Neverwinter Interview

MMORPG.com has doled out their own Neverwinter interview with Cryptic's Jack Emmert, though their article is a summary of a conversation as opposed to an exact transcription. If you've read through the other interviews we've posted about, there's nothing really new here:
So in talking about the game itself Jack did say that Cryptic will continue with the customization features which it has become known for. They want players to really be able to customize not only their characters but also to create dungeons and quests for other players to explore. The player created content is one of the end game scenarios that Jack thought would give a lot of tools to players to help create their own fun. He also said that with the success of downloadable content they have many plans to keep players active with new adventures in the future. They will have expansions to boost the level cap and allow players to experience Epic style adventures as seen in the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons currently being played today.

Jack went on to explain the design strategy behind the new Neverwinter game as using Veritcal Slices. Each slice is a full game play experience that the team and outside reviewers can look at and make assessments on. Back when they made Champions Online and Star Trek they had each team working on different systems that would eventually combine in the end. The problem with this design philosophy, Jack explained, was that it was difficult to make changes to the game once all the systems were in place. Using the new vertical slices system the team can make changes as they go. Jack also mentioned that the team is currently working on its second vertical slice in development, which means there is a full game play version of the game out there. Not the full game, but a playable tier of the game for Cryptic to test and make changes to as needed. Jack explained that development is going well and the team are very excited with results.