Exclusive Interview with EQ2 Expansion Designer

EQ2 WarCry has managed to snag a massive and exclusive interview with the chief design supervisor for the upcoming "Echoes of Faydwer" expansion, Akil "Lyndro" Hooper.

What is your name and position with SOE right now?

Akil Hooper. Design Supervisor for Echoes of Faydwer.

What projects have you worked on for SOE?

I started at SOE as a GM shortly after the launch of the Scars of Velious expansion pack for the original EverQuest. I did some time as GM for Rallos Zek, and moved to EQ 1 as a designer in the spring of 2002. I worked on some live events for Stormhammer, and some zone revamps before I started work on Planes of Power (PoP). In PoP I did some quest coordination for Plane of Knowledge (Read: Made the new apprentices write quests), some events for Plane of Tactics (Boar Stampede!), and Bastion of Thunder, as well as some random odds and ends here and there.

After that I worked as a designer on EQ 1 for Legacy of Ykesha (Hatesfury and Gunthak), Lost Dungeons of Norrath (Guk Theme), Gates of Discord (Ferubi, and Qvic, as well as the Tribute System), Omens of War (Anguish, the Mage and Cleric Epic 2.0 quests, and Guild Tribute), and Dragons of Norrath (Random stuff). After DoN I moved to EverQuest 2, where I've worked on the Desert of Flame expansion pack (Lockjaw, Cazel, and the Djinn Master), the Kingdom of Sky expansion (Sepulcher and Devourer), and now Echoes of Faydwer.

What specific EQ2 encounters or projects have you worked on that you're particularly proud of?

I'm really happy with how Echoes of Faydwer is shaping up. I think its going to be a great expansion with a lot of stuff for everyone. I'm also pretty proud of the Djinn Master in Desert of Flames, it was a unique event, which was a real challenge to get functional, so it was great to see it working.

It's definitely worth a read, so check it out over at EQ2 WarCry!