Brad McQuaid Site Updated

[Zehn - Vhex]

You kinda missed the point. But that's okay. I'm the loving, understanding type.

[possible]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

Except that EQ was not poop at all, at least for me.

You might have to take some extra classes for reading comprehension.

[Bloodget]

No, I understand the point. Brad got lucky, he deserve no recognition for what he did.
I just don't agree, I don't see how so many say that EQ was just luck (or you can say that for nearly everything), while WoW or I don't know what other cut/paste game is just genius.
It is not that I care about him, he is not my friend as I don't deal any narcotic, I just don't understand why because someone deliver crap (Vanguard) that it invalidate what he did in the past.
I dunno, if a band make a crappy album, that doesn't make the old ones bad.

[Sunder]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

No, I understand the point. Brad got lucky, he deserve no recognition for what he did.
I just don't agree, I don't see how so many say that EQ was just luck (or you can say that for nearly everything), while WoW or I don't know what other cut/paste game is just genius.
It is not that I care about him, he is not my friend as I don't deal any narcotic, I just don't understand why because someone deliver crap (Vanguard) that it invalidate what he did in the past.
I dunno, if a band make a crappy album, that doesn't make the old ones bad.

The fact that EQ was fun had very little to do with Brad. In fact, it had very little to do with The Vision at all. What made EQ fun was the fact you could get AROUND the shit Brad considered fun and could bend the game into something the people who played it thought was fun. In fact, the more the devs tried to hammer down the edges of the game and force people into Brad's Vision, the less fun EQ became. EQ was a great game IN SPITE OF Brad. The fact the game had such a lose ruleset when it came to spells/abilities/pathing/environment/etc is probably the best thing about the game. Because the actual rules of the game (i.e. The Vision) sucked a dick.

[Zehn - Vhex]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

he deserve no recognition for what he did..

You didn't get the point then.

[Rayne]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

No, I understand the point. Brad got lucky, he deserve no recognition for what he did.
I just don't agree, I don't see how so many say that EQ was just luck (or you can say that for nearly everything), while WoW or I don't know what other cut/paste game is just genius.
It is not that I care about him, he is not my friend as I don't deal any narcotic, I just don't understand why because someone deliver crap (Vanguard) that it invalidate what he did in the past.
I dunno, if a band make a crappy album, that doesn't make the old ones bad.

What you don't "get", is that hes far too comfortable riding the coat tails of every conceivable reason you could come up with for why EQ was such a great game, and handing off the blame when it comes to what many thought was utter garbage about it. Vanguard was the tip of the iceberg, because it opened a great many eyes to the truth of the matter.

I expect the next part of his "pass the buck" blog to selflessly blame himself some more for the little things, but to ultimately throw the most egregious shit onto someone else. Seems to be the theme hes going for.

[Bloodget]

Oh wait, I totally agree blaming microsoft / devs ego for vanguard failure is weak. Brad is not my hero, don't get me wrong. The fanboys waiting for another of his game while sucking his dick are delusional and a guy that takes drugs when things don't go his way and can't even be here when firing his employees...is not great in my book (and likely depressed but we are all tough guys here so no sympathy). I would not give him 1 cent to make a new game.

But who care about his personality. Since when does it matter? You really give a fuck about Brad inner self?

It is just that many seem to think EQ1 was just luck. I am sure there was a lot of work involved. Not all went as planned but they adapted more or less to it. A lot went as planned too may be? If you work everyday for years on something, succeed, then you are told it was just sheer luck well fuck, dunno you but I would be pissed

[ToeMissile]

I would just like to say that Bloodget types pretty good english for a frenchie

And I would like to counter everyones arguments with the following subtly relevant question:

How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?

[fucker]

the answer is "Robots?"

[ArkturusMaximus]

Originally Posted by Ayeshala

From what I can dig up, Shawn Wooley commited suicide in late 2001.

According to MMOG Charts, by that time EQ had almost reached its peak except for a weird spike in subscriptions in mid 2004.

That was the Progression server im sure.

[Rayne]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

It is just that many seem to think EQ1 was just luck. I am sure there was a lot of work involved. Not all went as planned but they adapted more or less to it. A lot went as planned too may be? If you work everyday for years on something, succeed, then you are told it was just sheer luck well fuck, dunno you but I would be pissed

You're still missing it. EQ was lucky "for McQuaid". Not just lucky as a game. The problem is, McQuaid knows this, and uses it to place himself up on a pedastel, and blame everyone else when "his" ideas fall through the floor.

