In memory of Brad "Aradune" McQuaid - What is your favourite memory of Brad or a memorable time spent in one of his games? #MMORPG #CommunityMatters #aradune
Back on Karana in EQ... I can't remember the exact event... but it involved Mistmoore. A friend of mine in real life was the sacrificial ranger who received the title "of the Scaled Claw" and a magical sword of some kind... I don't remember what exactly it was called... probably the "Scaled Claw" or something to that effect =p
Even though i dont know him i can feel that he's an aswome man just by hearing him speak on Live streams on Youtubes videos.
I read up on Mr Brad McQuaid when i heard about Pantheon RotF from Youtube (cant remember to YT guy name) awhile back and times do fly... :(
His achievment is unmeasurable nor can i even come close if i tried, countless lives he brought together.....Onward and Forward thinking..
My favorite memory of Aradune is his collectiveness, humbleness, meekness, not interupting the host during stream, his chuckles, overall the down to earth kinda guy you want to be friends with and grow up with because he always got something going on thats positive and it will change your life if you get involve...
I know im steping over my boundries on this one Kilsin ( my apology) but/and its not my job to move people comment to other discussion but i thought it would be fitting to add it here.
https://www.pantheonmmo.com/content/forums/topic/11331/impact-of-brad-s-games-and-stories-to-share
Moloka said:I thought it would be fitting to share some stories and ways Brad's games have impacted us over the years. Most of us here are veteran gamers who have been in Brad's worlds for quite some time now. I myself have been playing games he has created since EQ launched in 1999. The first day it was available to buy I had my copy from Hastings. I just so happened to be spending some time with my older brother and he was out working and bought the game for me so I would have something to do while he worked. I put the CD in and downloaded the game apprehensively. Little did I know my life would be forever changed.
I was no stranger to games, I had played all kinds from atari to nintendo and super nintendo, even dabbled a little in UO and Meridian59. Everquest was different. WAY different. I couldn't get enough of that game. I had sunk my teeth into this virtual world and it bit back, hard I might add. And I liked it. From running around Greater Faydark looking for my corpses (yes that's plural) with no maps, no sense of direction just aimlessly wandering hoping to stumble onto one my corpses with gear, all the way to raiding end game content 15 expansions down the road. Brad had left the Everquest team by that time but he had laid the groundwork for something that captivated me for many years. I contribute some of my stubborness to Brad and EQ, I also contribute my perserverence to succeed to them as well. Some people see it as a game but I learned a lot of great values too. How to cohabitate with other people, how to wait your turn for things, how to put the needs of your team ahead of your own for the greater good, how to work together as a team and accomplish so much more than by yourself. It even helped me learn how to manage money strangely enough through platinum and saving for things I wanted.
I think one of my favorite moments in EQ was killing the Avatar of War for the first time. Only one other guild on the server had done it, we took 80 some people on the raid. It took several attempts but on the 4th try we got him. The zone erupted, chat was going crazy, and I was filled with elation when the big fella dropped. Looking back at all the raids we did over the years in EQ through all the expansions I can't help but think this was all because of the vision of a guy who wanted something bigger and better than people before him dared to think. The entire MMORPG community owes Brad for it's existence. Games like UO and Meridian 59 were similar but they never would have spawned games like WoW, Warhammer Online, Rift, Asheron's Call, LoTRO, and any other game down the line like EQ did. It gave companies, executives, and other like minded developers a path, a purpose and desire to go even bigger. EQ wasn't the very first but it started it all.
I dabbled in EQ2 but it didn't really suck me in like EQ did. I played Vanguard despite it's early launch failures and it's bugs and less than desirable features. The game was basically a graveyard, yet it was still one of the most visually stunning games I have ever played. The character balance was very good, the storylines were amazing, the dungeons were the best I've ever been through. It took awhile for Vanguard to work through it's issues so I was back and forth between it and EQ. But then the bugs seemed to disappear and content was added and Vanguard became playable again and regained some momentum. Played Vanguard until the doors shut down and raided every encounter that game had to offer.
