Rob Bartel Interview

The co-lead designer for the fabulous looking single & multiplayer RPG Neverwinter Nights, Rob Bartel, gained a few PR-experience points by throwing a Q&A session with XGR Radio. A flavorful extraction:

Q: Does it feel like WotC made a lot of concessions to CRPG in this new edition?

A: That depends what you mean by concessions. I don't believe they watered down the game or cut corners by any means. Quite the opposite, exactly - I find 3rd Edition to be much more robust and exciting than its predecessors and it provides a much more open environment for role-play. It's not so much that CRPGs based on the 3rd Edition are any easier to program - It's just that the end result, if done right, has the potential to provide a much richer computer role-playing experience.