OMGZ Moorgard is Quitzzing teh Industry!!!!1!!
And it’s about damn time!Â
No, I’m really not. But I am leaving SOE, despite the fact that I still love the game I’ve been working on for these past several years and have enjoyed being a part of this company more than I can say. But sometimes opportunities present themselves that are simply too good to ignore, and if the time is right you just have to take advantage of them.
But more on that later. For now, I have a bit of work to finish up and then I’ve got some packing to do.
Just to prove how dumb I am, I got it into my head that a cross-country road trip would be a fun idea. We’ll see if I still feel that way when I’m midway through Nebraska.
So, are you joining Schilling too?
Just wanna say, as a big EQ2 fan, your leaving makes me very sad
I can’t wait to hear what your next project will be, however – something MMO? Something different?
Well, Thanks for the work, and being an informative member of the team. Dunno what else you may have been a part of at SOE, but I really enjoyed EQ2. So Grats.
BTW, I Made that cross country road trip almost exactly two years ago. LA to NY. If you are taking the northern route… Watch out for the rockies. Do it during the day and check the weather.. I did it in mid Nov, and at night… was a white knuckle nightmare getting through vale on the 70.
We’ll miss you, Moorgard!
I thought the same thing when I moved to Massachusetts this past January… Let me tell you the drive sucks =P especially with a car full of junk… I did just under 3k miles in 50 hours, sleeping @ rest stops in my car, would I do it again, yes, would I do it as quickly, no…
Be safe though, Arizona has some whacky drivers.
Is it too late to say that-instance-you-just-designed is really awesome?
Well, anyways, you clearly have the big picture in focus, and if you are excited to be moving on to other ‘opportunities’ (mmorpgs!), I am surely excited to eventually play them.
Let me know when some forums pop up that I can spam etc, & see you then.
Best of luck
pat
Oh – and buy a heavy coat! Massachusetts in the winter is, well, rediculous.
Part time EQII player and recently a guide.
From what the above poster said your moving to my neck of the woods. I am sure your all planned out. But your certainly welcome to email me if you need anything at all. I have lived here most of my life, family is here, wife now. My point is you have been awesome to the community of EQII and if I can do anything for you in real life I would be honored to do so.
Moving can be tough…i have done it across country, and across the planet. It doesn’t matter if you just want to ask me how long of a commute it would be from abc to xyz. If i dont hear from you good luck and i will try to not run you off the road during rush hour…..put a Moorgard sticker in your window or something. Good Luck man.
thanks for all your hard work.
-Dan
Road trips are always a good idea!!!
Best of luck Moorgard – we’ll catch you on the flip side!
Sucks, but I’m happy for you. Now I won’t feel bad when I quit EQ2
First Blackguard, now you? What ARE you guys upto?!
Shame to see you go mate, good luck with whatever it is you’re planning
Good Luck – I don’t envy you on a cross country drive. The snow can be really deep in the Midwest and those interstates get closed sometimes!!
Safe trip,
OH MY GOD, sweetie! You’re leaving too? Poopy. Please keep in touch.
See you in Vanguard
When Steve was first coming to SOE, I was sad.
We’d chatted on and off as far back as the early Mobhunter days. I’ve always been a fan of insightful writing that takes at least a little bit of intelligence to grasp the wit therein, and Steve filled that niche like no other.
I was working on EQ, and I wanted him to be on our team then. The EQ2 team got him instead.
Now he’s leaving EQ2, and I’m sad again.
You’re a real bastard, Danuser. Way to bring a guy down *twice*.
If the quality of anything that I write in public goes down, now everyone else will know exactly why: Thanks for saving me from myself more than once these past few years.
Take care, man.
- Scott
Hurray Road Trip!
Check out my blog/website for the Canadian version of my cross-country experience
Best of luck and safe driving
Brian
So, the real question is, are you planning on continueing to play eq2 with any regularity or are you done with the game as well?
I’m quite unable to express in words just how much I’ve admired and learned from you during your time at SOE. You’re one of my favorite writers and although it may not show, you’re partially to blame for any improvements in my writing over the years.
Benjamin Franklin once wrote “Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing”. You my friend just happen to do both.
Happy trails Moorgard.
-Andrew
Thanks for the work, and good luck
Sorry to see another ‘name’ hit the trails, but glad you’re off to do something fun and cool.
You *are* off to do something fun and cool aren’t you?