Even today I go back and play P99 from time to time, waiting for Pantheon to release and it dawned on me that I've spent the last 20 years getting lost in Brad's worlds. Fighting along side friends I've met from all over the world, grinding exp and hanging out with some of the coolest people I've had a chance to be around. Seen some of the most skilled players do some of the most amazing things. And I also learned a lot. I knew very little about mythical creatures, but now I am pretty sure I have seen them all. I have made real life friendships that will last a lifetime, people who have put their prints on my life and don't even know it. And I have Brad to thank for it all. Along with his development teams that helped see his visions through. I think it's safe to say that Brad had an imagination that wouldn't quit. Everything could always be better, and something more needed to be added to make it perfect.
I'll end with this story. I remember staying up late one night when I had school the next morning. My guild was raiding PoFear. It was one of our first runs at the zone, there wasn't a whole lot of information about the place. So we all zoned in and naturally most of us wiped. A few people managed to stay alive and avoid aggro, and a couple of people just started running in circles kiting the mobs. Little did we know this was going to be our strategy that night. The kiters kited for a solid 5 hours maybe even 6. We rez'd ourselves up, got rebuffed and started picking mobs off the kiters one by one. Eventually we made our way through all the mobs, the loot was dropping but there was no discussion of how it would be handled. Many pieces rotted, many were ninja looted, or looted before they rotted. Nobody really cared about the loot, it was all about survival. It was such a great experience, and one that made me so late going to bed that my mother thought I was sick the next morning and I got to stay home from school. Which was fine by me it gave me more time to get on and play more Everquest!
I am thankful for Brad and his games. When I had time to myself I could have been out getting into trouble, causing chaos and discontent. But I had an outlet, I could get online and get lost in his worlds for hours if I wanted to. No telling what kind of trouble a guy like me would have gotten into in such a small town with nothing to do.
very well writen moloka i enjoy the read indeed.
I do not know Brad, even tho maybe i wish i would have.
i started playing EQ in 99, when i was around 15 years old. As a Dutch person at that time it was hard to keep playing the game, as i had to first find someone who actually owned a credit card, let alone arrange for them to pay it for me when i gave them cash for the subscription.
This has made me a lot more 'mature' in my ways of thinking how money works in real life and has though me lessons regarding this too.
The games itsself, mainly everquest and everquest 2, have taught me that friends and family are first and foremost important in life. This counts for both online as offline. I've had many friends online, i've learned most of my english from the games and have learned many things about cultural differences during my times spent in the game. I've learned that gaming can cost you a job, but at the same time has also taught me how to get and keep a job. At times the people who i played with supported me when i was in a lesser part of my life, but have also been able to share what i've learned with others so i believe i was there for some as others have been there for me.
So all in all, his games are more than just games, they are a community who enjoy spending time together doing similar things. And that is what i'm most thankfull for, a game to enjoy and people to enjoy it with.
Best memories of enjoying one of the games he made.
Getting so involved in playing EQ I would come home from work on Friday night (6pm) turn on the PC sit down and not get up unless it was to get a drink, food, or hit the bathroom until Sunday night at (11pm). So somewhere close to 53 hrs of straight game time. I did this for months.
I did do once, we had a Monday off for a holiday and I made it thru to 6pm on Monday. My mind would not focus anymore and I needed sleep so I did do like a 72 hr blitz that one time. After that I never did it again I found I could not go for more than about 24 hrs before needing sleep.
But yeah, He made worlds people got sucked into. R.I.P. Brad
Nathos said:Best memories of enjoying one of the games he made.
Getting so involved in playing EQ I would come home from work on Friday night (6pm) turn on the PC sit down and not get up unless it was to get a drink, food, or hit the bathroom until Sunday night at (11pm). So somewhere close to 53 hrs of straight game time. I did this for months.
I did do once, we had a Monday off for a holiday and I made it thru to 6pm on Monday. My mind would not focus anymore and I needed sleep so I did do like a 72 hr blitz that one time. After that I never did it again I found I could not go for more than about 24 hrs before needing sleep.
But yeah, He made worlds people got sucked into. R.I.P. Brad
Haha, been there
I read a news story about ONE person killing themselves over a game, and I thought wtf.
The story mentioned games LIKE EverQuest and thought I had to see for myself. I was 16 when I got trilogy, and I had played DnD with some others. Well we tried, but it was hard to get a group that would stay together AND take it seriously enough to get through a session without it becoming a social joke-fest let alone finding a good DM with a plan. I was a bit of a unicorn being a black girl that was interested in that stuff at the time.
