Everquest 2: What Killed Everquest?

Here's something that has a great majority of gamers divided in opinion, but it seemed the majority has quick become one that mourns the loss of a once thrilling online MMORPG. The original Everquest.

Let me not speak for the whole community, but from the perspective of someone who is a verteran gamer and who has made the rounds, community wise. I know that this is by far not the opinion of everyone. So before I receieve hate mail, lets just get that out of the way. This is an editorial, not an opinion (or it would be a review!)

For ages now I have run into countless websites, columns and threads in message boards of people who had at one time or another, been avid EQ fans and are now of the X persuasion. X being any other game that came afterword, as we all know Everquest was a benchmark in online gaming history, everything else is the after. So the question I eventually began to ponder is, what created this enormous stigma, this really wretched beast of burden fallen on the shoulders of this groundbreaking MMORPG. How come when people from other communities discuss Everquest it usually in a mocking fashion. How come it now tends to be the butt of countless jokes? Is it simply backlash from being the first, and most successful?

No. Not at all. After investigating I discovered that Everquest is truly a magnificent game, while you will hear complaints over things such as the publisher or the customer service, it all boils down to opinion, where one does not really affect that of another player. So how could such devastation be so widespread, and this cultural phenomenon be the new stepchild of so many ex-players? Not the publisher. Not The customer Service. Not the fact that you didn't like Luclin. So what could have happened?

The community happened. A community that seemingly consumed itself. A community that became majority 13 year olds with griefing abilities and a lot of l33t comprehension. Everquest, one of the greatest titles of the century, was literally harmed by the demographic it attracted. Children with their parents credit cards accessing the world wide web... for Everquest! Sadly, not all of these were children, in many cases there were adults as well.In many circles within the online gaming community Everquest is for l33t dudes, and greifers on message board such as IGN are told to "...Go back to Everquest, moron."

It's a sterotype that has evolved into an entity of it's own, yes I say stereotype because in now way does it define the complete sum of Everquest's community, even if it may be the majority.

On the Gamespot forums, some fans were very vocal about their concerns of World Of Warcraft buckling beneath all the "l33t dudes" that plagued Everquest. In an attempt to offset some of this in-game out of control absurdity, the official Everquest Strategy guide implemented this guideline:

"Forgo the use of offending language. Be it cursing or "Dude" speak ("phat, L33T"). It is just not necessary."

Thats what the community, profoundly, became known for. Not just l33t, but carelessness, inconsideration, juvenile antics and greifing. All of those wrapped up in one little term. "l33t dude."

Other more recent games have gone to great lengths to prevent this from sabotaging their demographic potental. Dark Age Of Camelot implemented four types of servers for their community, General Servers, Player vs. Player Servers, Roleplaying servers, and Co-operative servers. On the Roleplaying servers, any type of foul behavior or offensive language, especially l33t, was deemed to have been committed by "Everquesties." What many of you might have found in your mailbox in a mass email was this joke - Were you surprised to find it the official Everquest Live site translated into l33t? I wasn't.

This popular online comic strip pokes at The Everquest community by featuring too l33t speaking characters and beggars. Again, the association being the low brow community ethic.

Realistically, it is a community that makes a game, it is a standard set in place by the participants. Are l33t dudes harmful? No, but they can ruin an otherwise good game, and Everquest was their first victim. Funnily enough, in contrast, what does one expect to be done about this? Unfortunatley, most seem oblivious to the fact that these instances, while not as extreme, happen in every game. There will always be a charcter running around with the name "Mythumb Inyurnose." There will always be those who absolutely intend on destroying your experience. There are those who will forever refuse to stop spelling words without numbers in them. And... There are a great many people who still, and always will love Everquest, despite the reputation the community has acquired.

Games are evolving at a quick pace today, as are communities. No longer is the gaming community comprised of adolescent boys to afraid to talk to girls. Now there are people from the ages of 10 to 60 playing online games steadily. With this vast influx of MMORPG visiblity comes a new variation of community, one in which people are generally more motivated with accomplishing a goal, achieving a status and having a good time in a mature, respectable manner. The roleplaying community has found it's niche in MMORPG's and is flourishing, opening up the doors to an entire new sect of potential players. And yet, the reputation of Everquest, possibly the most popular game of all, still lingers like a boil on the face of modern games, tarnishing the novice players idea of what it's about, defining it soley by the overwhelming public stereotype of the community within.

That being said, Everquest is not dead, seven expansions later we find ourselves on the cups of Everquest II.Onlu time will tell what manifests beyond the screens and pronounces itself in the gaming community. I cetrainly hope this title can shed the stigma left by it's predecessor.

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