Friday, May 22, 2009

Ossian CEO talks about creating an expansion for Neverwinter Nights 2
By Michael Lafferty 

“All good games should prompt gamers to make decisions”

Building on an existing franchise is never an easy thing. Developers that undertake that have to be true to the franchise’s fan base, while simultaneously creating compelling content that will attract players.

So when Ossian set out to create an expansion component for Neverwinter Nights, the studio certainly had its work cut out for it.

Instead of outlining the details associated with Mysteries of Westgate, perhaps it is easier to get the information from the studio source, Alan Miranda, CEO and producer at Ossian Studios.

GameZone had the chance to talk with Alan and get some of our questions answered about what it takes to create a compelling adventure.

Question: As a studio, creating an expansion module for a licensed IP, do you have to get permission or do you work with the publisher to make certain everything is within the framework of the IP itself?

Alan: It’s actually both. We first need permission from Atari, the D&D license holder, to create a D&D game. Secondly, we must get approval from Wizards of the Coast (WotC) on both our setting and story (i.e., where we want to set our game in the Forgotten Realms). After those initial approvals, we require both Atari and WotC to approve our design and art. And finally, both need to sign off on the finished product. So it’s an ongoing relationship throughout the development process, and Ossian always ensures that it stays true to the D&D Forgotten Realms lore and setting.

Q: How many people do you have on staff at Ossian and how much experience does your studio have in the gaming industry?

Alan: We currently have a staff of 25 at Ossian but not in your typical setup. Ossian Studios is a relatively new breed of game developer. In an age where people are increasingly working from their laptops outside of an office setting (i.e., working together virtually), Ossian established itself as a successful virtual company. Think of it as being able to hire the best people from anywhere in the world and bring them all together virtually over the Internet to work on a game. We have developed 2 great games in this way, and learned a lot about online development with each one.

In developing 2 titles, the first for Neverwinter Nights and the second for Neverwinter Nights 2, Ossian’s staff have earned a solid reputation for producing top-quality D&D games and gained a lot of game industry experience. My own personal industry experience stems from working at both BioWare and Relic, where I gained a background in design and production.

Q: What compelled you to make this add-on for Neverwinter Nights 2? What do you think is so compelling about the property in the first place?

Alan: Making our Adventure Pack, Mysteries of Westgate, for Neverwinter Nights 2 was a natural extension of having done something similar for the original Neverwinter Nights with our expansion-sized game, Darkness over Daggerford (which was wildly popular with NWN fans, having over 68,000 downloads to date). We had just finished work on Daggerford when we started talking with Atari about replicating the same success with NWN2. All of our team members are D&D fans, so developing a NWN2 game seemed like a great opportunity.

D&D has been around for a long time and has established a great deal of background lore from pulling on many mythological and fantasy sources. It’s that accumulated wealth of lore, which has grown in depth and intricacy, that RPG fans like so much and differentiate D&D FR from other fantasy settings.

Q: What did you bring to NWN2 that is new or different?

Alan: The location we chose to set the game in was the infamous city of Westgate, along the Dragon Coast. Most of the previous Neverwinter and Baldur’s Gate games instead took place along the Sword Coast, the west coast of the main FR continent. We wanted to choose something new and unique for players to experience and found this in Westgate, a port city inhabited by a melting pot of all the creatures (including monsters) known to the Realms. Imagine a city-sized Mos Eisley cantina from Star Wars. It’s a city driven by money and greed, so nobody cares what your race is, so long as you have gold. It’s quite unlike any other NWN2 game.

Q: What will Ossian be working on next?

Alan: People are going to have to wait before hearing what we’re working on. Given that we’re an RPG developer, it’s a good bet that it’ll be an RPG.

Q: Do you think the fantasy RPG/RTS genre is stagnating in repetitious ideas (like the release of several Diablo-esque games of late), or do you think the industry is still tickling the edge of what is possible?

Alan: There will always be developers in the game industry that will push the edge of what is possible. It won’t necessarily be a lot of people, and it won’t be constant, but the drive is always there. I’ve seen and played my share of generic fantasy games and think that the advantage of trying to do something new and unique is that you have the potential to surpass all the clone games. I don’t see RPGs or RTSs ever stagnating for overly long for that reason.

Q: In what order do you place value on story arc(s), gameplay mechanics (including quests, character development, controls, etc), graphics and sound?

Alan: Given that the nature of a game is to be played, then gameplay mechanics will always be at the top of the list for any game. For RPGs, the next one would be story, which for me incorporates character development and quests. A good story is always central to a good RPG. Graphics and sound come next, but see my next answer for more details.

Q: What components do you think are vital for a successful game or expansion?

Alan: Although I put graphics and sound last in the previous question, they are both vitally important in creating the right atmosphere, so are indispensable to a game. Visuals will always be the first thing people see. First impressions are critical.

Overall though, I like to follow the 4 Es of design to make a great game experience: Exploration, Esthetics, Experimentation, and Empowerment. A beautiful environment where you can have room to explore and interact with objects or characters, and with meaningful choices that allow you to steer to different outcomes or impact the world. The most important of these is empowerment, which is giving players the freedom of choice. All good games should prompt gamers to make decisions, and when you make a successful decision, it’s always a great feeling.

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