 |
Neverwinter Nights 2 Interview - Page One |
 |
With the development of Star Wars: KotOR II: The Sith Lords behind them, Obsidian Entertainment has focused much of their attention on Neverwinter Nights 2 - the followup to 2002's epic Dungeons & Dragons masterpiece. Since very little information about the game has been released to this point, we felt it would be the perfect time to get an update on the game's progress and see if we could learn a bit more about the direction the game is taking. Answering our questions are Obsidian's John Morgan, Ferret Baudoin, and Chris Avellone. Here we go:
GB: How big is the team at Obsidian now and how are you handling the recent growth you've no doubt had with the hiring of more employees for KotOR II and NWN 2?
JM: Obsidian Entertainment now has a whopping 46 employees! As we wrapped up KotOR II, most of the team started trickling over to NWN 2 and joined the rest that were already in full production. Now with KotOR II done, we've got a full team on NWN 2 and a small, development team on an as yet unannounced project. The plan is to have them ramp up in the coming months so we will actually have two full teams going at the same time for the first time in the history of the company. We've had to rent out more space in the building and will soon control both floors on one entire side. We still only have a minimal support staff, but it suits our purposes just fine and we don't plan on drastically increasing that any time soon.
GB: How many former Black Isle employees are with Obsidian now, and are you able to tell us which ones are now there and what previous RPGs they've worked on? Have you picked up any new members after Troika's closing?
JM: We have several former Black Isle employees here at Obsidian. From our founders down through the ranks, there are several in each department, forming the backbone of what Obsidian has become. Most of them were working on titles like FR6 and Fallout3 when Interplay started its decline into oblivion. And yes we've picked up other employees (and furniture) from the closing of nearby companies. That's one of the great things about this business, there are only a few degrees of separation between everyone, so when a closing happens, we always have old friends and colleagues applying soon after. Which is great, because we love to scoop up the guys we know are talented before they get offers from somewhere else.
GB: Tell us a bit about the general storyline behind the single player campaign in Neverwinter Nights 2. Have you decided on any particular areas of the Forgotten Realms to include in the campaign?
FB: The storyline of Neverwinter Nights 2 starts simply enough in the middle of the Mere of Dead Men in your home town, the humble village of West Harbor. Only the brave and strong manage to eke out a living in such a dangerous monster-ridden swamp and Harbormen are tougher than standard folk, maintaining a certain pride in their perversity. But one night trouble comes knocking – and it’s looking for a long-buried relic, a remnant of a dark war fought when you were but a child. When the night-time raid is staged the enemy underestimates the strength of your village, but victory comes with a price of blood. You are sent on a desperate mission to Neverwinter to unearth the secrets of the relic, all the while being hounded by opposition. From there a chain of events force you into the role of a hero, giving you the strength, the power, and the knowledge you need to strike back against the forces gathering against you – and the people of the Realms.
Neverwinter 2 features many locations familiar to fans of the Realms, as well as many bonus areas created especially for the game – there’s plenty of adventure to be had, from the Mere of Dead Men, to the murderous back-alleys of Neverwinter, to the mountainous crags of Old Owl Well… all the way to the epic confrontation at the end of the game.
GB: What goals do you have for the multiplayer aspect of Neverwinter Nights 2? Do you plan on making the mod tools similar in scope to the original game? Are there any particular improvements to multiplayer in general that you're planning on making?
FB: Beyond delivering the same multiplayer goodness that the first game possessed we have two additional multiplayer goals. One is debuting our new tools – and speaking first-hand here, let me just say mod-makers will be giddy. The new tools have many features that make life better and faster, as well as giving the user even more customization options. The tools are still geared towards beginners and advanced users alike, but we’re adding more on the back end for the power modders to go wild.
The second multiplayer goal is to improve the multiplayer interface and make adventuring with others more enjoyable. We’ll be announcing more details about that later in the project.
GB: Although it's very early in development, would you say that NWN 2 will be PC only, or is there a chance that we might see it hit a console system as well?
JM: As of this moment, it is planned for a PC only release. That can always change, however.
GB: Will we be seeing epic levels in Neverwinter Nights 2 at launch, or will such high level content be reserved for an expansion?
FB: Epic levels won’t be in. Our focus is making sure that non-Epic levels are implemented solidly and adapted to 3.5 edition Dungeons and Dragons. We’re looking forward to possibly including epic levels in future products, but there’ll be plenty enough new feats, prestige classes, ands spells to make your adventures rich and rewarding.
|
|
|
 |
|
| Article Details |
| Interviewed John Morgan,
Ferret Baudoin, &
Chris Avellone of
Obsidian Entertainment
Interviewer Jon "Buck" Birnbaum
Published 05/12/05 |
|
|
