Feeroper
Member
This is my first new topic thread that I am posting to NeoGaf. I wanted it to be a meaningful one so I chose to write about one of my favorite games of all time.
Its been a good year for RPGs and there has been a couple of notable anniversaries that have sprung up recently like Morrowind. Another game worth mentioning has its 15 year anniversary approaching very soon on June 18, 2017 - Neverwinter Nights. I was inspired to create this thread to discuss memories of this game and the impact it had.
A Legacy on Paper
If you were a fan of NWN, then no doubt you were at least passingly familiar with the game from which it sprang Dungeons and Dragons. D&D entered the market about 43 years ago, best estimation puts it at around January of 1974. It was a small release that a small group of gaming friends printed in their basement. It was born from wargaming roots where Dave Arneson was involved in a unique campaign that focussed on individual characters and what they do between their battles (it was a World War 2 based game). He subsequently shared this idea with Gary Gygax and the 2 of them made gaming history, armed with their shared love of Swords and Sorcery, essentially created the role playing game, and along with it many concepts that we use today across all of gaming be it tabletop or video games. D&D was a true gaming revolution and an important milestone whose ripples in time are strongly felt today. Countless video games and other table top games owe their existence to D&D. I myself have had a long history of tabletop role-playing games that continues today and I still maintain that given the right circumstances a good group of friends and a solid DM/GM, you will never have a better gaming experience in any medium than with a tabletop RPG like D&D. However, part of the issue with this is that it can be difficult to get all of these elements to line up and as a result, many players are unable to really penetrate this great hobby. If only there was a way to experience a great D&D game whenever you wanted without having to line up schedules, and deal with availability conflicts and all the other barriers that can crop up when arranging for a D&D game session...
A Legacy on the Computer Screen
Given the inspiration and imagination that D&D fuelled, coupled with the rise of computers and technology, it was only a matter of time before D&D video games arrived. This was now a way gamers could scratch that D&D itch without all the hassle of setting up a face to face session every time (while the face to face game is unmatched, it isnt always readily available). Many great D&D or D&D inspired games have come and gone over the years, many of which have become mega franchises such as Final Fantasy. Id be remiss if I didnt mention the gold box games from SSI, which were a series of licensed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons computer games that really brought the tabletop game to life as a video game as never before done. These games were so well done that they are remembered very fondly today, despite the technical limitations of their time. However more in line with the topic at hand, there was another D&D licensed game that called back to the gold box game but kicked off another computer RPG renaissance in 1998 Baldurs Gate. This series sparked a slew of CRPGs made with the Infinite engine, and each of these are very well regarded today (I play BG 1&2 to completion once every year in fact). These games offered deep narratives with an attempt to recreate the pen and paper rules in a digital format that would feel faithful to the source and engaging as a video game as well. This was a resounding success and the best realized version of D&D as a computer game yet. It was really only missing one thing.
An Ambitious Vision
When NWN was first announced, there was alot of excitement around the fact that we were getting a new D&D game from Bioware, it was based on the new 3rd edition rules, and it was running on a new state of the art engine. However, easily the biggest news about it was the fact that the game would ship with a robust multiplayer component and content creation system. This game was going to fill in the missing parts of the D&D experience, players were provided with the tools to play together, and importantly, there could also be a DM behind the scenes adapting the story on the fly, much like a real tabletop experience. This was largely unheard of in mainstream video games at this point. You also got a full single player experience as well, and although opinions on the quality of the base games story varied, there was also the option to share and download creations that other players had uploaded. The game saw a wealth of content to be played thanks to this, everything from original content to adaptations of existing games and for the D&D fan, adaptations of some classic pen and paper modules like the Tomb of Horrors. Like everything, quality levels varied from module to module, but there were some real gems there too. The game was well supported and playing with others was very easy. I know that for myself, I was able to reconnect with some gamers that I used to play D&D with from years ago and organize an online game with NWN every week with a DM running the show behind the scenes. It was a great revival for our group that had ended due to external circumstances before (many members moved away for work, or school), and this was a way that we could re-connect. We have maintained our gaming since then too, and I have always credited NWN for offering that experience to strengthen those gaming bonds. Moving forward Bioware released a couple premium modules and 2 expansion packs that seemed to greatly increase in quality. This was a great time for RPGs in general and really redefined what a CRPG could offer in terms of delivering the D&D experience.
