Neverwinter Previews and Interview

If I can't entice you with new hands-on previews of Neverwinter over at NZGamer and LazyTechGuys, then I will instead send you to this new interview with lead designer Zeke Sparkes on Italian website Worlds Factory (the English version is down below). A couple of choice quotes:
WF: Very little is known to this day about endgame. Can you talk about your approach to this part of the game? How do you plan to keep the players interested in the long term? Is there a chance that you will add bigger instanced challenges (similar to raids in other games) if there is enough interest for them?

ZS: We've had end game in mind since early on in development and wanted to make sure we launched with a good experience. There's plenty of familiar stuff for players to look forward to like tons of amazing gear, hard and challenging versions of earlier dungeons. We also have a few tricks up our sleeve beyond that as well.

The event I mentioned earlier is a mixed PvE PvP competition that takes place in the lost dwarven city of Gauntlgrym. It's a larger scale gameplay than anything players encounter while leveling. We will have more details down the road so stay tuned for all the juicy details; it is super fun! The whole office has a blast each time we playtest it internally.

WF: The Foundry might very well be the master key to increase the game's longevity, given that enough players become interested in creating content with it. That said, some users are worried that this could cause you to develop less official content. How often do you plan to add new content to the game? Do you already have a schedule for post-launch updates?

ZS: We love supporting and adding to our live games! One of the really cool things about making an online game like an MMO is that you don't ever have to be done or stop. We get the chance to keep adding those great ideas that couldn't make it for launch. Even cooler is we sort of stop being the vision holders for the game once it goes live and that torch passes to the players themselves. So while we have plans and ideas as to what we'll be adding in the future, all of that can and most likely will change once our players settle in and we see what it is about the game they love and what they don't. The one thing that won't change is how frequently and thoroughly we plan on adding to the game!

The Foundry doesn't really change that philosophy at all. It's a way players can get involved and tell their own stories. We want people to feel like they can get in and recreate all those great adventures they wrote for their D&D groups over the years. It is very exciting!