Reminiscing Everquest
It seems that no matter what we are playing, be it a shooter or an Rpg or an action adventure or we’re tabletop gaming, Everquest always finds its way into our conversation. With 100+ days logged, EQ became a big chunk of our lives six or so years ago. It’s not that it was the greatest game in the world either. World of Warcraft surpassed EQ in every aspect 10 fold once it was released. And even though it ticked me off just as many times as it gave me joy, Everquest was my college social life. My friends were playing, my guild was my faction. I didn’t go to parties, I raided. I didn’t join a club, I quested. I didn’t play sports, I grinded levels.
As I said, World Of Warcraft was ten times better than EQ. The gameplay was smoother, quests were easier, and it was more accessible to play. However, Everquest had something WoW didn’t; camaraderie. I think EQ’s difficulty as compared to WoW’s easiness lead to different social situations. In Everquest, I generally played with the same group of people over and over for hours and hours at a time. Warcrafts instances and questing allowed me to adventure more as a solo act or by switching in an out of random groups every hour or so.
It’s a little strange, but in EQ, when you are working together with the same people for this long, you start get to know them on a personal level. This is why EQ will always ascend in conversation; we remember the friends we made, the battles we fought, the encounters we, well, encountered. The stories shared are along the same lines as the ones you would tell about any other group of friends, be it co-workers, fellow students, childhood acquaintances, or old team mates.
I remember people from this game, just as I would remember old middle school teachers, or the group of troublemakers you ran around with as a kid. The situations are slightly different. Instead of telling the story of little Teddy who jumped his bike over the Cedar Creek with no hands on the handlebars, we tell the tale of Stevo the dwarf, whom I first met in the beginning weeks of EQ, and taught me the battle basics, rhyming “Into the fray I go, to slay me a Burly Gnoll” as his battle chant. Stevo was the first of many “friends” I had made along the way. Eventually you go your separate ways like any acquaintance, but I still remember him even though he may not remember me.
Eventually you become part of a guild. This group of people you worked with on a daily basis. You played, gossiped, strategized and shared together. The constant level grinding, the absurd questing, and the raiding tactics allowed people to interact on a personal level rather than strictly business. Two players that lived further down the East Coast (IRL) became friends on the inside and on the outside of the game. Falloraan and Aradiani lived together at the time and invited our local trio to come visit. Others were skeptical, but these two were a couple of the nicest people we had ever met. Long after EQ, we still actively speak to and game with Fall and see Ara through that newfangled social networking.
I still recall those brawls. Positioning the Avatar of War and pulling the Vindicator in Kael was always exciting and challenging. The first time we explored dark and spooky Kedge Keep, totally underwater (returning much later to duo Mr. Phinigel Autropos). Raiding Temple of Veeshan and NToV for some dragon killing (and dying/wiping). Ssraeshza Temple runs were amazing, which eventually lead to Vex Thall. This is just scratching the surface. You have old football stories, when you played as a young man? I got Everquest stories that can entertain you for hours!
About the Author
Mike writes rough, amateurish articles for www.castersfirst.com, a website about video games, hobbies, dungeons and Dragons, and beer.
Original Everquest Intro Movie 1999
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