The Neverwinter Formula: "Co-op Dragon Age With a Touch of Oblivion"

[Andy Chalk]

The Neverwinter Formula: "Co-op Dragon Age With a Touch of Oblivion"

Jack Emmert of Cryptic says Neverwinter, the online RPG planned for release next year, will be like "a co-op Oblivion [http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Age-Origins-Pc/dp/B001IK1BWC/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1283975613&sr=1-1]."

A lot of gamers, myself included, still aren't quite sure what to make of Neverwinter, the new RPG Neverwinter Nights [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/102961-Atari-and-Cryptic-Head-Back-to-Neverwinter]. So what's the deal?

"This is an online RPG, a co-op Dragon Age with a touch of Oblivion's exploration," Emmert told Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-09-08-neverwinter-a-co-op-dragon-age]. "That is definitely our goal.

"Dragon Age was a very personal experience, and the Neverwinter project is more about exploration and learning about Neverwinter. You're an adventurer, you've been called here [Neverwinter] and you want to seek your fame and fortune like any true D&D adventurer would," he said. "The focus is a little bit different, but in essence yes, we have the cinematics, the NPCs, the voice acting and the so forth and so on."

But Emmert also noted that while the game will be an online RPG, that doesn't necessarily mean it will be multiplayer. "You can play solo. You're always online; you're never offline. But you can certainly solo through the content," he continued. "There will be persistent areas you travel to where you might see other players, but nobody's going to hold a gun to your head to play with them. There will be content that is team only, but in those cases, if you want to solo it, you can just hire NPC henchmen."

Neverwinter will be similar to Guild Wars [http://www.guildwars.com/], with instanced dungeons, henchman and social hubs, and will offer post-release support "just as if it were an MMO." So why not make things easier for everyone and just call it an MMO? "By re-labeling it I want people going in knowing that we're doing things differently to an MMO," he said. "That doesn't mean that we won't have as many features, it's just that those features might be different."

Neverwinter is scheduled to come out sometime next year, exclusively for the PC.


Permalink

 

[deth2munkies]

This looks like something I could get into, provided there isn't a monthly fee. That's the main impetus for me not playing MMOs atm.

 

[Senrab]

I don't know how I feel about this. I was a major NWN fan, and have even reinstalled it recently to play around with it. This seems different, a little too different. I wont make any calls now, but I don't have my hopes up.

 

[Elementlmage]

"This is an online RPG, a co-op Dragon Age with a touch of Oblivion's exploration," Emmert told Eurogamer. "That is definitely our goal."

Why not make it Neverwinter Night co-op with a mix of Neverwinter Nights, so that you have a reason to call it Neverwinter?

 

[Abedeus]

I have yet to play a good Cryptic game or a good non-Bioware Neverwinter Nights game.

 

[Papadam]

Since its made by Cryptic it will probably be small, shallow and boring but yet more expensive than other games. Thats how the Uwe Boll of gaming roll!

 

[procyonlotor]

Why not make it Neverwinter Night co-op with a mix of Neverwinter Nights, so that you have a reason to call it Neverwinter?

Yes, why don't they?

 

[Hawgh]

I would be more at ease if the guy had said that they actually drew on something, anything from Neverwinter Nights.

 

[GonzoGamer]

This looks like something I could get into, provided there isn't a monthly fee. That's the main impetus for me not playing MMOs atm.

Ditto.
I liked Dragon Age but if it was more like Oblivion I would like it more. Let meplay it with others and I'm there.
I'm just not paying a monthly fee.

Like with the DC game coming to the ps3: I would've given it a shot if there wasn't a monthly fee.

 

[Jandau]

So, it's a great game (Dragon Age) mixed with a shitty game (Oblivion) and with a focus on a game mechanic I personally dislike (co-op)?

I think I'll pass...

 

[Kelethor]

Hmm...You ever hear about how mixing two great things can sometimes lead to disaster.

I think Yahtzee made a relation to that once, But Im far to bored and unwilling to derail the thread to look it up.

OT: i'm a tad hesitant to believe in this. I loved Neverwinter nights, But this thing just seems....I dunno.

 

[Dogstile]

So you're in neverwinter. So far that's the only comparison. Everything else seems different.

 

[Jared]

I agree, it would be a great combonation those two factors - Something brilliant would come of it

 

[Notthatbright]

The guys over at RPG Codex are going to hate this.. as usual

 

[Keava]

Kinda funny way to describe it considering that Dragon Age was heavily based on NwN at first, it was after all cRPG BioWare started working on right after they released Neverwinter Nights.

At the end of the day however i think i'd prefer a proper, improved NwN 3 instead of a GuildWars like product. Multiplayer in previous versions allowed for amazing use of community created content along with servers focused on different kind of play. When it will all mix into one, joyful grindfest it will loose all the appeal and we already have DDO for the DnD based MMO.

 

[Wolfinton]

Kinda funny way to describe it considering that Dragon Age was heavily based on NwN at first, it was after all cRPG BioWare started working on right after they released Neverwinter Nights.

They actually said that they designed the levels for Dragon Age: Origons in NwN first before actually making them for the final game.

OT: I loved NwN but I dont nkow about this, does it even have anything to do with Neverwinter Nights?

 

[s0m3th1ng]

How about call it Neverwinter Mornings?

 

[Azkanan]

"By relabeling it I want people going in knowing that we're doing things differently to an MMO,"

Let's take a look at this. First off, Is it a role playing game? Yes. RPG.
Does it support hundreds of players online? It's Massive Multiplayer. And it's online.

MMORPG. Idiots are just messing with words to make us go "OH WOW, SOMETHING DIFFERENT A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE." Gtfo.

 

[LitleWaffle]

This looks like something I could get into, provided there isn't a monthly fee. That's the main impetus for me not playing MMOs atm.

I also agree.
I don't like the fact that all of these new MMO games that are supposed to be revolutionary to the genre are having a $15 monthly fee. I know they need the money to support the game, but isn't that a little dicky? I used to play improbable island and I donated to them not just because of the sweet loots I got, but also because I liked the game and wanted to keep it going. As annoying as the cash shops are in many of the free mmo's out there, it works very well and you get some sweet loot to make your game more fun while also giving money to the creators.

Don't be dicks creators. I'll pay you anyway. =(

 

[scnj]

So, this is a co-op game, not an MMO? Why are they considering charging a monthly fee? You don't see Epic charging monthly for Gears of War. Or Valve charging for Left 4 Dead.