Everquest – for me, it was a game that was already out-of-date when I started with MMORPGs. I completely missed the second Everquest. But of course, I heard about Everquest.
Anyone who has ever played an MMORPG has heard of it. Because former Everquest players can’t stop talking about it. They tell you about hours-long boss fights where 14 healers had to coordinate their healing spells to the second so that the tank, after being hit for 98% of his health pool every second, could survive the next hit. They tell you about bonus levels and new races, about the twentieth expansion and who knows what else. All of these things always sounded terribly outdated and out of touch to me. When I saw screens, I only felt confirmed.
And I felt somewhat similarly about Sony, I admit. A huge, somewhat faceless company that churned out gigantic titles with massive licenses that I couldn’t connect with at all. I found them soulless. I preferred smaller games with fresh ideas. Some underdogs.
Then came Everquest Next. With those very new and fresh ideas. They heavily draw from sandbox elements, allowing players to create entire worlds with Landmark, and suddenly Sony Online is the coolest developer on the market, has a great image, and everyone is looking forward to it. What is the reason for that?
In my opinion, it is due to John Smedley. Quite oddly. The man has been in the business for 22 years, has worked his way up the hierarchy over the years, and has now reached the top of SOE, managing to cast the giant in a completely new light.
A Chief Developer You Can Relate To?
He presents himself as incredibly transparent and informal. In an AMA a year ago, he talked about StarWarsGalaxies. Many players still hate him for the decisions he made back then. When confronted about it, he admits: “Yeah, that was total nonsense. I messed it up.”
If you’re used to the polished speech of others in the gaming industry, such comments definitely catch your ear.
When asked about the emulator that fans want to use to keep SWG alive, he candidly says: “Officially, I think that’s totally stupid. But only officially.” When asked about the transition from Planetside 2 to Pro7-AG and how Station Cash is now worthless and only Pro7 Cash matters, he pragmatically responds: “If there are any issues, here is my email address. I will personally take care of it.”
And otherwise, this veteran of the gaming industry seems to be a doer 2.0, whose top commandments are transparency, communication, and customer proximity. And they appear to do this not because they have to, but because they simply can’t do otherwise.
Smedley does not come across as a corporate person at the head of a huge company, but rather like a young Kickstarter, who is campaigning for support for his project with 20 fans and a coffee machine at his back.
Revolution from Above
It used to be different. He did interact with fans, but the distance was always clear. Here is the developer and over there the customers, who complain without really knowing how much effort and passion goes into the projects. It often got a bit rough.
But Smedley has now channeled this need for communication into productive avenues. On a developer blog, he shares his thoughts on the sandbox. He maintains a lively exchange with the fans regarding Everquest Next, and the company’s image has completely changed.
The question is whether Everquest Next and Landmark can follow this example. Apparently, there are already special items for sale in the alpha – for cash. This doesn’t quite match the image of a hero who sets out to change the entire gaming culture. But even he has to eat.
For my part, I am looking forward to Everquest Next, and that’s more than I could ever say for Everquest or Everquest II. Who would have thought that the gaming revolution in MMORPGs would actually come from above, from Sony?
