Neverwinter Nights 2 Interview

Many people who are uninformed about the finer points of our industry and yet have enjoyed playing KOTOR or NeverWinter Nights, were a little surprised (if not worried) to hear that BioWare, one of the premiere game developers in the business, decided to hand over work on the said franchises to a relatively unknown company by the name of Obsidian Entertainment.

Echoes of concern could be heard from those who were not in the know, and yet many true CRPG veterans felt great relief and renewed excitement upon hearing what was certainly good news for them. The reason for this is simple: NeverWinter Nights 2 is being developed by a group of individuals who are responsible for such games as Planescape Torment and IceWind Dale to name but a few. Led by one Feargus Urquhart (whose name carries great weight with any self-respecting CRPG fan), Obsidian's talented employees have worked on award winning products for companies such as Black Isle Studios, Blizzard Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Neversoft, and others.

I guess the point of this opening word is to let you know, and to once again reassure you that both BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment know what they are doing, and that they are exceptional at what they do and how they do it. ActionTrip.com had a chance to talk to Ferret Baudoin, Lead Designer of Neverwinter Nights 2, and learn more about his vision of the sequel and the direction in which the team is taking the popular series. From what we've learned, things are looking very good for NeverWinter Nights fans:

Action Trip: First of all, we would like to hear some details about the game's story.

Ferret Baudoin, Lead Designer: The story takes place a few years after the events of Hordes of the Underdark and centers on the city of Neverwinter and its surrounding regions. Early in the story the protagonist is charged with unearthing the secret of a mysterious artifact, and that quest attracts a great deal of unwanted attention. But an adventurer's life was never supposed to be easy.

Neverwinter Nights 2 starts off as a simple tale of adventure. But the elements of the story build upon themselves until the player finds themselves in the eye of the hurricane. We're trying to make the world feel alive, and it evolves with the story. The player isn't a passive bystander in this, and at many stages of the game the player's choices can have real ramifications.

AT: Please tell us something about the enemies we are going to encounter in the sequel.

FB: Dungeons and Dragons has a wide variety of monsters that prowl on the unwary. Neverwinter Nights 2 will include a healthy smattering of all the players' favorites, plus some more of the cult classics. Some monsters types are featured more prominently in the story - including undead. Throughout the story ghouls, ghosts, vampires, zombies and more will be popping up. So make sure those holy symbols are polished and have a few vials of holy water handy.

AT: What changes (if any) are we going to see in the interface?

FB: It's early in development, but the design team is going over every aspect of the original interface and seeing what could be improved. We've taken a lot of notes on interface elements from many massive multiplayer online RPGs (MMOs) and we're seeing what would work well for a single player RPG. The interfaces on MMOs get a tremendous amount of stress testing, and some of the lessons they've learned should help make our interface even stronger.

AT: What in your opinion are the advantages and the downsides of using the old Aurora engine for creating Neverwinter Nights 2?

FB: The original Neverwinter Nights shipped with a formidable package - a single player campaign, multiplayer, online DM support, and an powerful toolset. The Aurora engine also delivered one of the best adaptations of Dungeons and Dragons to date. There are many benefits to having that package to build from. It's given us a tremendous opportunity to take something great and make it even better - the rules are being adapted to Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, improve the tools to make our lives and the community's lives easier, and the graphic engine is being completely overhauled using the latest technology. If there's a downside to using Aurora, it's eluding me.

AT: Can you tell us something about the level design in the game?

FB: We draw a lot of our level inspiration from sources like the Ultima series (IV and V, especially) and Planescape: Torment. Our goal is to create levels that are believable, filled with action and excitement, and tied in with the story. We want the world to feel real and to be alive, a place where players can get lost in for many hours before coming up for air.

AT: What is the biggest change in Neverwinter Nights 2 compared to the original?

FB: The first big change is the graphics engine which is going to let the artists make some truly gorgeous graphics. It will support normal mapping, specular lighting, pixel shading, and other features of today's graphic cards. Our test characters in the engine looks great already. The second big change is we're going to deliver a different type of single-player experience. Many people will pick up our game just for the single-player campaign, and we're going to make sure they walk away happy.