So I started as an Erudite mage and it was a bit discouraging. It was always night when I logged on it seemed. I couldn't see! there was no one around, no one to talk to. Where were all the people they said? - and what could be so upsetting over a game to make someone do that?
I think I was 5 when I went to Qeynos to deliver mail months later. And there were people! I started grouping and making nervous attempts at meeting people. Learning to communicate and failing- everything would fly by so fast in the chat window! I got a group in blackburrow and fell down the well- all the way. I was so embarrased I left the group and headed back to toxx untill I got better at playing. I didnt want them to wait for me to get back.
The kobolds in toxx still kicked my butt so I could embarrass myself there for a few more months maybe level up a bit. But the boats kept dropping me off back at Qeynos..every one. I went out to the newbie yard to shout how I could get back to Toxx because the boats weren't working. Someone shouted back to take the spires in NK.
I shouted I couldn't because I would die on my way there, I was not good enough and I didnt know the area to get my corpse. Then I got a tell, it was the first time and I shouted back; what do the purple letters mean?
Then someone in green armor with a gold helmet showed up and spoke out loud like I was used to and asked if I wanted to group. I said sure! So I grouped and they asked if I knew my way to North karana, it was just past blackburrow. I said I don't know what is past blackburrow i've never been that far. He asked what class I was and I said I was a mage and he asked where was my pet? and I said I dont have a pet in RL and how would he know or why would he care?. After a bit of back and forth I then said; you mean my elemental? how did you know! I thought that was my secret weapon, my big spell and I would only cast it if things got bad.
So he took out his flaming sword, and I learned it was rude to inspect by then so I didnt, and I didn't say anything but I wondered if it was the epic I heard about but I thought this person was a ranger? and we ran to the NK zone line. I commented that it was good that there was a guard outpost there, I didn't know there was one. He said there were such outposts along the way, but less and less the farther away you got from Qeynnos and I asked how far until they stop and do they go to highpass? because I have some mail... do you know the way to highpass? and then we zoned.
I said Toxx seems very far from here, and Aradune said: go straight until you see the barbarian fishing village-I interrupted him and said I dont think I have any barbarian faction I dont know the language yet either-he said it doesnt matter, once you get to the village, turn left and follow the river on your right and keep going untill you see the spires, you can get to Nexus and get to Toxx from there.
You can't run with me? I asked for I was scared.
But he couldn't.
Manouk Estanatlehi 110 Magician
Firiona Vie server since 2001
Gypsy / former member of Planar Campaign (mage class supporter) / former member Chivalrous Valor Guild / current Raid member Symphony of Arms Guild
*took out spaces*
“You’re In Our World Now”
There were too many good memories in his games (ClassicEQ/Kunark/Velious and Vanguard) to mention. My earliest memory.. I remember friends in ’99 trying to talk me into this new game called “Everquest.” I had read the Hobbit when I was younger, but I didn’t realize how much I liked the genre until they said “do you like the Hobbit?” With a nod, they said “then you will love Everquest.” Of course, they were right. My earliest memory of that gameplay that Brad created was on Prexus in a guild called < Griffin Claw >. It was a mature guild, mostly adults, and the age requirement was 18+. A GM Aradune and fellow GM’s had organized a scavenger hunt on my server. My guild met up in the Commonlands before we organized into groups to pursue the hunt. While my guild did not win the prize that day, I made some great friends and learned so much about this new mode of gaming. Sharing those moments with my guildmates was unique in its own right. The magic felt real, in a way that has not been experienced in a mmorpg since. That was when I first heard of this “Aradune.” Little did I know there would be some amazing experiences in Kunark and Velious that followed, and thereafter that the nature of mmorpg‘s would change in ways that we did not want it to. Thank you Brad - thank you for sticking with us.
Anyway, I was on YouTube this morning. These short clips remind me of that magic we experienced at one time.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=z13bue52ggM
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v0C0OXhgGFw
#communitymatters #makenightmatteragain #factionsmatter #riskvsreward #deathpenalty #HardRaiding #respectyourguild #HellLevels #worldsnotgames #aradune
After hearing all of the buzz about the game from a friend, I bought a copy of EQ and started playing before the Velious expansion came out (mid 2000 ish).
