They say a dog has its day, but for EverQuest's fippy Darkpaw, it's a year. The Year of Darkpaw kicked off this month with promotional events, collectibles, and bonus dungeons. A new time-locked server will be available mid-year, and expansions for both games will be released this winter.

EverQuest celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and when I think back to my boyhood days spent meditating to reclaim mana, it warms my heart to see that my favorite game is still going strong after all these years. Jen Chang, EverQuest's studio head, told me that "2024" is meant to be a grand party all year long.

"We want people to celebrate the 25th anniversary of EverQuest and the 20th anniversary of EQ2, to reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and experience a good blend of nostalgia and newness," Chan said. Of all the MMOs I've played, 'EverQuest' remains the leader in terms of people coming together to accomplish something. Instead of spending hundreds of hours on solo quests and MSQs, EQ allows you to start grouping right away.

I knew I still had a lot of people playing. I spent most of my lockdown playing the hell out of Project 1999 Green, but it's not just the private servers where people hang out.

Not only was there a quality of life that wasn't there in the past, such as tutorial dungeons and free mercenary buddies (no more running for your life from a single bat at level 1), which made getting started much easier, but there were plenty of players to chat with when you had a burning question about something.

Darkpaw Games sent me a roadmap for both games for 2024. Here are some highlights:

EverQuest 2 is also a leap year to be reckoned with; EQ's Baby Brother is not yet old enough to go to a bar, but at 20 he is still an elder statesman of the MMO world. The story is that the gods' minions are up to mischief, and it's up to the players to stop them. The gods have the best loot. My son Innoruuk spit out the staff of the earth so I could get the server's first magician epic on Green!

Leading a studio bearing the name of the renowned Phippy Darkpaw is no easy task, but Chang takes Phippy's "Never Give Up" motto to heart. I asked him what it is like to lead a project with so much history. 'There are many emotions, but the first thing that comes to mind is being humbled. To be a part of something that has touched so many people over the course of their lives is a sobering feeling." [Some of my best friends I met while playing the game, and reconnecting with people who play EQ has kept me going, especially during the first few months of my incarceration.

I asked for hints about the expansions coming out in November (21st for EQ2) and December (31st for EQ1), but Chan never said a word. In the meantime, I'm going to check out the EverQuest Anniversary event and take on one more epic quest from my bucket list. And speaking of epics, EverQuest's developers sent me this splash art for the Year of Darkpaw anniversary event, which shows EQ and EQ2 characters excitedly throwing out epics. There is apparently an Easter egg in this graphic, but I have yet to find it. Perhaps you can help me.