Here, try this exercise at home:

Consider every reason you can think of for what made EQ special to you. Then, if you can, link those reasons directly to McQuaid.

Let me know how you make out.

[Flight]

Originally Posted by Bloodget

No, I understand the point. Brad got lucky, he deserve no recognition for what he did.

That isn't the point at all.

The point is he stole the whole game design, the whole so called 'Vision', from Sojourn. He communicated that to designers and programmers at Sony.

He then had an iron grip on the PR that came out of Sony, being a close friend of Smedley, and ascribed to himself the kudos and reputation that a number of the designers at SoE deserved for themselves.


If the people who deserved the credit had actually got it, instead of him, they would have had the backing of the industry that Brad got and we might have had some decent games instead of the steaming piles that we have endured.


What Brad and Smed are responsible for is settings standards of management and process management in this industry that are so poor, that we consumers have endured one crap, unfinished, untested, un-fun product after another. For literally years.

Originally Posted by Bloodget

I just don't agree, I don't see how so many say that EQ was just luck (or you can say that for nearly everything), while WoW or I don't know what other cut/paste game is just genius.

The products coming out from the middle of next year will represent a paradigm shift in all those areas, because WoW have set a baseline of professionalism that should be a starting point. I'm far from a WoW fanboi, I'd bet over 95% of this forums members has played it more than me, but they have showed the industry how it should be done in terms of the company set up and the development, design and testing teams.


THE single worst event in this industries short history was PC Gamer calling Brad a Gamer God.

[Utnayan]

Originally Posted by Flight

Good post

That's exactly it. And these two phrases should be repeated for all time.

If the people who deserved the credit had actually got it, instead of him, they would have had the backing of the industry that Brad got and we might have had some decent games instead of the steaming piles that we have endured.

And

What Brad and Smed are responsible for is settings standards of management and process management in this industry that are so poor, that we consumers have endured one crap, unfinished, untested, un-fun product after another. For literally years.

Everyone else is right too. Broken mechanics that were not intended that made the game fun isn't design. And shouldn't be credited to anyone.

If you want to credit anyone for the success of EQ, give it to Bill Trost. The later success from Kendrick who designed some fantastic zones.

All McQuaid did was hop on a pedastal given to him by a good friend as they funneled all the success everyone else had to McQuaid, who did not deserve one bit of it.

Then unfortunately, as flight said, we saw what happened after McQuaid set the bar (A very low bar) for launch candididate MMORPG's, which continued with DAOC and everything unitemized post level 35 and an unfinished RvR relic system (The mainstay of the game) post launch for 3 months. Followed by SWG being the first game redesigned in less than 16 months after a 4 year development budget, and that path followed by Vanguard yet again.

So Bloodget, the point here is that WoW is praised for attempting to take us out of this retarded cycle. And they did a damn good job of it. It doesn't mean they do not have bugs, or design decisions that baffle you sometimes, but the quality is bar none the best thing ever seen. And Blizzard will continue to dominate the market as other development/publishing companies are still back in the late 90's MMORPG development/publishing process that you CAN credit McQuaid for.

[Locithon]

And where do you get your information Utnayan? I don't think anyone here can say for sure who deserves more/less credit for EQ's successes and failures. Unless you actually worked on EQ up until launch and beyond how could you possibly know? All we have is some scraps of secondhand information from a couple ex-employees. Maybe Brad got too much credit, I don't know. I just don't see how you draw these conclusions Ut with such little info.

[Bloodget]

That EQ was an unfinished, sure. That Blizzard was a little less buggy, sure (not a mmorpg for me, but that is more a taste problem and the fact that I am from the long forgotten D&D tabletop era than anything else).
I also think it was just not possible to release a WoW in 1999. Blaming Brad because all those that followed didn't improve...that's stupid. Blame Mythic/Funcom/etc...

If you want to credit anyone for the success of EQ, give it to Bill Trost.

Then unfortunately, as flight said, we saw what happened after McQuaid set the bar

So Bill did all and evil Brad come after him to sabotage the project?
Or may be it was space lizards Jew that made EQ to have us enslaved to a game? Dunno, I was not here, I can only go* by the credit rollin, and it list Brad.

I would just like to say that Bloodget types pretty good english for a frenchie

Lol you know what, I learned english mostly playing mmos/reading forums like this one...and I am not sure it is proper English.