After an exorbitant amount of time playing in the first month, my Wife said something to the effect of "You are spending too much time playing that damn game".
So, doing what any reasonable crack-dealer would do, I got her to create a character on my account, walked her through the basics of how to do things, get around, and whack mobs.
We then took alternating turns playing.
Just under two weeks later, she turned to me and said "I want my own account". It was fortunate at the time, I was in the IT field and worked for a wholesale computer company to support our new Evercrack addiction.
Thus began countless hours of duoing, grouping, questing, trade-skilling, and eventual raiding.
We both played EQ for the better part of 15 years (minus a few rage-quits, and other MMO's sprinkled in between), before we finally got to a point where we felt like we had achieved what we wanted to achieve in EQ and retired from the game.
Our kids, grew up knowing what "WTB SOW", and "AFK, Nature Call" meant.
The developers implemented the fully customizable interface for the game (the one we see today) on July 24, 2002, and it was truly a revelation. I tinkered with and learned XML code just enough to be dangerous and started working on custom, individual windows to better suit my needs, and started sharing them with friends.
I joined EQInterface.com on 08-19-2002 and posted a few modified windows. They got enough downloads to inspire me to eventually come up with an entire set of windows which culminated into SparxxUI.
"Sparxx" was my very first EQ character that I stuck with for any amount of time. I had one character prior to Sparxx that died somewhere in the middle of West Karana but got abandoned because I could not find (or was too lazy to find) their corpse.
All this to say, I credit Everquest (and by extension Brad) for introducing me to "Coding". While XML is not rocket science, it opened my mind to new avenues of thinking, and all of it helped me in successive jobs over the years.
LOL My favorite memory of Brad is after a show he did with us on the VoT network :) I asked him about Summoners, and if they would have the pets be able to actually mean something rather than being a glorified DoT. He just got quiet for a sec then says well, "we are working on making them so you are the pet" and laughed :) You could almost hear him wink over voice.
I loved his sense of humor so much...
Brad's death really hit me. I never knew him, nor talked to him but I played his games and was a fan of his vision. Truly a fan. I played EQ in 1999. I had never seen anything like it. I did everything in my power to buy a computer just to play that game. I immersed myself in it. This was before wife and kids. After about 5 years, I moved on to other MMO's out there, but NOTHING could top the virgin experience of EQ. Nothing will ever come close. I play console now, but there'll be no magic like EQ.
For this post though, I'd like to share a story (made an account just to tell it).
My main char was a High Elf Paladin. One of my great in game friends that I always hung out with played a Dwarf Cleric (among others...). He was a character (IRL) and always had some adventure lined up. I don't remember the exact year or level, but he had heard of Giants on an island on Ocean of Tears that dropped great loot and gave decent experience. I could solo one at that time, but it was quite the battle. I had to conserve as much mana as possible for the next respawn for it to go smooth lol. My buddy suggested teaming up, and I quickly obliged. We got out there and setup kind of late, like around 10 or 11pm. He bound right on the path of these Giants (small island). We slayed them for several hours, but all of a sudden, he wasn't answering my tells. I could tell he had fallen asleep at the keyboard lol. I had 2nd shift at work (thank God) so I had a few hours to spare but not many. Knowing he'd be in a death loop and lose multiple levels if I bailed, I stayed up all night and into the morning solo'ing them. It wasn't an easy task. Because of the randomness of the combat damage, I had to LoH a few times (LOL). My buddy finally woke up around 7 or 8am. I cussed him out (but I loved the guy) and we went on our way.
I tried telling my wife about this "adventure" the night of Brad's passing, and some other interesting notes about the game, but she looked at me like I had feathers on my head. You either understand that world, or you don't. What a beautiful game Brad and the team gave us. It was special on so many levels. I doubt I'll have time to play Pantheon, but damn I'd like to.
Thank you all for sharing.
I am sorry, I just can't do this yet. I am more broken right now than I think I can effectively express.
I do have a lot of stories of games Brad has been involved with, and a few stories of Brad himself.
Some time in the future, I'll get them written down.
Dwarfy hugs to all,
Brasse
Take all the time you need Brasse :) And that goes for everyone else at VR too.
