[Raya]

Many people have wondered why this particular fansite was named this particular name. SILKY VENOM? Seems a strange name for a fansite. And there's no Vanguard in front of it. Shouldn't there be VANGUARD in front of it, like VANGUARD SILKY VENOM?

No, actually, and the insiders know why. The phrase SILKY VENOM is an inside joke, and now you will know the joke too.

Once upon a time, in a forum far far away…oh, sorry, wrong game. Anyhow, back in the days before EQII was even in beta, there was a forum called EQII.com::EVERQUEST II: THE AGE OF DESTINY. On Oct. 22, 2003, an EQII fan named Nefarius22, started a thread on that forum called "Touchy subject, but it's good duscussion." [Please note in all quotes, the spelling is that of the originator of the quotes.] Here is what Nefarious22 wrote:

Originally Posted by Nefarious22

Now this can be a touchy subject, but oh well. Now from all the MMORPGs that I have ever played and others I have read about and seen and what not I have to say Ever Quest has been to the most addictive, most entertaining mmorpg I have ever seen and played. with that said do you think the fact that EverQuest 2 is being made by its own original team thats not the original Everquest team will hurt it? As in it won't be as good a game as its original? I mean if you think about it, this game is everquest built with a different team that follows the lore. Generally when you see Final destination 2, Matrix 2(reloaded), chucky 2, terminator 2, ect ect ect its made by the same people, but this time its EverQuest 2, but in a since its not really that at all its just another MMORPG. I'm not "hateing" on the EQ2 team in any way and I still reall really am anticipating this game. Just offering somethign to discuss

The Namless Server: Gnome - Necro - lvl 53 - BoD I quit the crack a few years back. Beta, not gonna happen for me

As you can imagine, this sparked a flurry of comments, opinions and predictions. During all of this debate, Moorgard, who bills himself as the EQ2 Community Guy and Member of Official EQ2 Folks, had this to say, directly concerning himself with this part of Nefarious22's post:

Originally Posted by Moorgard

This subject tends to come up a lot. Bill Trost talked about it just the other day and mentioned how he found it amusing.

Why? Because SOE has more of the original people who worked on EQ in its employ than any other single company. And a good number of those folks work on the EverQuest II project.

Not all the names are as recognizable as some who are no longer here, but that doesn't minimize their contribution to the game one bit. In fact, people outside the company have little idea about anyone's specific contribution to the various games and expansions, aside from what their titles imply.

My point is not to downplay anyone else's impact on the history of EQ, but to illustrate that EverQuest II has an excellent pedigree that dates back to the start of the original game. We also have many long-time veterans of the EQ team and people who have worked on other MMOGs, plus several newcomers who add freshness and depth to the team. (*cough*)

Ultimately it's the finished game that will prove the capabilities of our team, and in that regard we are quite confident that we'll deliver.

Moorgard EQII Community Guy

There was furious discussion on this comment back and forth for quite a few posts.

Finally, Brad McQuaid, father of Everquest, and the main driving force, along with Jeff Butler and many others of the original team, behind the creation of Everquest, put in his 2cp worth. He actually replied to another post that used movies as an example of whether or not the sequel was as good as the original, as follows:

Originally Posted by Aradune Mithara

Interesting points, but exceptions to the rule, IMHO (plus, I liked CA 2 better than the first (it was sooo over the top I was cracking up)) -- so there

Seriously, though, I think most people look at movies and decide whether they're going to see it based on the director and the actors not the movie company, read books based on the author not the book publisher, etc.

The video/computer games industry is a relatively new entertainment industry, and so people sometimes think about company names and/or game titles more than the teams and people who are actually making the games.

But this will change.

Brad McQuaid
President & CEO, Sigil Games Online, Inc.
Co-Producer, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
www.vanguardsoh.com / www.sigil.com

There was another flurry of comments and opinions. Then Brad set to work to really answer Moorgard, as follows:

Originally Posted by Aradune Mithara

Of course it comes up Moorgard -- the people and teams behind a game matter.

Undoubtedly SOE employs the majority of people who have ever worked on EQ -- they have hundreds of employees, and the EQ franchise is a HUGE part of that.

At a quick rough count I think there are roughly the same number of 'original' EQ team members on EQ 2 as are on the Sigil project (maybe one or two more on EQ 2). But while this might amuse Bill, I really think people shouldn't just look at numbers, they should look at job titles and positions too -- who these people are and what their contributions to the original EQ project were.

