Neverwinter Nights 2 in the eyes of lead designer J.E Sawyer

Taking of from its predecessor, Neverwinter Nights 2 is a game that revolves around a character named the King of Shadows, a dark figure in the history of the Sword Coast. As his name queues, he is the embodiment of shadow (think Spawn, or The Mask, depends on how wacky you are). Main characters peacefully dwell on the village of West Harbor, it gets attacked by the King of Shadow, surviving characters then stumble towards the city of Neverwinter, and then
the survivors try to make a name for themselves, got the drift?

Obsidian lead designer J.E Sawyer discussed the creation of the title and the developments made to the coding. “Removing the old Aurora renderer and implementing Obsidian’s new Electron renderer required a lot of changes in the code,” he explained, “We’re patching all of that stuff together and finalizing the major revisions to the editor. It’s been a bumpy right, but the editor is now an even more powerful tool for both designers and end users.”

Sawyer described the setting as “a real, believable world where a player’s actions increase his or her reputation over time, and NPCs will react accordingly to that reputation”. As in all games (even in real life actually), the player’s character starts as unknown and weak. It is up to the gamer to make his character more respected and well-known through its action during the course of the game. The more people that you successfully duped, I mean, befriended, the greater your role on the story will be as you get to be “entrusted with matters of grave importance because you have built up a reputation befitting a heroic figure.” Dungeons & Dragons Rules 3.5, the latest version of rules updates for the popular gaming series, will be used.

“Players and dungeon masters can expect the same level of multiplayer functionality that existed in the original Neverwinter Nights, but I really think that the expanded flexibility of the toolset is what will help make online experiences more enjoyable.” Sawyer said when asked about the title’s Multiplayer online gameplay.

Another feature he mentioned was about the editing tools and map creation; making both outdoor and indoor environments can be done with relative ease. Interior sets will function in a manner similar to the original Neverwinter Nights, only this time individual props management will be easier because any freestanding item can be stacked or rotated as needed.

Regarding hardware specifics, the main requirement for now is that the video card must support shader model 2.0 or higher. As the game comes closer to completion, more specifics may be noted. If initial expectations materialize, the game can be ready by summer.

Ow, before I forgot, Sawyer is pretty excited about the game’s interactive addition, he called it “e-smooches”, I guess I don’t have to explain that.
Taking of from its predecessor, Neverwinter Nights 2 is a game that revolves around a character named the King of Shadows, a dark figure in the history of the Sword Coast. As his name queues, he is the embodiment of shadow (think Spawn, or The Mask, depends on how wacky you are). Main characters peacefully dwell on the village of West Harbor, it gets attacked by the King of Shadow, surviving characters then stumble towards the city of Neverwinter, and then
the survivors try to make a name for themselves, got the drift?

Obsidian lead designer J.E Sawyer discussed the creation of the title and the developments made to the coding. “Removing the old Aurora renderer and implementing Obsidian’s new Electron renderer required a lot of changes in the code,” he explained, “We’re patching all of that stuff together and finalizing the major revisions to the editor. It’s been a bumpy right, but the editor is now an even more powerful tool for both designers and end users.”

Sawyer described the setting as “a real, believable world where a player’s actions increase his or her reputation over time, and NPCs will react accordingly to that reputation”. As in all games (even in real life actually), the player’s character starts as unknown and weak. It is up to the gamer to make his character more respected and well-known through its action during the course of the game. The more people that you successfully duped, I mean, befriended, the greater your role on the story will be as you get to be “entrusted with matters of grave importance because you have built up a reputation befitting a heroic figure.” Dungeons & Dragons Rules 3.5, the latest version of rules updates for the popular gaming series, will be used.

“Players and dungeon masters can expect the same level of multiplayer functionality that existed in the original Neverwinter Nights, but I really think that the expanded flexibility of the toolset is what will help make online experiences more enjoyable.” Sawyer said when asked about the title’s Multiplayer online gameplay.

Another feature he mentioned was about the editing tools and map creation; making both outdoor and indoor environments can be done with relative ease. Interior sets will function in a manner similar to the original Neverwinter Nights, only this time individual props management will be easier because any freestanding item can be stacked or rotated as needed.

Regarding hardware specifics, the main requirement for now is that the video card must support shader model 2.0 or higher. As the game comes closer to completion, more specifics may be noted. If initial expectations materialize, the game can be ready by summer.

Ow, before I forgot, Sawyer is pretty excited about the game’s interactive addition, he called it “e-smooches”, I guess I don’t have to explain that.