Interview with James Ohlen
What facet of design do you enjoy the most--the characters, locales, plot, quests-and why?
I enjoy trying to figure out how to bring a game system to the PC platform. Doing the game system design is what I find to be the most challenging and enjoyable of my tasks. A close second is story design. Designing a story to fit within the confines of a game is no easy task, and I've learned a lot of lessons from my experiences on BG1.
More powerful monsters in AD&D tend to have a wealth of special powers. Has it been more difficult to suitability depict some of the new monsters? Would you reveal one that has yet to mentioned publically?
Sorry, I don't want to reveal all of the monsters quite yet. I will say that our largest monsters are not included on that list.
Will the returning NPCs have the same voice actors as in BG? How has the voice acting for NPCs been modified? Will there still be a narrator and dream sequences?
We will probably get the same voice actors for the returning NPCs. We will have a narrator for certain in game movies, and while we will be having dream sequences in BG2, they will be MUCH better than they were in BG1.
What changes have been made to multiplayer to make it more stable? Has the switch to DirectX7 been beneficial? Which designer is best during kit versus kit deathmatches?
Multiplayer now has non-pausing dialogue. This adds immensely to the flow of game play, as no longer do players have to listen to non-critical dialogue. We are also contemplating adding a new multiplayer feature that would appeal to RTS fans. I can't say much more, as it isn't a certainty yet.
How challenging has it been it to implement 170 new spells in BG2? Are the spell's special effects proportional to the spell's level? What are some examples of spells that have been completed recently?
It's been a huge programming, design and art task to implement 170 spells. We've added a level of strategic combat with our spells that I don't think has been seen in an RPG yet. As to the spell animations, we've tried to have interesting animations for spells of all levels, though due to their nature, the high level spells do have the most impressive visual effects. Some spells we're experimenting with right now include Earthquake and Creeping Doom.
Have the artists started on the player and NPC portraits? How many new ones will be available?
The artists have started on the new portraits, and we plan to have at least 20 new ones. Mike has refined his style for BG2, and if you've seen some of the promotional art for BG2, you'll know how good these portraits are going to look.
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