Everquest, game that brought the MMORPG genre out from the far corners of the internet into the forfront, has been inducted into the Game Developers Choice Online Awards Hall of Fame joining Ultima Online as only the second inductee.
EverQuest (EQ) is being recognized for its contribution to the long-term advancement of online gaming, pioneering major shifts in the medium’s development and video games as a whole. EverQuest is credited for introducing the concepts of guilds and raiding within an online world, and is often cited as an inspiration for nearly every subsequent MMORPG.
Everquest has had 17 expansions since launching in 1999 with an 18th on the way. Â There are more than 16,000 virtual square miles of dungeons, mountains, valleys, cities and forest to explore and since the launch more than 12 million characters have been created. Â Everquest has more than 380,000 NPCs, over 100,000 unique items that have been discovered and nearly 3,000 that haven’t been.
Having never played EQ, I’m baffled at the fact that almost 3,000 items still haven’t been discovered. I guess that just goes to show you the type of depth Everquest has and why it was the original MMORPG addiction.