The Concept

Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Atari (Infogrames)
Neverwinter Nights official page: http://nwn.bioware.com

The Game that Wouldn’t End

The original premise around Neverwinter Nights was to bring tabletop D&D sessions to the computer. On one hand, Neverwinter would take care of the nitty-gritty details for the DM. On the other, it would provide a clear environment for the players – a way to see everything, instead of having to imagine it.

Little has changed in the five years of development, though much has been added. The singleplayer game went from a “demonstration module”, through “a series of short modules” to four massive chapters, a la Diablo II. While this will not be the end of comparisons to Diablo II, rest assured that NWN is quite different from that game. It does not have the depth of Baldur’s Gate or Planescape: Torment but is not as hack-and-slash as Diablo II.

But I made my own

Look! LOOK AT ALL MY POWER!

Let's give someone XP

Three parts

Neverwinter Nights is essentially a three-part product. The first is the singleplayer game itself – scarcely different from past BioWare or Black Isle products, less the graphics. The player adventures along with his own character and an NPC henchman helper. There is no six-man party, but after a bit of getting used to, the difference becomes merely cosmetic. The second part is the multiplayer game. Players can go through a singleplayer module and let the computer and pre-scripted events handle DMing aspects, or an empty module may be prepared which is then managed by a DM using the DM client. He would control NPCs, the flow of the plot and encounters. To create the modules, the DM takes advantage of the third piece – the toolset. Creating a multiplayer module is a task fit for a halfwit monkey. It’s just a matter of designing terrain, placing NPCs, monsters and storekeepers.

A pitiful level 1 Dwarf Paladin

Faint wisps of smoke rise from the torch!

Should I buy it?

Neverwinter is designed to have something for everybody. Something for those who just want to play through an RPG, more for those who’d like to join their friends on a campaign, or those who want to create and lead the story. Heck, even those who want to just create, can learn scripting and make singleplayer modules.