Now that the initial excitement over the introduction of Neriak and Darklight Woods has died down, we thought it was time to find out what was behind some of the choices in the zones and character creations. So, we sat down with Chad Haley, Character Lead, and Tim Heydelaar, Environment Lead, on the project of creating and bringing to us these two new zones.

Stratics: Neriak has a very pronounced blue theme to it. Is there any reason why you decided to go with that? Chad: One of the goals of Neriak was to resurrect the atmosphere that people would remember fondly. What choice did we have? J Tim: Influence for Neriak’s atmosphere came easy. We had to create a mood consistent with Neriak of old, Fallen Gate, the Arasai, blue Otterpops and the Dark Elves. Walking around Neriak, it definitely feels like home to the races within. Stratics: Neriak is a part of the lore of EverQuest, and many EQ players remember it well.  When building the feel of Neriak and the Arasai in EQ2, were you looking to bring back some of the "old" feel of things, or were you hoping for more of a subtle familiarity with a whole new feel? Chad: We are most definitely trying to bring back the old feel of things.  This is very important to us as we don’t want to alienate anyone who fell in love with the original city of Neriak.

Tim: At the same time, a new twist on many familiar things gives even veteran EQ1 players something new to experience. Our goal isn't to copy anything outright, but rather take the elements that people loved and infuse them into our work.

Stratics: When creating the Arasai, and considering their unique design possibilities, where did you look for inspiration to bring more excitement and individuality into the race?

Chad: When creating the Fae we were also creating the Arasai.  Some decisions were made very early on.  For instance - pastel colors, vibrant insect wings and whimsical hair was set aside for the Fae.  The Arasai would receive very saturated colors, moth, mammal or magical wings and over the top hair.  For actual reference material we leaned towards the Suicide Girl look and one of my favorite art books, Fruits by Shoichi Aoki.  We also added a few small tweaks such as the eyes’ glow, and the skin is a bit shinier.

Stratics: The Arasai have a very unique dance, as do the Fae. Is this trend going to continue in the future? Are you planning on giving all of the existing races unique dances as well?

Chad:  I can’t comment on the future but what I can tell you is that just as design is working on making the races more distinct with racial abilities so are we.

Stratics: Darklight Woods is more like a starting area where new evil characters begin, and they must achieve the right to enter Neriak from there.  Did this come about due to you feeling nostalgic with the no-longer-required Citizenship Quests?  What was the inspiration behind going this route?

Chad: Even though questing begins outside of Neriak, a person is never prevented from entering. That was something from the old citizenship quests that we’d definitely not care to repeat. As for the model, the starting path of the Fae in Echoes of Faydwer worked extremely well for us.  The flow of Darklight to Neriak is modeled after the newbie experience in Greater Faydark more than anything else.

Tim: A lot has been learned since the original introductory zones were created. We whittled for quite a bit on EoFs low level content, making fairly drastic changes based on play tests to really nail a solid, fun and progressive feeling newbie experience. That knowledge was used in designing Darklight and Neriak upfront.

Stratics: How much research did you have to do into the lore of the game and your typical ancient lore in order create a believable feel to the zones?

Chad: I personally started up a Dark Elf on the EverQuest Test Server to get familiar with Neriak again.  It’s very important to me to try to capture the “soul” of the original zones and creatures within the new art.

Tim: When you're tasked with recreating something as beloved as Neriak, you need to know your source. But more so than that, many people on the team had quite a bit to say about what they wanted to see return - you can't rebuild Neriak without "Neriak". When we first started discussing Neriak, the excitement as word got out around here was overwhelming!

Stratics: The San Diego team and the SOGA studio in Taiwan worked very closely together on this content.  What was the most difficult hurdle you came across in working with folks from a different culture and background?

Chad: It can be hard at times mainly due to the time difference and getting data from one office to the other.  A few of us were lucky enough to have a trip out to Taiwan to visit our colleagues and it was a wonderful experience for us all.

Tim: Definitely the time difference. For instance, phone meetings were early in their morning, but late in our evening. Email tennis will only accomplish so much too, so heading to Taiwan to meet and work with them in person was wonderful! They're a great crew. Plus, omg Soup Dumplings.

Stratics: On the same line, how has the experience of working with the folks in Taiwan changed you and your style? Chad:  The Taiwan office is really just another building down the street, except for the fact that they are one day ahead of us.  I’m always learning from my peers and some of the techniques that the SOGA team uses have already been implemented by our artists. This is very obvious now with the way we do hair, not only on characters but also with creatures. Tim: They've approached some things from entirely different angles than us with great results. Some creative ideas they came up with to get around some of our systems are already being used here now. Stratics: In working with character animations, where do you look for inspiration? Chad: Like all art we are inspired by what we see and do.  These dances come from a very popular show that always stuck with me.  When we needed a “dark” dance I knew exactly where to dig.

Stratics:  We always try to ask this question, and you are no exception!  So here goes... Pirates or Ninjas?

Chad: Pie

Tim: Ninja. Better odds of a date with the Pink Ranger.

Thank you, Chad and Tim! As always, it is a distinct pleasure to get some insight into your thoughts and ideas behind your creations!