Matt Norton Interview
Based on message board comments, the plan is to provide more options during dialog with NPCs. How complex will the conversations be? Will additional voice-acting be done per NPC or will it remain the first sentence or two for most encounters?
Overall conversation complexity will be somewhere between BG's and Torment's. There are some unique rewards and training that are only available through dialog. I'm not yet certain just how much voice acting we'll have. My own preference is to have fewer speaking roles, but with more lines of dialog, and more variety, for each one. Parrot-characters drive me nuts. ;)
R. A. Salvatore wrote the Icewind Dale trilogy of novels that developed and popularized the setting for the game. Any chance that the author might appear in the game in some form, such as doing a voice-over for a cameo by one of his characters?
The books that Mr. Salvatore wrote have really defined the Icewind Dale region and we're working closely with both him and Wizards of the Coast to make sure that the adventures we create are right for this very special part of Faerun.
As far as doing a voice-over, that's an interesting idea, though I'm not sure how we'd arrange it.
As the game takes place in a more literarily developed region of the Forgotten Realms than the Sword Coast of BG, has that made creating the game more difficult? Was that a factor in choosing to focus more on underground exploration than walking around the surface? What is the process for approval of the story by Wizards of the Coast and when will you be able to reveal at least the game's background story?
Working in a more developed region hasn't made developing the game more difficult at all. Both Wizards of the Coast and Mr. Salvatore have given us help and suggestions on how to make our game an integral part of Icewind Dale.
The reason that we decided to go more underground was a decision made before we'd even settled on a location in the Forgotten Realms. It just seemed a natural follow-up to the more overland adventuring of BG.
We're still working on finalizing the background story so that it works as part of the established history of Icewind Dale and there don't seem to be any conflicts, but I'm not sure when we'll have a final version and/or when, or if, that will be released to the public.
In BG, there were seven chapters while Tales of the Sword Coast revolved around four major quests. What is the structure of the story in IWD? Will there be any narration?
Icewind Dale starts out with the characters investigating a simple disturbance that leads them to investigate several more paths as the stakes, and risks, grow steadily higher. The primary quests in the game are all part of the same storyline, but how, and where, they fit into the main storyline may not be immediately evident to the player.
We'll probably have some narration in various parts of the game, to help set the mood or tone for some of the chapters but I'd much rather have a character that the players can interact with, or even better a puzzle that the players can figure out, provide any necessary exposition.
Where will the characters start from? Will there be a training period similar to the Candlekeep prologue of BG?
The characters will start in one of the ten towns of Icewind Dale. There are a few beginning adventures in the town where the characters start. This is both to show the player how to do things in the Bioware Infinity Engine as well as to allow the characters to earn a bit of loot and a couple of choice items for themselves. I think it's more fun to learn by doing; most of us have spent enough time in school. ;)
Although you create your entire party instead of enlisting colourful characters like in BG, various NPCs will join the party for certain quests. How will this be implemented? Will the NPCs be present on the screen and follow the party around or will it be like in Might and Magic VI where they were attached to the party but not physical entities once they accepted the offer? If the former, will you be required to move them and will they be immune to being killed (as townspeople had a habit of getting in the way of fireball spells)?
When you meet NPCs that will accompany the party they will show up on your screen as an ally. Most of the time they will follow the party as part of a formation that you select. So, most of the time, you'll have the same chance of toasting an NPC guide (etc.) that you would of scorching a party member. If you cook them, it's no one's fault but your own.
In BG, evil characters were continually harassed by guards and bounty hunters because their reputations were usually low. With the focus on clearing out dungeons instead of interacting with society, will evil be an easier lifestyle in IWD?
Since there are fewer people to interact with in IWD, the NPCs that you can interact with are that much more important. Therefore, being evil will not necessarily be that much easier.
Multiplayer games will not be centered on a single protagonist as in BG. What changes have been made to the multiplayer mode to facilitate this different style? Will everyone still have to go to a dialog screen when one person talks with an NPC or shopkeeper? Will improvements be made to the multiplayer programming code for IWD?
The main difference that we're implementing is that the game won't end if a specific single character (like the party leader in BG) gets killed. As for everyone having to stop while one of your party members trades with a shopkeeper or has a dialogue, there are modifications being made to that and it shouldn't be a problem anymore. There are other improvements being made to the code to make it more multiplayer-friendly as well.
It was possible to create your whole party in BG by starting a multiplayer game and playing it solo. Will this still be an option in IWD? It would provide a method for people to add different characters during the game as you have stated that character creation will not be permitted except at the beginning of a single-player game.
We were just talking about that yesterday. There doesn't seem to be much of a reason to start a game that can only be played solo. It makes more sense to make any game that the player starts capable of having other players added to it. Even if a player plans on playing the game all the way through by themselves, it makes sense to keep the option of allowing other players to join open.
What improvements have been made to the artificial intelligence of the antagonists?
We've worked on quite a few minor tweaks as well as some pathing issues that should make critters much better foes.
In BG, dart throwers were annoyed that they continuously ran out of darts in a weapon slot. Do you plan to make darts either functionally similar to arrows in the ammo slots or allow a greater number of darts/stack? Any ideas being considered to make carrying around gems and jewelry easier?
We're increasing the player's capacity for missile weapon ammunition as well as making a number of items stackable.
I assume you were a dungeon master for pen and paper games. What type of dungeon master were you?
I like an exciting story that makes the players feel like the heroes that they're supposed to represent. For me, helping the players to create a great, heroic, story and having a rollicking good time while doing it is the best part of the game.
I liked being able to trash my initial plans, if necessary, and follow the players. They almost always come up with something you'd never have thought of. One other thing is that I really enjoy coming up with colorful NPCs, villains you love to hate, not-entirely-crazy old hermits, and lovable scoundrels.
As an RPG designer, what trends and new capabilities are you most excited about?
I'm excited about being able to enjoy an adventure in the company of your friends. For me, the best part of pen and paper RPGs was spending time with people I like, doing something that made us all happy. To harness the ability of a computer to show fantastic artwork and effects, and all of the number crunching, while my friends and I spend some time in a kick-ass adventure, is the best of all worlds.
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