I never got to meet Brad in person, though I did get to chat with him a little bit via the forums once or twice. But I have so many fond memories of the games he worked on, and I attribute a lot of that to his vision for them. I have never been so immersed in game worlds as I have been in Norrath or Telon, and I attribute that to Brad's guiding hand on both of those games, as well as the amazing teams he had working with him.
I was a fanatical EQ devotee. I remember his origina Vanguard vision of a game that dynamically loaded without zonelines. It was so revolutionary, the gaem world still hasn't really caught up to it yet.
When Brad was starting Pantheon for the first attempt, I have a background in 3D software development for engineering applications, and we emailed back and forth a couple times because I wanted to somehow contribute/participate in helping his vision become reality. I remember how thoughtful and passionate he was about this - it wasn't some casual thought, nor a mania.....it was a totally rationale obsession.
I played EQ for over a decade from day two in 1999. I was a married guy with two kids and a demanding full time job, when EQ started, but it was magical. Here was the game I had waited for my whole life. The graphics! They were great for the time and it was 3D. I fell through a hole in the ice in everfrost and died because I couldn't find the hole again! Incredible. Grouping was fantastic! Learn your role. Be someone the group could count on. So much fun! I talked and grouped with people from Great Britain, Germany, Mexico, and Egypt! This was amazing to me. Getting my epic with the help of my guild, the day long or night long raids, and calling in sick to work because I'd gamed all night. Making friends from all over America that got together irl. Amazing! Lots of shiny baubles. Who knew photons could be so treasured. I played EQ2 also, but EQ was my love. I never played Vanguard, my computer wasn't up to it.
But the culmination, I was lucky enough to group with Aradune for a short time. After I got over my awe, I had a great time. We talked about Pantheon and other hobbies. It was something I will always remember because I got to talk to someone I really admired and it's rare to find a person to admire in life. And he was a regular guy that loved this genre. There are few people in this world that you can really admire and Brad was one of them.
Soulfire Burns On
A Paladin of the genre, Programmer, Lore writer, Designer, Producer, the list goes on. So many have been inspired to go into the videogame industry because of the MMO genre. It has the most dedicated player base of any genre. Close communities of people. Everyone who contributes to this industry lends their soulfire to the next generation/iteration. To honor our fallen comrade we take up the sword.
I never knew or spoke to Brad, but he brought about worlds where stories could spontaneously unfold. This is one such story which took place in Norrath, Everquest. It is not a tale of heroes. It is a tale of idiots.
The Players
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Gilgor - Human Paladin - Did not know paladins get spells until he was in his 20s and someone asked why he wasn't using his heals. Ironically spent all his attribute points on intelligence at character creation. Did not reroll.
Goldenrod - Wood Elf Ranger - Almost constantly mad at the paladin. Almost constantly looking for ways to make a buck. Almost constantly out of stamina as he was dual wielding a Centi Longsword and a Wurmslayer, the equivilant to wielding a Westinghouse refrigerator in one hand, and a Buick Lesabre in the other.
Orco - Gnome Wizard - The Storyteller.
-------------
Needless to say, we had a rough start. After a steep learning curve on the Antonica continent, we entered the continent of Velious and realized that we were just strong enough to not be immediately slaughtered. Time to run around like idiots.
We eventually found two souls sitting on an ice cliff staring out at some icebergs and struck up a conversation.
'What are you guys sitting here for?'
'Camping Lod'
'?'
Upon realizing that we were noobs, they proceeded to explain that a giant turtle named Lodizal spawns around here and drops nifty turtle stuff. IRL, my friends and I were sitting in the same room (LAN parties were common in those days). I spun my chair around.
'Guys we gotta see this turtle!'
'Totally!'
Gil was bored after a few minutes of waiting. Goldy and I had recently discovered the joys of attempting to raise alcohol tolerance, so I bound myself at the cliff and ran off to buy as many short beers as I could afford (we were always broke, and short beers were the cheapest I knew of at the time). For those who never played, when drinking, your character's screen would get stretched and distorted, you would stagger side to side when attempting to run forward, and your chat would be garbled. Gil had never had any alcohol at all. He slammed 4 short beers and proceeded to run off the cliff in a drunken stupor. Fortunately, there was enough of an incline for him to scamper back up to us. We kept ourselves at maximum alcohol saturation while running and jumping around, leaving no room for doubt among the turtle-campers that we were true idiots.
