NHL94.com – It's In the GA! #1 Evan

ITS IN THE GA!

Don’t forget when you’re done to check out Part 2 and Part 3

In honor of the NHL playoffs and my love sports games, and most of all I love EA Sports’ NHL series, I wanted to highlight one of the great games and great websites in NHL ’94 and NHL94.com so I tracked down the owner of said site along with some other prominent figures and did some interviews. After the jump see more about my history with NHL ’94, and my interview with NHL94.com site founder Evan about the past, present, and future of one of the greatest fan sites on the internet

I played the hell out of NHL ‘94 growing up and it’s easily in my top 5 favorite games of all time. I played it so much that my dad even set up a little league with myself, my dad, my friend, and my little brother, and we even kept track of all the stats in a notebook that I wish we still had. I had gotten to the point where I was so good at the game that when we did this league I only lost 1 game. Fast forward to 2006 when my brother happens to find out that NHL94.com exists. So my brother and I immediately joined the forums and got set up to play games online and were instantly humbled by the amazing skills of many of the players on the forums. And not only are there great players on the forums there are great modders as well who have done things such as alter the uniforms and rosters, add to the number of teams, fix bugs in the original game, and even create a program that makes it easy for anyone to change the uniforms and rosters of the teams in all the 90s era NHL games. The site is home to forums discussing all the NHL video games and the actual NHL along with your general discussions and 9 currently running leagues that have many different options including fantasy drafts. So as a member of the forums for almost 6 full years now and having played in 5 different leagues I wanted to talk to a few members of the site about the game we mutually love. So I talked to the website’s founder Evan Elderedge (known as Evan on the forums) about the game, the forums, and the future of NHL ‘94.

One-Quest: What made you decide to create a website devoted to NHL94?

Evan: This was something I’d always wanted to do once the ability to create websites existed. I think sometime in 2002 is when I managed to purchase the domain nhl94.com off another company for $200. I felt this game deserved a nice fan website, especially once we learned of being able to edit the game. I was also learning how to create and host websites, so timing worked out as well.

One-Quest: And when did the forums come into existence?

Evan: The forums came into existence beginning of 2005, actually to be exact, the forums were up starting December 29th, 2004

One-Quest: How did you first find out you could edit the game?

Evan: I found out through my cousin who was talking with a small group of guys who I think aren’t active except Swos I think we found Chris & Don’s website about NHL94. My cousin and I were always playing NHL94, trying to learn how much we could edit, and we were making our own fantasy league that we were keeping track of with fake teams, players, etc.

One-Quest: How impressed are you with the skill of the players and modders that are on the forums?

Evan: It’s amazing what everyone has been doing over the years. The skill of players playing the game is top notch, and I can’t wait for the day when we can get a group of these guys together in person to play on the console. The modding has also been unreal, with a few select people making huge contributions to the community.

One-Quest: Do you have a particular favorite thing that the community has done?

Evan: Absolutely. My favorite thing the community has done is come together as a group and make a place for people to go to re-live their NHL94 moments, play the game again in a league, experience the game in new ways with modded versions, and show that games don’t have to be cutting edge to be fun and enjoyable. It also gives us new things to learn about the game. For example, I had no idea EA made a cardset of the game until one of the members posted about it. Next thing you know, I own a cardset, scan them all in, and added to the website for everyone’s enjoyment.

One-Quest: What has been your proudest moment as the founder of the site?

Evan:There’s a few that come to mind. One is when we had 84 players in our 4th Classic Online League. Another is when Mark Lesser (programmer of NHL94) posted on the website, and emailed me how much he enjoyed stumbling upon the website. I also enjoyed doing a phone interview for a sports website, and I’m very proud that the community it still going strong even with my lack of time to be on the forums.

One-Quest: Has there been anything that happened that you’ve been disappointed in?

Evan:I think the only thing I’ve been disappointed in, is when there are technical problems with the websites/hosting that cause the sites to be down. There will always be members on the forums that cause problems, and overall I think we have a great bunch so that doesn’t bother me. Of course, I am disappointed that I haven’t been able to spend more time making the sites better and being involved, but I’m sure that will come more when my son is older.

One-Quest: Outside of NHL 94 what are some of your favorite games?

Evan: Toe Jam & Earl, Kid Chameleon, Sonic 2 are some of my other favorite Genesis games. I also was a huge Red Faction I fan. I would make my own levels and play them with the group at work. I still play StarWars Galactic Battlegrounds, Age of Empires II, and Age of Mythology, along with NHL94 and whatever retro games I have on my Wii.

One-Quest: Last question, What do you see happening in the future for NHL94.com?

Evan:I hope we see NHL94 as a browser-based game so no one has to download anything and can just play. One of the most difficult things at times is getting new players setup and understanding how to use the software. I also hope we have an in-person tournament with a bunch of consoles. This has been talked about (still is) and hope to see it happen in the near future. Expect to see NHL94 get some attention from me again at some point with further updates, perks, and fun! Thanks for the interview!

One-Quest: Thank you for your time!

Drootin is a writer, pod-caster, and the resident hater of things (especially Wii) on One-Quest.com. Drootin is a total sports nerd and sports gamer, spending the majority of his time either watching sports or listening to sports radio, often while playing some kind of sports game. He's also a HUGE pro wrestling fan and often tweets during RAW and Pay Per Views. You can Email Drootin or follow Drootin on Twitter @IAmDroot or Facebook

2 responses to “NHL94.com – It's In the GA! #1 Evan”

1. halifax says:

   April 25, 2012 at 9:09 am

   Theres no question, Evan is the most awesomest person ever!

2. halifax says:

   April 25, 2012 at 9:09 am

   Theres no question, Evan is the most awesomest person ever!