I’ve driven across the country from Virginia To California, then CA to VA during two other times, for a total of 3 cross country road trips. They are indeed fun, but of course you’d want a travelling buddy. It is a good idea to get a travel map guide that includes popular places to visit…I think ours was done by our insurance company or something. It is kind of like yahoo maps on crack. Some interesting places I saw: Cadillac ranch off the hwy in Texas…basically a bunch of cars buried vertically halfway sticking up out of the ground, there is a nice drive through safari park in MO with all sorts of animals (be sure to buy a couple bags of treats, assuming you have a car you don’t mind a bison mounting or ostrich sticking its head in), a smaller scale model of stonehenge, a *HUGE* meteor crater in NV, really interesting stuff.
I’ve made a promise to myself that I will only work on stuff that is fun and cool, because life is too damn short to do otherwise.
And yes Ishbu, I will continue to play EQ2. In fact, I should be able to play more than I have been lately, because we’ve all put in insane hours on this expansion. Once I’m settled in my new digs, life should be less hectic… for a while.
EQ2 is still my favorite MMO. It just suits my playstyle more than WoW and offers the kind of depth I’m looking for, and while Vanguard isn’t done yet. what I’ve seen so far doesn’t seem like it will lure me away. So until The Next Big Thing comes along to blow me away, my focus remains EQ2.
Ahh it’s gonna be wierd not seeing your name on the EQ2 boards anymore! I’ve been seeing it for so long lol. I played on Xev server my entire EQ1 career and still remember you from mobhunter and AV. Heck I remember one time you guys were about to attempt AoW (when it was still the really uber thing to do) and I was going to watch and was standing to close I guess, because you sent me a tell and told me to leave =P.
Anyways good luck on your new path. Hope you have fun and make an awsome game we can all play!
You will be missed, I wish you the best.
Hail Moorgard,
I used to be Senior Guide Waarg back on your EverQuest play server of Xev. I recall answering your petitions with fondness: you always cared about the game and the community back on Xev. You were one of the good guys!
I really enjoyed reading Mobhunter back in those days. I think you helped keep the EQ dev team honest with your thought provoking and honest articles. I’ve watched the progress of your career in the gaming industry over the years with great interest. You inspired me to write about MMO’s and now I’m employed in the video game industry as a desgner.
You will be missed! All the best and I hope you find what you are looking for in life
*cheers*
–Waarg
I have to say you will be missed. You seemed to have an excellent hand at enlighting us with out getting to stuck in the muck and whining of players.
I sure you will succeed wherever you go, so hopefully you will find some place you enjoy.
Tristin
Very reassuring to hear you plan to continue playing the game in your spare time. I know as a developer(or ex dev in this case) you have a greater insight into the game than other players so it can become dull and not exciting for lack of better terms. However; hearing that you still enjoy the game enough after leaving the team for whatever reason that you wish to continue playing it speaks volumes of what we can expect from EoF.
We can only hope that your replacement will do as well as you have at SOE. Steve… you and I may not have talked much or even met at the Fanfaire… but you were always in the spotlight for amusement concerning Pirates as well as other EQ2 related information. I will always think of you in the highest regards. Be safe on your trip and God speed!
Moorguard,
I am truly saddened that you are leaving EQ2.
Although, I have not played in the last 2 months, I still checked the “dev posts” daily & *always* read your posts.
You have a way with words !!! A true gift
But soon my account will lapse, so I won’t be there either….
*is sad that both of us is leaving EQ2 – in our own ways*
I am eyeing the release of Vanguard….but it’s still sooo far away.
Anyways, Thank you for everything you did for the EQ2 community & much luck to you. I will miss you more than you will know.
I hope to read your ramblings…errr well written post soon :-p
PS … Thank you for always replying when I sent you PM’s championing the Aussie cause. You are the Master of Tact
If you’ve got time while you’re driving through Nebraska, take a food stop in Lincoln. Hit Yiayia’s for pizza or Oso for burritos/tacos/nachos. It’s good, I promise.
Even if most of the state is flat and boring. Hey, it’s like the Karanas, really. We just don’t see many griffs, hill giants, or bandits.
Thanks for all your time in EQ2, and good luck with what lies ahead!
You know my thoughts on this, Steve. It’ll be good to get you home in the Twin Cities, if only for a few days, and then we’ll see how things go. I have high hopes, and I’m a bit excited to see how it works out.
