GZ Interview
August 22,  2002

Bioware takes us into the realm of Neverwinter Nights
By Michael Lafferty

Three months ago, BioWare demonstrated Neverwinter Nights at the Electronics Expo in Los Angeles and had game players drooling over the expansive role-playing vehicle.

At that time the question wasn’t whether the game could live up to the hype surrounding it, it was when is this going to be released. The answer was shortly after the industry showcase.

With its stunning graphics, immersive story and Aurora Toolset (so players could build and share their own levels), the game raised the genre bar ( http://www.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r13354.htm ).

Five years in the making, the game revolves around an adventurer called to help find the cause behind a plague threatening the town of Neverwinter. However, as the game progresses, players will quickly find out they cannot trust every one they thought was on their side. The mapboards are huge, there are numerous side quests to undertake and a host of challenges as the game moves through the chapters.

Rob Bartel, co-lead designer and Tom Ohle, communications associate, took time to talk with GameZone about the title.

(It is important to note that some of the questions in this interview were posed prior to the release of the title, but are included here because of the information the answers reveal about the game. As one can imagine, the BioWare team was inundated with interview requests and after working on the tile for five years, needed a little time to recover.)

Question: Neverwinter Nights has been eagerly anticipated for quite a while. What new technology has been incorporated into this game? What do you think will impress players
the most?

Rob: “For me, the most impressive technology in the game is the Aurora Neverwinter Nights Toolset. Never before has so much power been put into the hands of the average user. It's easy to use and the results from the fan community have been amazing to date (nearly 1000 modules are available for download as we speak). As part of our effort to support the growing Neverwinter Nights community, we've been profiling some of the exceptional fan-created modules on the official site and we'll continue to do so in the coming months. The key thing to remember is that, as exciting as the technology is, what that technology enables is even more fascinating.”

Q: Does this game tread new regions of the Forgotten Realms, or are there familiar settings? Have any characters from other adventures made the transition to this game?

Rob: “With Neverwinter Nights, we're continuing to develop the vast Sword Coast region of the Forgotten Realms that we first popularized with our Baldur's Gate series. The city of Neverwinter is quite a ways north of Baldur's Gate and Amn, nestled roughly halfway between Waterdeep and the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale. We haven't brought over any characters from our past games but you'll meet plenty of new ones in your travels.”

Q: The game sports some multiplayer capabilities. What type of game play will players be able to indulge in – will it be cooperative missions or mostly PvP options?

Tom: “Straight out of the box, Neverwinter Nights features the Official Campaign, which can be played cooperatively. Shortly after release, BioWare released Contest of Champions, which is a competitive play module, along the lines of Counter-Strike. Since then, the Neverwinter Nights community has created some amazing modules—both cooperative and PvP. The BioWare Live Team is also dedicated to creating new content for fans, and it has released—or plans to release—a number of modules; again, both cooperative and PvP.”

Q: Let’s talk a little about the editor module in the game. From all indications, players will actually be able to go beyond creating simple scenarios. Will there be a site for swapping these files?

Tom: “While the Neverwinter Nights Community Site gives modules extra exposure by profiling some of the high-quality modules the fans have created, the best places to get Neverwinter Nights modules are the game’s various fan sites. Many have large module databases, along with user rankings of those modules. There are currently nearly 1,000 modules available for download! It’s truly amazing to see what the fans are creating with the tools BioWare has given them.”

Q: Has the player interface been changed in any way? Does this game strictly adhere to 3rd Edition D&D rules, or have they been tweaked any?

Rob: We've made a substantial overhaul of our interface to better accommodate our move to 3D and our focus on controlling a single character. So far the interface changes have been very well received and we've already noticed upcoming games beginning to mimic our innovative Radial Menu and Quickslot systems. As for adherence to the 3rd Edition D&D ruleset, we've had to tweak some things, just as we had to with the Baldur's Gate series, in order to bring them to the computer. That said, Neverwinter Nights, with its powerful toolset and DM client, is so much closer to the core pen & paper role-playing experience than any game we've created in the past. We're very proud of what we've been able to accomplish.”

Q: This game seems to have an incredible Web presence. Has more effort gone into this game in that regard than others?

Tom: “Absolutely. The BioWare Live Team is dedicated to supporting Neverwinter Nights—as well as our previous and future titles — after release. The BioWare Live Team has created the BioWare Community Site — which includes Neverwinter Nights Community Site — where we release content to our fans on a regular basis — whether it be a new creature, a cool new script, or even a BioWare-developed module.”

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of creating this game?

Rob: “The sheer size and scope of our original vision was probably our largest hurdle. We didn't just want to release a ‘game’ in the traditional sense but rather an all-encompassing experience that was going to be so much greater than just the sum of its parts. It's hard to imagine Neverwinter Nights without the DM Client, for instance, or the DM Client without the toolset or the toolset without the Live Team continuing to support and showcase the community upon release. All of these different components depend on each other for the entire vision to work. It took a lot of stress and effort, and we certainly made some mistakes along the way, but as the dust clears I really believe that we've accomplished something we can be proud of for many years to come.”

Q: There seems to be a flurry of RPGs coming out in the coming year. Why do you think the genre is so popular, and what do you consider to be the prime ingredients of a terrific RPG?

Rob: “It's so good to see the genre picking up steam again. By their very nature, role-playing games are complex beasts involving long development cycles and high risks. Games like that tend to come and go in cycles. Suddenly the technology or the industry paradigm will leap ahead with a game like Doom and it will take role-playing titles quite a while to catch up. The great thing about RPGs, in my opinion, is that there aren't any singular key ingredients. The RPGs on the market today are all wildly unique and diverse. I'm looking forward to seeing the Neverwinter Nights fan community add even further to that diversity. These games are like a painting to me, or a piece of music. There are no wrong and right answers, just different ways to experience and enjoy what's being created.”  

Q: Baldur’s Gate resulted in a chain of games. Will there be any sequels to Neverwinter Nights?

Tom: “We have not yet announced any expansion or sequel plans for Neverwinter Nights. There is certainly plenty of material out there that could be put into an expansion pack: new spells; monsters; tilesets; feats and skills. We’re definitely exploring the possibilities!”  

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