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Laura Karpman was great.
tixylix
Member UncommonPosts: 1,288
EverQuest 2 was a weird one for me, it was the first true next gen MMO and at the time I was 16/17 so it had a massive influence on me. I'm sure if I was 30, I'd see the game in a more cynical way as I do today. So many memories, so many firsts like G/Fs, drinking, drugs, going out and sneaking into clubs... an amazing time all teens of that age experience here in the UK, though laws have become stricter, a shame young teens probably don't get to experience clubs and stuff any more.
The game in beta was one of the most amazing times I've ever had. It was the most grouped based MMO ever IMO, I've played all the MMOs before, but EQ2 was the first one that really forced you together. I just remember the amazing server tech they had of cloning zones and just everyone standing in the zone entrances all inviting each other and grouping. You couldn't do anything without a group and it was so much fun just playing and talking to new people all the time.
Sadly the game came out too early, they had too many servers and it died. However for me EQ2 in beta felt like doing DM in WoW all the time, just constant amazing grouping 24/7. Just a shame they released the game like 50% done and with 40+ servers... it only needed the one and then to clone zones.
However my main point of this thread is the music, it is just so magical, I'm listening to it now and it takes me back. I love lots of old game music, however Laura just manages to make this sound track seem so full of intrigue, mysterious, magical, other worldly... I'm trying to describe it, but it sounds so raw like it was recorded by a proper orchestra and no other game has been. I love her use of the wind instruments and stuff that sounds like Xylophones or whatever they're called, I'm not a music expert but it just sounds so good and Harmonizes so well.
It is hard to explain but the music is like no other I've heard, not that generic crap from the Skyrim composer or the stuff Blizzard does that (while is good) all sounds the same.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duuRAomjxNI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vz-zcW2CsLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se3ii5N8Vfc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4ZZqjKACL4#t=74
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX5DAnyCgWY&list=FLzzWb04RflTPSwP0bnIjTNQ#t=57 (I love the start of this one from the time I've linked it, sounds like one of those childs instruments at school, but used so well)
Comments
Oh wow these bring back memories and goosebumps thanks for the trip down memory lane.
I think it was also so special as it was the last great graphical leap in the genre. I don't think we'll ever experience that again, maybe it is age, maybe it is diminishing returns, I think John Carmack is right in that we're at the point now where we do not find higher fidelity to be impressive, there is no great leap any more.
Bit weird really EQ2 was the jump into DX9c and the HD era, one we're still in, if it wasn't for the lack of attention to detail, EQ2 would still look modern. Why they haven't redesigned the character models I'll never know.
You're missing out, Music alone can make a game and make the atmosphere.
Even Movies, Inception is a movie I'll always love purely on the score.
I have always liked and enjoyed Jeremy Soule’s compositions. Yet, I feel that Sony went with “best” versus the best for Everquest. I expect EQN will have some great themes and formats. And, while I acknowledge this.
Laura was inspired in EQII - you can feel it, there were places the music was experimental for an MMO game. Almost as though it was her first trip to fantasy, like a new adventure, the music told tales of mystery and wonder, excitement, and anxiety. Not to be told the same way again.
Jeremy visits a fantasy world and it’s old hat, even he may know it somewhere inside. Just as you can hear the personality of John Williams in Harry Potter, Jaws, Raiders, and Star Wars. Jeremy is almost too familiar to my ears. Part of the magic comes from the unknown.
A master composer can create beautiful music, but a masterpiece comes from inspiration in the hands of a master.