EverQuest II Interview, Part One

ComputerAndVideoGames.com has conducted an interview with Sony's Andy Sites, asking the EverQuest II producer several questions about the MMORPG sequel. Check it out:
Q: How much are you expecting the overall game to change from your initial designs once the beta test runs its course?

A: Based on what we as a company have seen in the past, we're expecting it to change significantly. There are a lot of the systems and areas, such as the tutorial and the introductory part of the game on the Isle Of Refuge, that we feel we've now refined to a point where it's not likely to change a whole lot. But the big areas that probably will change are things like the encounter systems, the population sizes of the dungeons.

All the things that require lots of sets of eyes to go through and look at and experience before we can say definitively say something needs to change. The worst thing a development team can do is get used to something and then just change it for the sake of it. One of the problems any team has is when they create something phenomenal, see it every day and become jaded towards it and then feel it needs changing as a result when that's not necessarily the right thing.

So by letting people into the beta it's been really nice just to see their reactions to things. You get completely unbiased opinions at that point.