The EverQuest Show - Episode 15 - Creating Monsters and Magic

Episode 15 of The EverQuest Show - February 15, 2023
Rick Schmitz created over a thousand concept art drawings for the original EverQuest and EQ2. He designed the monsters and animated their 3d models.
Geoffrey Zatkin was the designer behind creating the spell system of EverQuest and balancing the classes and defining their roles.
Qeynos has a long and storied history. See how it's changed in EQ, EQOA, EQ2 and even before it was Qeynos.
Additional great EverQuest Show content found at everquestshow.com
Episode 14:
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Episode 13:
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Say What Special:
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Gameplay and music clips courtesy of EverQuest and EverQuest II.
Theme music "Top Of The World" licensed from Tim McMorris, published by King's Crown Productions Inc.
Stock footage purchased from Stock Footage, Inc.

[@RijackiTorment]

Bards rock! My very very first character was a Vah bard when I started playing with my then boyfriend when he wanted to play EQ (again) after SoL launched. From some bad experiences with MUDs, I was very wary of the inclusion of PvP and so didn't pick up the game prior to him bringing me into it. I have fond memories of the first weeks of playing and figuring out the bard. When FV opened a few months later, we decided to try characters there in a group that he had met on The Newbie Zone of the forums (veteran players who would help the newbies). I rolled a ranger and stayed on that server. Since it was 1 character per account then, I had moved on from bard at that time. I left the game a few years later. After returning in 2020, I started playing a bard again on FV (now the same number of characters per account as all other servers) and she is now my main and I love her to bits. There have been A LOT of changes in how bards work but also a lot of core things have remained.

[@grimmftw8044]

The fact that you get nothing out of this besides the joy of it, really shows on your face with that ear to ear grin. Fading, thank you so much for what you do in your spare time. I hope one day that this can be your job, if that's your wish. I could easily listen to you on a podcast or just talk about anything my dude. You rock and I was so heartbroken when I thought the show was gone for years, it really is a pandemic miracle seeing you return and with more vigor than ever!

[@bountoj]

These episodes and this channel are very important for the preservation of old-school games. There's so much to Everquest. When people hear or talk about old-school MMOs, it's always stuff like FF11 or WoW. Thank you for the Everquest content. Thank you to everyone who worked and to those who continue to work on the game.

[@SoyAntonioGaming]

So his daughter was the model for Quellious, but I wonder what persons IRL he based the Trolls/Ogres on!

[@danielrk8]

Thank you for this! I always want to run home and get on one of my old characters after watching your videos!

[@arthurcamargo8416]

Rick talks about making the orcs and other monster models recognizable from a distance. I am glad that they thought about things like that as it adds to the game! It feels pretty good when you are running around in the wilds of one zone or another and off in the distance, you see your target! The game is so much better thanks to those little details that they add just because they thought about how we the players would either benefit or how the characters could "fit" together! So much fun to watch these! Thank you, Fading!

[@DD-ge6ef]

Love the content Fading and team. Keep it up!

[@bear.necessities]

Love the episode! Definitely got chills at the 3 Qeynos comparison and the music updates over time... Always so interesting to hear commentary from the super intelligent and creative designers that made up the world we play in.

[@eddwinnas]

This show is great and makes my week. Appreciate all the effort you put into it.

[@j.t.8023]

Im sad to imagine that this show will some day end and we cant get any more info and Background on the Game that molded me greatly to who i am today. Those infos are valuable and its great that you present them to a wider audience because otherwise they would get lost. keep up the great show !

[@jackle2345]

Ah yes, time to kick back and enjoy my weekly dose of nostalgia, followed by the crushing feeling of never feeling like this game made me feel again. So many feels! Love it, keep em coming!

[@mmomailman]

Another great video! Thanks Fading.

[@Random49558]

LOVED this episode. Schmitz's and Zatkin's fingerprints are all over EQ. What wonder they created. Pure creativity and passion! They are so good at what they do.

[@mikejenkins1270]

Great episode as always. Love the Geoffrey Zatkin interview because the EQ class interdependence has always fascinated me most about the game, great getting to hear a little bit about how some of that came to be. Also really happy my favorite mobs of all time the lizardmen got a feature!

[@swordmonkey6635]

"It's Cthulhu. It's a lot to do with a Cthulhu monster. It was inspired by Cthulhu." Thanks for settling an argument I had with some folks in my guild 20 years ago. lol They were adamant that the Amygdalian Warriors were not inspired by Cthulhu at all, but were based on Mind Flayers. I was like "Mind Flayers were based on the look of Cthulhu..." lol

[@Stitchlii]

Best game ever IMO.

[@MrRichardgower]

Great episode Fading!!! Boy did that man have talent...wow..it's so cool to see the people behind EQ and all the work they did and how they still seem very proud to be a part of making a great game. Thanks again Fading for all the work you put into these so we can enjoy them, can't wait to see the upcoming episode!

[@yoplaitmajor]

Super-duper episode. THIS is the stuff that EQ is built on. Fading, your work is so appreciated. Thank you!

[@scotte6084]

Love the show! Thanks for the time and effort you put into it. It is so much fun getting the backstories on the creation of EQ. I would love to see an interview with the person/team that created the sound effects to the mobs. Back in the beginning, the spell book would be shown when you were sitting medding up. You had no idea what was near you. I vividly remember the terror I would feel in East Karana hearing the clacking sounds on the spiders as they roamed by me. Still makes me shudder.

