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We have an interview with Tony Evans, Lead Designer of the NWN2 Expansion Pack: Storm of Zehir. He took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about life working on SoZ, the fine folks working on the expansion, game details, and why he is envious of all of us players.
Can you tell us any of your personal experiences behind the scenes of Storm of Zehir's production?
One of the particularly enjoyable things I’ve been working on lately is providing feedback and direction on Storm of Zehir’s music, and implementing our music into the game. As I type this I am wiping joyful tears from my eyes – a side-effect of the eargasm I got from listening to the new Port Llast theme, composed by Kevin Chow of Rogue Dao, the team working on Purgatorio, a Planescape mod for NWN2. Much of the music we have gotten back from our composers is so good that I’ve added it to my MP3 playlist. As a personal note, I am pretty picky about the music that goes on my playlist. The Storm of Zehir music is keeping company with other great fantasy and game music, including:
Anvil of Crom from Conan the Barbarian
The main theme from Willow.
The title music from Final Fantasy II.
Ammon Jerro’s theme from Neverwinter Nights 2.
Twinsen’s Theme from Twinsen’s Odyssey.
I’d Rather Be a Dwarf from Stonekeep.
Klaymen Shuffle from Neverhood.
Pretty much everything by Motherbrain.
Okay, well most people have probably not heard of any of these past the first three I listed, but trust me, they are great, just like NX2’s music will be.
Is there a core group of people that manage the storyline and if so, are they the same people that have done so on the on NWN2 and Mask of the Betrayer?
All of the Storm of Zehir designers have contributed to the game’s story. Jeff Husges and I were both also designers on Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer, where we were heavily involved with story as part of the modules we were responsible for. Our main writer on Storm of Zehir is Annie Carlson who, in addition to having worked on Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer, contributed to the story and characters of Alpha Protocol, Obsidian’s upcoming original Espionage RPG. In addition, our resident Dungeons & Dragons guru, Bobby Null, is on hand to offer his wisdom about the Forgotten Realms whenever I fail my Lore check.
With Mask of the Betrayer, the Soul Eater aspect added to the game divided a lot of players. Some felt it was an innovative new angle to take with the game, and others felt it was a restriction to their gameplay experience. Did this cause you to hesitate to take new paths in the game?
If anything, we’re forging even more new paths with Storm of Zehir. One major example is the Overland Map, which features new, exploration and skill-based gameplay which we anticipate will knock player’s socks off – assuming they wear socks. But even the non-sock wearers should find the Overland Map quite enthralling.
One of the highly touted features of Storm of Zehir is the party creation and management. Some have said it is a throwback to the Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale games. Were these games, and their popularity, the reason this new party management was chosen?
The concept of a party of adventurers is at the core of the Dungeons and Dragons experience. Though of course we considered how party management worked in Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale, we were also inspired by other party-based CRPGs including the Wizardry and Might and Magic series. One of our goals has been to incorporate old school, party-focused gameplay into a modern RPG.
Will there be other party members available that are not created by the player?
Storm of Zehir includes several cohorts, interesting characters that the party can meet and recruit in their travels throughout Samarach and the Sword Coast. Some of them must be hired or coerced into joining the party. Others will become available after completing a major quest. Cohorts are different from companions. For one thing, there are several more cohorts in Storm of Zehir than there were companions in previous games. Also, companions often have minds of their own and will frequently “hijack” conversations and other game events. One example of this is when Ganniyev confronts the Slumbering Coven in Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer. Without giving away any spoilers, it is a gripping scene, and great storytelling, but the only player interaction involved is to click “Continue” until Ganniyev and the Coven are finished talking.
In Storm of Zehir, we intend to take interaction to a new level. One way we are doing that is reducing the amount of lengthy un-interactive scenes and adding maximum reactivity to conversations. Cohorts help us to achieve this goal. Though they lack complex conversations of their own, and none of them will be love interests, they offer special responses in conversations that the player can choose, or not. The end result is that cohorts always give you more choices rather than sometimes “hijacking” and taking away choices. Because my meager explanation may not be clear enough, here is a specific example of this:
[SPOILER ALERT!]
