Developers discuss their beginning with the gaming industry, EverQuest

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Thom Terazzas, Producer

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I started out on consoles back when I was a little runt. The Atari 2600 was my first game system.

As I graduated to be an adult, I played various MMO's – many games which were similar to EverQuest. I do like to play sports games as well. I loved playing FIFA, Black Ops, first-person shooters. Planetside was a game that just kept on building on the FPS mode and taking it a different direction that no game I have ever seen will ever be able to match. It's exciting to see Planetside 2 come out in the near future.

I completely fell in backwards. Much like the San Diego Chargers, how they enter the playoffs. And that is talking from a San Diego homer of course. I'm not bashing them, but telling how hard it must've been.

So if I can equate that to the hardship of falling in backwards, I was working in the horticultural field for about twelve years. And construction, development went kinda south. I was doing odd jobs for a few days. And one of my buddies went to work for Sony in the Customer Service Department and Testing Department. He was the brother of our past CEO Kelly Flock over at 989 Studios. And he said “Well, if you're tired of odd jobs and want something more steady, the pay isn't great but it's a great opportunity to put your foot in the door.” And it sure was.

That was back in 1998, I came to work for one of Sony's companies. 989 Sports, Verant Interactive and then SoE testing games. I then went into the Customer Service Department. I ran the Customer Service Department in end-game, and also on the Technical Support and Billing side. I did that for about 5 or 6 years and moved into Project Management on the development side.

I eventually made my way to Planetside. I've touched a lot of games. We were just talking about that – about how many games I've touched here on the development side. Vanguard, Planetside – just games we still see running around. But EverQuest was that game I played ever since it launched. Got myself into trouble with my spouse and family members, just like a lot of other people for playing it too much. And now its kinda cool to be on the game and actually leading the charge.

Adam Bell, Lead Designer

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I also started out on the Atari 2600. But then my father brought a terminal computer home from work. I played a little Space War on that, and it sorta got me hooked on computers.

We got a TRS-80 Model 1, way back in the age of computers. Tape drive to load everything, the sound was a crystal radio stuck on top of the computer. And I've had a computer ever since then.

Most of my play has been computer games. I've gotten a few consoles, but they never really stuck with me. I don't play them very much. I've played some Final Fantasy on console.

I typically play MMO's. I played EverQuest for a long time. I played EQ2, Star Wars Galaxies. I dabbled in WoW, but it just didn't interest me. I've dabbled with a few other people's games, but I find myself coming back to EverQuest.

As a designer, my biggest achievement that I liked was my first creation raid. I did the Underfoot final raid. I really liked it, despite players somewhat disliking it (because of how hard it was).

Eric Cleaver, Community Manager

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Well, just to be different than everyone else, I started with the ColecoVision. That is my console of choice. Which is far superior to the Atari 2600.

I am a longtime gamer. I got my start in the industry by being a community representative of NCSoft on the City of Heroes title, and I am now a Senior Community Manager over at SoE for EverQuest and Legends of Norrath.

A friend of mine was working in the industry, and they said, “Hey! We want you to start working with us, but in order to get you working we gotta start you in Community” So I said, “What's 'Community'?” But it turned out to be the job I always wanted.

I was a day one EverQuest Player. So I always had a huge love of the game. And I always wanted to be that guy who was out there talking to the players, finding out what they wanted and communicating what the company wanted to tell the players.

And so, for me, it is the most interesting place in the MMO industry. These games are all about our players. So this was exactly the spot I wanted to be. And after several years, I found an opening I wanted to be in for EverQuest (it's always been my first love). It is my all-time favorite game, so I had to go for it.

In Community, it's hard to point out one achievement. But the thing I am happiest with right now would be successfully communicating the free-to-play release. That's definitely a big, exciting moment for us here. And to be involved in such a huge moment in EverQuest history is quite an honor.