[@Elias_Halloran]

Great episode. Knowing about Rick Schmitz and the animator is amazing. Smaller world with this duo! Thanks for this!!!

[@TeddyMcgiggles]

I was 18 when I started playing EQ back in 1999. Watching these videos instantly takes me back to simpler days and the joys that were found losing myself into a new world. EQ was my introduction into the world of MMORPGs and will always hold a special place in my heart. I'm sure that I'm not alone when I say thank you for for doing this series and bringing some forgotten joy back into the world.

[@jamazar9655]

Great Episode!

[@novyxl9672]

Love this, thanks for spending so much time doing this for us

[@arkhos599]

So many feels, so much nostalgia. Played the game at launch in '99 and was a daily player/raider up to PoP. So many wonderful memories! Thank you for doing this!

[@ericheft6184]

Great episode. Really like the interviews and being able to see all the early art.

[@darczee1]

Absolutely love this, never missed an upload, thank you!

[@michaelcarner1963]

Hell yes, new episode!

[@space.tel-e-grams]

My favorite episode so far. I could spend hours listening to the designers discussing their creative process. Everquest is solely the reason I learned to make digital art (I started out making forum signatures), and now 2 decades later I enjoy a career as a concept artist. I owe these guys a round of Minotaur Hero's Brew. 🍺

[@rickschmitz8329]

That's amazing to hear! Thanks for sharing!

[@Sparcen]

Thank you Fading

[@Schmoodawg33]

Great stuff as always! 👍

[@iugoeswest]

Good episode!!

[@mireadur]

Great channel, thanks.

[@sweetyd]

Another great episode. Love to see the OG developers. Thanks Fadding, keep up the great work!

[@anthony1022011]

Glad you got back into making these Kitt they are awesome!

[@crafty_android]

awesome, more interviews! Thanks!

[@fals2th]

i love this man, please never stop

[@HectorYague]

Amazing episode! I loved the segment about designing the gameplay mechanics. EQ managed to reach a wonderful balance accross different classes and gameplay dynamics, and now I know who was the genius mind behind it :) Thanks!

[@mbennett1810]

Love this show almost as much as I love EQ! Please keep up the great work ❤️

[@Fromthedark675]

Thank you for the show ❤

[@michaelmorton6566]

we need everquest 3

[@TomBrady-ce9md]

Thank you for making these videos. They are fantastic

[@MitchAboutGames]

Damn I missed the premiere!

[@sunbear_413]

I saw some people I know from Agnarr! :)

[@michaeltylerstewart]

I want to play EQOA soooo bad!

[@Morraak]

Enjoyed seeing that time lapse of Qeynos, hope to see more of that in the future since I never got to play EQOA or the Champions of Norrath games. All these interviews makes me wonder how many hours of interview footage you have that you're just waiting to tie in with subjects and release lol. Good episode!

[@EverQuestShow]

More footage than you think! I have several more great segments that will be airing in the next 4 to 6 episodes. There are some big things on the way!

[@EverQuestShow]

And I'm trying to do a "Then and Now" segment in every episode this "season." Last episode was Guk. Qeynos this episode. Befallen is coming up, along with others.

[@EQ_EnchantX]

Enchanter for the win!

[@aaronrm92]

"for the enchanter, i was going to create a class that had nothing to do with damage" proceeds to make the highest dps class in the game

[@rflynn1974]

Are you going to do a video about the post that you posted on the fourms about asking daybreak questions?

[@EverQuestShow]

Yes. Stay Tuned! =)

[@timcalhoun5797]

“I made a class that had nothing to do with damage.” *looks at charm* 🤣

[@lairdmichaelscott]

Hmm. Ask him about monks. Not the masters of melee dps anymore (that just duplicates berserkers) and pulling in raids is a thing of the distant, distant past. Might have thought it had something to do with ripostes (turning an opponent's strength back upon them) but that's not really a thing either.

[@LosianTheDrake]

Classes that aren't JUST DPS are such a missing link in games these days - having roles that enable and empower others or manipulate the game in other ways is so very interesting and such a lost art.

[@JON_CORE]

Funny hearing him talk about bards being terrible solo...best kiter and eph hour there right up there with enchanters being able to control other monsters wow. And to reduce damage to make there pets even last longer

[@Gonzo614]

Fading, what servers have you played on?

[@EverQuestShow]

Tunare. Agnarr. Mangler. And I've putzed around on a few others.

[@Gonzo614]

@@EverQuestShow I knew the name sounded familiar. I've been on Tunare since Dec. 16, 1999. Back then Merf Half Elf Druid. These days Demonicspawn Ogre SK or Elbribon Dwarf Berserker.

[@404cp]

"the bard was designed to be terrible at soloing but invaluable in groups" hahahahaa. did anyone show him a bard swarm kiting and gaining an entire level in 30 minutes?

[@darintroxel3295]

What i don't understand your doing this for the love of the game, why is Daybreak games not backing your steam with even more items to say hey this game is being backed and we just won't go down. For the love of this game why not back the content supporters like Fading.

[@EverQuestShow]

For clarification, I have the full blessing of Daybreak. For personal and professional legal reasons, I cannot and do not accept monetary compensation. The company does communicate with me and tries to assist when they can, as seen in granting developer interviews (previous episodes) , Exclusive announcements and assets. However, I i am not an employee or spokesperson. Simply a dedicated fan.

[@yousini]

The legend behind enchanter, best crowd control class in any mmo out there even decades after