And why is that? Perhaps people have little idea about anyone's specific contribution on the SOE teams, but please feel free to take a look at the team section and team bios on http://www.sigilgames.com -- you'll see exactly what everybody here did. I'm a big believer in giving credit to the developers... in fact I think it was John Smedley who told me once that giving credit is one of the least expensive nice things you can do for a person. (Then again, it's interesting how the original EQ credits have been altered in more recent expansions).

Agreed -- the consumer is the ultimate winner of competing products, because it drives all parties to excel. I only hope that, in the meantime, we'll be open and honest about who is on what and what they did on that project. Leaving it to the players to debate and discuss is one thing... us getting involved is another, and hopefully we can avoid these direct comparisons in the future.

Brad McQuaid
President & CEO, Sigil Games Online, Inc.
Co-Producer, Vanguard: Saga of Heroes
www.vanguardsoh.com / www.sigil.com

Other than applaud (did you not think the staff of SV were fanboys and girls?), I won't comment on this. Again, a flurry of opinions and comments followed Brad's statement. One of them was a post by someone named, appropriately enough, ratboy. Watch for the salient terminology in his post:

Originally Posted by ratboy

Whoa. I must say that I'm a bit surprised, and more than a bit hurt that you chose to respond here, Brad.

Let me start by saying, that I'm not anyone important in this community. I'm not a L65 DE En, I'm not clammering for beta, and the most valuable input I've had to this community was by showing off some stupid Fanta Shokata site for making amusing movies.

But what I AM is a player. I have been since I was 8. Before I knew the rules of the game I'd sit on a floor and try to make characters. I'd play console games for days without sleeping, take my blue expert boxed set to school to read at lunch, and when I went to bed at night, I'd imagine underground tribes of Gnomes forming a cult around an ancient rock.

And as a player, your post offends me. You offer forth silky venom at Moorgard, who has done nothing but provide support for this community. How much have YOU made off of the original EQ franchise, sir, and for what contribution?

You are one of the original crafters of the game. So be it. Credit where due and all that. But WE the players made that franchise the success that it is, the same way we made the MUDs, MUCKs, MOOs, FPSs, and every other game to grace a PC, and in my opinion, Moorgard and SOE have served US well.

I'm sorry if the changing of the credits in EQ bothers you, but if credit is what you value, then I assert that you have the wrong reasons for making games. I'm not sure that anyone has the right reason anymore, but I'm willing to bet that if someone does, it's the team that listens to us, answers to us, and depends on us.

In you, in Raph Koster, in Bill Trost, I see an old guard. I see potential for great things in all of you, but all of you need to spend at least an hour a day coming out of the ivory towers of your success, your ruminations, and your system architectures to acquire the fundamental things that make games an art. Holding on to past regrets and staring at the negativity of inter-copmany politics won't produce a better game, and as far as I'm concerned, won't even make for good publicity.

Try putting out a positive message, Brad. The negative serves no one. Your message implies that you view things as a zero-sum game. That there will be a winner, and a loser... that another company's gain is your loss. We play MMORPGs because they are, ultimately, not zero-sum games. They win because there is room for everyone. They win because they are like life.

Sorry to come down so hard on you, man, but your words hit me like an anvil... As one of the "little guys" who has spent the last twenty years of his life loving games, seeing such fundamental rudeness tends to set me off.

Peace, ratboy
"If you were any more repugnant and servile I'd sell you to a troll..."

Now, honestly, what do you do with a response like that? The forum exploded after that with pros and cons, mostly backing Brad and his statement, a few neutral and a very few backing ratboy. For the full thread at the EQ2 forum go here. Be warned it is very long.

This was ratboy's one chance at fame and glory, but it passed mercifully quickly, as so many fizzles do. What remained was the rather artful misnomer SILKY VENOM.

The term became an inside joke at Sigil. Posts were made referring to the term on the Official Vanguard Forum (about halfway down the second page). The devs' test guild in Vanguard was called Lords of Silky Venom. Mama McCann, avid Vanguard fan and one of the winners of the beta spot at the October Fanguard last year, sent Brad a present of a bottle of wine with a lovely label…well, see for yourself here.

And of course Oloh had to use the name for HIS Vanguard guild. Silky Venom the guild was the springboard for Silky Venom the fansite. And that, dear friends and gentle people, is how SILKY VENOM came to be our name.

And yes, Virginia, there is a gnome named Glip.