This week we're celebrating EverQuest II's fourth Birthday here at Allakhazam and as our present to the community we'll be bringing you mini interviews from many of the people on the team who've struggled over the years to make EverQuest II the game that you love and play. Our first target is the game's Producer, Bruce Ferguson, who's been on the team (in one way or another) since the game launched in 2004.

Allakhazam : How long have you been working on EverQuest II and how did you get started?

Bruce : I'm not sure that I qualify for this, as I spent a couple of years away from the team, but I'll answer as much as I can. I started back in the late 50s..oh wait. Maybe not. I joined the EQII team about 18 months before we shipped, so that would have been spring of 2003. I had been a project manager on another project, so I jumped right in on working on schedules and task tracking. We were close to 80 or 90 people at the time, and there was a lot or random wrangling of miscellaneous stuff, and I helped out.  You'd be amazed at how much stuff that has only a relatively small relationship to actually making a game there is...and then there's all the stuff needed to be done to make the game too!

Allakhazam : Over the years, is there a particular change that you've seen made to EverQuest II that stands out against the rest?

Bruce : The scope of the game. We really were trying to get a high quality product shipped back then, and in most ways, I think we were quite successful, but over the years, our players and the team have found areas that we felt needed improvement. This team has continued to modify, create, expand, and just simply make it better than the original release. We're just about to launch our 5th expansion, and it really is a spectacular achievement. There really aren't too many games out there who can boast of the success of EverQuest II, and we're all pretty proud of it.

Allakhazam : What is both your most and least favorite memory about your time spent working on EverQuest II?

Bruce : Ah, the hard questions. My least memory probably has to be black Friday, shortly after we launched, when the servers came up and their turned out to be a database issue with the characters, which required us to take down the servers for a lengthy period of time. I was in charge of the "live" game, and felt the responsibility to stick around and make sure things were happening at the required speed to get things back as quickly as possible. If memory serves, I was up for about 60 hours straight, and then took a nap for 6 or 8 hours, and then up again for another 18 or 20 hours before the problem was resolved and the servers came back up. My favorite memory happens pretty much every time I meet other players of EQII, and see the excitement and passion they share for the game.

Check back with us on Monday for our next victim!