I have just learned the terrible news that Brad McQuaid EverQuest founder has passed away at age 51. He is survived by his wife and daughters.
It’s possible that Brad had been ill for some time. Someone named Blusesynthbot on Reddit met Brad this year while Brad was selling some of his vintage comic books, he noticed in his post that he looked very sick.
This news hit me like a thunderbolt. I considered Brad to be a friend and a kindred spirit. We were united by our love of fantasy virtual worlds. We conversed and deliberated many times via email and Skype about MMORPGs. I met Brad personally on two occasions. The first was at the Sigil: Fangard fan event; the second at E3 in Los Angeles in 2006.
What Brad and others achieved with EverQuest — the first 3D fantasy virtual world based on class interdependency and player cooperation — was nothing short of remarkable. EverQuest changed my life as it did millions of others who played it and went to play MMOs like World of Warcraft that were inspired by it.
Brad was a kind soul. No matter who you were, he always had time to respond to people who were interested in virtual worlds. For years it never ceased to amaze me of accounts of complete strangers emailing him and he would send them back long, thoughtful replies.
If it was not for EverQuest, I would not have joined the EverQuest Guide Program. I would not have become a game designer. I owe a lot to Brad and the amazingly talented crew who made Norrath happen.
What I also admired about Brad was that he had a firm belief in Almighty God. He was a Christian. I knew this from talking with him. His favorite J.R.R Tolkien quote was the following which gives us insight into the sacredness and value of creation:
J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic who used his life experiences and faith to create the fictional world of Middle-earth that has delighted millions all over the world via books and films.
In some ways, Brad was the J.R.R. Tolkien of the fictional world of EverQuest’s Norrath. It was his vision, creativity, and passion that brought Norrath to life. Of course he would not have been able to accomplish it without the fellowship of fellow creators John Smedley, Steve Clover, Rod Humble and others.
Even after he left Sony Online Entertainment and pursued other forays into the MMO space, Brad never lost his passion for the genre.
Brad was well know for “the vision.” His vision was a holistic approach to building fantasy virtual worlds that ensured that everything contained within would be consistent with a requirement that players cooperate with each other to overcome shared adversity. The vision affected all aspects of the MMO. Everything from the design of classes in EverQuest to how mobs would scale in difficulty, was conceived and created with the idea of class interdependency.
The magical world he envisioned and championed would be home to thousands of players and still is to this day! Already tributes are coming in from EQ players from all over the world.
To this day, nobody on the planet has been a better spokesman for the dream of what virtual worlds could become than Brad McQuaid. He was a combination of J.R.R. Tolkien, P.T. Barnum, virtual world visionary and kid at heart.
It is only fitting that Daybreak Games create some kind of in-game memorial to Brad “Aradune Mithara” McQuaid. I hope that Blizzard will also include some kind of tribute to him in Azeroth.
I hope and trust that Brad’s profound legacy will live on in his latest passion Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. The world of interactive entertainment lost a great and decent man today. Brad, you will be sorely missed and always in my prayers.
-Wolfshead
I only just got the news and immediately thought of you as well and checked your blog. I am very sad about his passing as well and feel for his family and the many people he inspired.
You left a wonderful eulogy, so fitting and appropriate: “To this day, nobody on the planet has been a better spokesman for the dream of what virtual worlds could become than Brad McQuaid. He was a combination of J.R.R. Tolkien, P.T. Barnum, virtual world visionary and kid at heart.”
I couldn’t say it any better. Thank you. I want to highlight something else you said, the team of people that is needed to make a truly great game. EverQuest spawned a lot of famous designers, presidents, celebrities, whatever we want to call them. Alone they never quite created another EQ or the next big thing in MMO design. Some went to Blizzard/WoW, many of them EQ players rather than designers, I am thinking of Kaplan, Afrasiabi and Pardo.
It hurts me that he died so young and that he never quite got the same credit outside of MMO circles as others. Especially as he was such a humble person, putting the work/game in the focus, not himself. He would have deserved another lucky team of talented people on EQ level, to give his spirit and passion the chance to help creating the next masterpiece. I am not sure about Pantheon. We will never know… I would have so wished for him to get an early-Blizzard-design-culture team of people and the needed resources. But he already did more than enough in a lifetime. People often talk about MUDs and so on, the MMOs as we have them today and the MMO as a genre got started through EverQuest and his work. It will be up to people with similar passion to lead the genre to a new golden age.
Thanks for your kind and thoughtful post! As soon as I heard the news I felt like I was punched in the gut. (I normally take forever to get my articles completed but this one was different and I dropped what I was doing and wrote it.)
Brad left us a tremendous legacy. Not only did he leave us EverQuest, Vanguard and hopefully Pantheon, he was a prolific writer. For over 20 years, Brad’s writings on MMORPGs and virtual worlds have been scattered throughout the Internet. He was very articulate and eloquent about his vision and the genre.
Today, there are few if any spokesmen left that even believe in the power and potential of virtual worlds.
To me the greatest thing that EverQuest accomplished, was that it was an interactive medium that allowed people like myself to adventure with people all over the world. The camaraderie and friendships that EverQuest made possible has never quite been equalled by any other MMO. I’m not sure it ever will as investors are more interested in getting a return on investment with Fortnite accessibility and cash shops. For a brief time in video game history, we enjoyed some very special and transformative with EverQuest.
Brad used to have a blog. I wish that was still up. Perhaps someone will catalog all of his writings that may still exist and put it in a compendium for posterity.
As well all know Brad was only human as we all are with our own particular faults and quirks. With Brad I always tried to look at the glass half full.
One thing I really admired about Brad is that he never gave up. He always believed in his vision, no matter what. I hope that somebody out there with similar vision and resources can continue where he left off.
I’m still in a state of shock and disbelief. It will take me a long time to get over this. We miss you Brad!
Hi,
We are trying to locate a buyer for Brad McQuaids comic book collection. After his passing, we are trying to help the family to find a serious buyer and someone who will appreciate his collection as much as he did
Just a quick acknowledgement of all you said which I’m in agreement with. The fact that this got almost no media attention other than a single PC Gamer article speaks volumes about the miserable state of modern gaming & game journalism. Brad who?
The only other person that I can think of that has had such an outsized impact would be Richard Garriott for similar reasons of world building, etc. though with a longer history & also a singleplayer focus for much of the time.
That first era of MMOs was basically a time when the creative types were still in charge and allowed to be visionary like Brad. Today it is design by committee after first going through a focus group and a feasibility study. Everything is so SAFE and risk aversive much like our society in general. Feminized comfortable non-offensive dull and groupthink based. Games reflect this as well. Cookie cutter stamped clones as far as the eye can see. Call of Duty 32, Far Cry 24, WOW Clone MMO #19.
I can name only a few developers today that I consider visionary and cutting edge because that type of person has been either run out on a rail or simply cost too much in effort & risk to employee. The John Carmacks, Garriotts, Molyneuxs, etc. of the world are a thing of a different era. I’m hoping the era we are in ends soon so we can get something resembling that other time late 90s early 00s but with 20 year advanced tech.
Excellent post! I completely agree.
Hollywood and the music industry seem to also be held captive to this suffocating and conformist “woke” era. Nothing exceptional ever comes from a product or service designed by committee. Now, every video game has all kinds of boxes that must be checked off. Creativity and uniqueness cannot thrive in this kind of atmosphere.
I’ve got a new article coming soon which takes stock of the first 20 years of this genre where I address much of this.
Thanks for posting!