So, have a safe trip, and keep your eyes on the road (P.S. – I really hope you got to see BSG on Friday – best hour of TV in a long, long time).
Not to hijack the thread, but WAARG!! DUDE! I lost your contact information after I moved! It’s Nick! I’m the guy who called you once from Maine at least a year ago if not a little more to talk about EQ and MMOs in general.. If you happen to read this thread of comments again, please e-mail me @ tenamdar_at_mclarentech_dot_com.. (slightly modified e-mail address to reduce the liklihood of spidering, but you get the idea) I’m in San Diego now… long story, but I’ll fill you in if you get in touch! later man!
Moorgard, sorry to hijack your thread for that, but had to be done.. Now back to your regularly scheduled well wishing! =)
*Tenamdar poofs.*
For those of you who never had the chance to chat with Steve at a FanFaire, I cannot express how approachable he’s always made himself to players – who would sometimes mob him a dozen or more at a time. In a very real way, Moorgard was the physical embodiment of Everquest 2 to a large segment of the playerbase.
Long before anyone had heard of many of the current designers or producers, fans only had one real interaction with the developers during the game’s initial development. Whereas Gallenite and Smed would occasionally give a fansite interview, it was Moorgard who would actually respond directly to questions and concerns within forums like EQ2 Lounge (now OGaming) and EQII.com (where Blackguard was an admin at the time).
He was careful with his words, and loved to release information with riddles or puzzles.
He’s had his issues as well. There are still players who will hold him personally accountable for announcing player owned ships or a different initial view of tradeskills. There’s still a sizable percentage of players who swear they heard from someone who told them something about reading somewhere that Moorgard said Frogloks were in the game months before they actually were.
Even with potential blemishes such as these and more, Moorgard continued to act with class and intelligence in the face of players who could very often be hostile or outright abusive.
Even after moving on to full time development, Steve continued to act as a community presence, often chiming in with his own thoughts on a particular change, or just to respond to a particular charge raised within the forums.
He’s a fan favorite because of this – because he’s often seen as one of “us” and not one of “them”. Really, he’s not all that different from most of the developers, except in how he seems to openly communicates with us – and from a player’s point of view, that seems to be all the difference.
At this point, Steve’s been involved with the launch of seven Everquest 2 titles. I’d say he’s done “enough” to earn a change of scenery now. He’ll move on to greener pastures for the time being, and perhaps even help with the next big monster game to come out, but in the meantime, I think we’ll just miss having Moorgard to kick around.
Here’s the big reveal about where both Moorgard and I are going after SOE: We’ve decided to start a Gnome manufacturing company. Most people only manufacture Yard Gnomes (or Lawn Gnomes, depending on the company). We, instead, have decided to manufacture Gnomes for every location, and every occasion. You’ll see our new company, Gnomerific, break into the Gnome manufacturing industry sometime next year.
Also, I’ll see you before you even get this message, Danuser. I have the distinct displeasure of letting him stay at my place for the night on his trek through Colorado.
Gnome Manufacturing? Is that some joke around the Green Monster offices?
I have one of their prototype gnomes that Steve left when he vacated our office!
Oh. That’s a bottle of beer.
Never mind.
Coming soon from Green Monster Games – Episode I – The Phantom Gnome!
But the real question everyone wants to know is…
..was it a good bottle of beer?
From a player of Everquest 1 & 2, I’m sad to learn you are leaving the Everquest familly. EQ will never be the same without you.
Be assured to have the best wishes of luck from the french players for your new life.
[...] I’m a little behind on my news, but Nerfbat got snatched up by Green Monster Games. I mentioned this company a while back (Schilling, Salvatore, McFarlane) and had high hopes. He joins several other ex-SOE/EQ2 team members (Moorgard, Erik Theisz, and Michael Woods) in the quest to “[change] the landscape of the MMO gaming world“. Heck yeah. Good luck and Godspeed, guys. [...]
STEVE!!!
. Fan Faires won’t be as much fun now since I wont get to talk to you and now Ryan! *sniffle*
ok I just saw you on Myspace like oh an hour ago. I didn’t realize that you left SoE
I took a break from EQ2 and it kind of vered off to quiting it :\ but I might go back to it sometime next year or so just so I can see your fab work on Echos of Faydewer.
I hope your new job and new home is treating you well and yes Mass does get bitterly COLD in the winter just a fair warning
GRATS on the new endevor! let us know what your new project is
WE miss you lots!