online Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is part of the ''EverQuest'' franchise and ...
'' (
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, February 2003) * '' EverQuest Online Adventures Frontiers'' (
PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...
, November 2003) * '' Lords of EverQuest'' (PC, December 2003) * '' Champions of Norrath'' (PlayStation 2, February 2004) * ''EverQuest Hero's Call 2'' (Pocket PC, April 2004) * '' EverQuest II'' ( PC, November 2004) * ''EverQuest War On Faydwer'' (Pocket PC, launched sometime in early April 2004 and elements were integrated in 2006 to ''Echoes of Faydwer'' (DLC) * '' Champions: Return to Arms'', sequel to ''Champions of Norrath'' (PlayStation 2, February 2005) * '' EverQuest Role-Playing Game'' (a
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
produced in collaboration with White Wolf which uses the
d20 system The d20 System is a role-playing game system published in 2000 by Wizards of the Coast, originally developed for the Editions of Dungeons & Dragons#Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition, 3rd edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''. The system is named after ...
). * '' Legends of Norrath'' (a virtual card game which launched sometime in 2007 or early 2008 which also awards ''EverQuest'' and ''EverQuest II'' players with in-game items). * '' EverQuest Next'', newest story-based ''EverQuest'' game (cancelled) * '' EverQuest Next Landmark'', only world-building ''EverQuest'' game (cancelled) A line of novels have been published in the world of ''EverQuest'', including: * ''Rogue's Hour'', by
Scott Ciencin Malcolm Scott Ciencin (September 1, 1962 – August 5, 2014) was an American author of adult and children's fiction. He co-authored several books with his wife Denise Ciencin. He was a ''The New York Times, New York Times'' bestselling au ...
(October 2004) * ''Ocean of Tears'', by Stewart Wieck (October 2005) * ''Truth and Steel'', by Thomas M. Reid (September 2006) * ''The Blood Red Harp'', by Elaine Cunningham (October 2006)


Citations


Notes


General and cited references

*


Further reading



*


External links

*
''EverQuest''
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 ...
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