The cohort Septimund, a Doomguide of Kelemvor, joins your party to help confront an undead scourge. When the party reaches the source of the problem, they find that it is Septimund’s long, lost lover who, through madness and grief, has turned to necromancy. The player can choose to have Septimund convince her to stop or strike her down with his bastard sword to be judged by Kelemvor. Another option is to have Septimund not say anything at all. In this case, Septimund’s silence has even more of an impact on the crazed necromancer, causing her to become more and more distraught the longer he goes without speaking to her.
It seems that there is an economic overtone to the players actions in the game. We saw this on a small scale with Crossroads Keep, but will the player truly see ramifications of their actions in the world economy as the game progresses?
Though the trading aspect of Storm of Zehir is optional, players can choose to make it an integral part of the game. Throughout the lands that the party will explore, capitalism is a recurring theme. Particularly in the Sword Coast – which has been ravaged by war, its economy in shambles – merchants are seen as heroes in their own right. Players can choose how much attention to give to trading, and through their actions they can determine whether they will help to restore the economy of the Sword Coast, or take advantage of Neverwinter’s predicament to make lots and lots of gold. Whatever the party’s involvement in trading, it will be reflected in the end of the game.
Can you describe the Yuan-Ti? Movement and combat actions alone must make them very difficult to model. Are they dynamic as far as armor and helms worn being visible?
There are several types of yuan-ti that will be featured in Storm of Zehir. I’ll describe a couple of them. The Abomination is a gigantic snake with a humanoid torso and two arms strong enough to crush the skulls of a hapless adventurer. The Abomination uses a new skeleton, with a complete set of animations. It can wield any weapon with deadly proficiency. They don’t wear helmets or armor, because they don’t really need them in order to kill you. The Purebloods are the agents of the yuan-ti, and can pass for humans and elves with the aid of cosmetics or magic. Purebloods are always working from the shadows to corrupt the human kingdoms from within, paving the way for eventual yuan-ti world-domination. As your party explores sections of the Chultan Peninsula and the Sword Coast, you may be surprised at all the places in which you’ll find Purebloods working in secret. You will begin to regard with suspicion the friendly shopkeep, the local lord, and even members of your own party – for any of them might possibly be Purebloods.
Are there many more tilesets, textures, models, and VFX for builders to utilize?
Storm of Zehir will feature five new tile texture sets, new textures for the overland map and jungle environments, about a dozen new creature models, and new VFX as well.
How many more unique (not found in the previous 2 games) items do you think have been made for Storm of Zehir. Are there new models for any item types?
Storm of Zehir has about 40 new weapon models, and they all look quite awesome thanks to the expertise of our modeler Roger Chang.
Can you give any more details regarding the new classes, spells, or other player goodies that may be on the horizon?
Some of the spells that will be included in Storm of Zehir include the various Symbol spells. One example is Symbol of Death, which allows you to scribe potent rune of power upon a surface, that when triggered can slay nearby creatures. We’ve revealed two of the classes in Storm of Zehir, the Swashbuckler and the Doomguide. Though I am eager to tell you all everything about the game, there are some things that our producer, Kevin Saunders (who is the equivalent of “The Man” but we like him anyway) would twist my right arm for revealing. And since I need that arm to help finish making the game, I must not reveal another class. However, I will risk Kevin’s wrath to give you a peak at one of the cool abilities of our third, unannounced class. Wizards of the Coast allowed us to take some liberties in adding a brand new ability: Summon Baatezu allows the [unspecified character class] to summon a powerful devil from the Nine Hells to fight for the party. The devils all have different abilities and it is just luck of the draw which one appears. There is a catch, though. The devil has a chance to turn on the party. Also, players familiar with previous games may recognize some of the devils that are summoned.
Is there anything you would like to share with the community about the expansion?
Yes, there is something I’d like to get off my chest... I am really, really jealous of all the people who will get to play Storm of Zehir later this year. You see, the team at Obsidian set out to make the kind of RPG that we’ve always wanted to play but, the problem with that is, game developers typically cannot bear to play the games they make once they are finished. It would be kind of like dating your daughter after you’ve finished raising her. So, you guys (and gals) will be able to enjoy Storm of Zehir in ways that are sadly lost to us poor developers. I do sincerely hope that many community members will be inspired to take advantage of the cool new systems we’ve created, such as the Overland Map, and create their own modules that we all can enjoy. Please and thank you!
We'd like to thank Tony Evans for taking the time to answer our questions as well as Matthew Rorie helping us arrange the interview with such a busy person. |
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发表于 2008-7-30 09:07:26