Time passes.
Through the distorted display on my monitor, it seems the landscape behind the turtle-campers has changed. There is now a large, dark thing. A rock? A dome? A moving dome...
My chair spins.
'Guys the turtle is up!'
'No way, you're just so drunk you're seeing turtles!'
'Then what is that?'
'Ok that might be a turtle.'
Our camper friends, still staring at the sea, were completely oblivious to the giant turtle wandering around behind them, so we decided to let them know.
I typed the following:
‘Hey guys, is that your giant turtle back there?’
But being saturated with alcohol, the text in the window read:
‘Hargalflargen garmabeklsindon ringenxol?’
My chair spins.
‘Guys I’m too drunk to talk, can one of you say anything to them?’
We were all in the same boat. I proceeded to spew an endless torrent of drunken nonsense into the chat window in the hopes that something might get through to them, while the pally and ranger jumped frantically and ran around in circles trying to indicate that something was up.
‘Linshdhocnekk! HSOENLDKNLEINslinosl!!!!’
At this point, MOST certainly, somewhere in the real world, a turtle-camper sighed, weary of the company of idiots.
Finally, genius struck. I targeted Lodizal and typed ‘/point’ in the chat window.
‘Orco points at Lodizal’
‘OOOHHHHHH!!!’
The rest of the story proceeds much as you might expect. The turtle-campers Batphoned some friends, dropped the turtle, and got some nifty turtle stuff, and my friends and I got a story we still tell to this day, nearly 20 years later.
Brad. Thank you.
Eightlives
Veteran Minimalist.
Professional Lurker.
Whilst I never knew Brad personally in Everquest, I felt touched by his vision and imagination from the first moment I stepped foot in his world, Norrath. I can honestly say Brad changed my life in so many ways that I consider him to be one of my greatest mentors.
When my partner gave me EQ for my birthday in 1998 I remember laughing and saying "Why would you buy me that? There is no way I am ever going to play video games where other people can see how useless I am!" I was pretty sure he expected me to give it to him instead - but from the first moment I awoke in Norrath I was hooked.
Through Brad's visionary games I have made lifelong friends and fleeting but memorable acquaintances, learned to inspire and lead others, demonstrate how gaming can be a value add to a business and set clear personal and organisational goals and strategies, but most importantly he created worlds that allowed me to be my true self.
Brad gave me worlds that I could safely introduce my children to helping them to become more confident in social situations, how to work together to achieve goals, learn languages and be respectful of other people and showing them the value of letting their imagination loose, as well as creating an imaginary place we could come together as a family and have a lot of fun.
Brad gave me sleepless nights, long weekends camping epics and one particularly interesting conversation with management when I had to ask for permission to slay a dragon in the office during an overnight project go-live. He brought couples together and created societies where distance and cultural differences become positives.
I was proud to finally get to meet and "work" with Brad (albeit virtually) in Terminus. I will sorely miss Brad, not just in Pantheon but for the future games that he won't have had a hand in.
My condolences to Brad's family and friends.
My thanks to you, Brad, for changing my life. May you rest in peace.
Maska
Back in 1999 maybe early 2000 I was over in Butcher Block with my first character, a human paladin "Garadell, just standing around next to some
guards. A crowd of people began to coalesce in the vicinity and in /shout /ooc /say alot in the crowd were speaking "He's comming here." or "He's going to show up.". Well, not being in the know I merged and followed the crowd. At this time all I knew of Everquest was the suggestion of a technical instructor for a class I was enrolled in when I worked for NASA. It was a box I picked up off the shelf at CompUSA and it was, to me, like AD&D.
So this mysterious central figure appeared. A woodelf ... in plate mail ... weilding *MY* rightful sword (It was on fire so I thought it was 'Soulfire'). I was dismayed at how much attention this crowd were giving a obvious hacker. Woodelf wearing platemail? Weilding a ... I'm sorry ... *MY* 'Soulfire'. The player's named was "Aradune" and you can bet your ass I submitted a petition to the GM for the server.
- valhalla