This week we're celebrating EverQuest II's fourth Birthday here at Allakhazam and as our present to the  community we're bringing you mini interviews from many of the individuals on the team who've struggled over the years to make EverQuest II the game that you love and play. We had the opportunity to hear from the lovely Vanessa "Eovania" Barrera, one of Sony Online Entertainments International Community Relations Representatives. Vanessa's been the beating heart of the German community since 2005 and if you've been to a Fan Faire you've likely seen her in the flesh, running around, pretending to work. Whoops, that cat's out of the bag! :P

Allakhazam : How long have you been working on EverQuest II and how did you get started?

Vanessa : I have been in the EQ2 Community team since March 2005.

I was hired by Steve  “Moorgard” Danuser and worked with Ryan “Blackguard” Shwayder. I'm sure a lot of you folks remember those two. They were looking for a German native speaker to take care of the EQ2 German community. A friend of mine told me about the opportunity; she was the EQ2 French Community Rep at the time.

Allakhazam : Over the years, is there a particular change that you’ve seen made to EverQuest II that stands out against the rest?

Vanessa : I have been working on the game since launch, I experienced a lot of changes which have been made to EverQuest II – I would say most of the changes changed the game very positively; we made it more beginner-friendly by revamping the starter zones and having a mentor system; we reworked the guild system and and and... At the beginning every change seemed to be so significant; remember when we changed the broker system (being able to sell even if you are not at home), or not having to collect your shard anymore when you died?! These were huge changes! It is tough to pick one change that stands out against the rest, but I would say introducing the achievement system is an outstanding one.

Allakhazam : What is both your most and least favorite memory about working on EverQuest II?

Vanessa : My least favorite memory about working on EverQuest II is having had to deal with the localization issues we had at the beginning of EQII and my community being so upset about it. No day passed someone would rant on about this issue, but also no marketing meeting passed I wouldn’t let the people here at SOE know about how serious this issue is. This issue has been mastered since quite a while now, and no more rants are going on since then.

I guess, that makes the point when we announced that the game is up to date localization-wise would be my most favorite memory.

Thanks Vanessa! Join us tomorrow when we talk to Noel Walling. It will be fun, I promise!