A Community with Legs
The NWN community was huge and is still going to this day. Thanks to places like GOG, we have versions of NWN that run on modern hardware. However the community has really provided this game with its lasting legacy. I remember participating in annual online NWN conventions and being absolutely blown at how strong the community support was the community expansion pack for example, and all the shared resources outside of the game as well. I remember participating in one the annual conventions as a player and upon completion of the module we sat, down in-game with the DMs avatar to discuss what worked and what didnt for the scenario we played so the DM could adjust as needed for later slots of the same game. It felt like such a good realization of the D&D experience, and this convention felt like it could have been a tabletop game run at Gen Con for example (one of my most frequently attended cons). We have since seen the impact that NWN had in various ways, The Witcher 1 for example was built on a modified version of the Aurora toolset, the ill fated Sword Coast Adventures in recent years tried to capture what NWN had developed. The setting was used again for the MMO Neverwinter. There was a good sequel to NWN created that carried the torch for a while as well. Id even go as far to say that the 4 v 1 style of game has some inspiration from the new approach that NWN took although it is a different style of game, I still feel like I can recognize some of that DNA. The Infinite engine games have been given the enhanced treatment in recent years, and I feel it is only a matter of time before we get some form of enhanced/remastered treatment for NWN (or maybe Im just hopeful). Either way, this game will always hold a place in my heart as a game that came the closest to bridging the gap between tabletop RPG and CRPG.
For my money, NWN was the last truly great Bioware game that was released (Im willing to make an exception for KOTOR as well I suppose, but that was the beginning of their downward trend imo).
I know overall there were more mixed opinions on NWN vs. Baldurs Gate, but this thread isnt meant to argue one over the other, I just wanted to acknowledge how special NWN was to me back then and the place it holds in my heart. It mostly due to the experience it provided as opposed to the storyline presented in the main campaign. NWN is one of those video gaming memories that I will never forget, akin to the first time I played Super Mario 64.
What are your thoughts on this game and its legacy? Please feel free to share any memories you have.
Its been a good year for RPGs and there has been a couple of notable anniversaries that have sprung up recently like Morrowind. Another game worth mentioning has its 15 year anniversary approaching very soon on June 18, 2017 - Neverwinter Nights. I was inspired to create this thread to discuss memories of this game and the impact it had.
A Legacy on Paper
If you were a fan of NWN, then no doubt you were at least passingly familiar with the game from which it sprang Dungeons and Dragons. D&D entered the market about 43 years ago, best estimation puts it at around January of 1974. It was a small release that a small group of gaming friends printed in their basement. It was born from wargaming roots where Dave Arneson was involved in a unique campaign that focussed on individual characters and what they do between their battles (it was a World War 2 based game). He subsequently shared this idea with Gary Gygax and the 2 of them made gaming history, armed with their shared love of Swords and Sorcery, essentially created the role playing game, and along with it many concepts that we use today across all of gaming be it tabletop or video games. D&D was a true gaming revolution and an important milestone whose ripples in time are strongly felt today. Countless video games and other table top games owe their existence to D&D. I myself have had a long history of tabletop role-playing games that continues today and I still maintain that given the right circumstances a good group of friends and a solid DM/GM, you will never have a better gaming experience in any medium than with a tabletop RPG like D&D. However, part of the issue with this is that it can be difficult to get all of these elements to line up and as a result, many players are unable to really penetrate this great hobby. If only there was a way to experience a great D&D game whenever you wanted without having to line up schedules, and deal with availability conflicts and all the other barriers that can crop up when arranging for a D&D game session...
A Legacy on the Computer Screen
Given the inspiration and imagination that D&D fuelled, coupled with the rise of computers and technology, it was only a matter of time before D&D video games arrived. This was now a way gamers could scratch that D&D itch without all the hassle of setting up a face to face session every time (while the face to face game is unmatched, it isnt always readily available). Many great D&D or D&D inspired games have come and gone over the years, many of which have become mega franchises such as Final Fantasy. Id be remiss if I didnt mention the gold box games from SSI, which were a series of licensed Advanced Dungeons and Dragons computer games that really brought the tabletop game to life as a video game as never before done. These games were so well done that they are remembered very fondly today, despite the technical limitations of their time. However more in line with the topic at hand, there was another D&D licensed game that called back to the gold box game but kicked off another computer RPG renaissance in 1998 Baldurs Gate. This series sparked a slew of CRPGs made with the Infinite engine, and each of these are very well regarded today (I play BG 1&2 to completion once every year in fact). These games offered deep narratives with an attempt to recreate the pen and paper rules in a digital format that would feel faithful to the source and engaging as a video game as well. This was a resounding success and the best realized version of D&D as a computer game yet. It was really only missing one thing.
An Ambitious Vision
When NWN was first announced, there was alot of excitement around the fact that we were getting a new D&D game from Bioware, it was based on the new 3rd edition rules, and it was running on a new state of the art engine. However, easily the biggest news about it was the fact that the game would ship with a robust multiplayer component and content creation system. This game was going to fill in the missing parts of the D&D experience, players were provided with the tools to play together, and importantly, there could also be a DM behind the scenes adapting the story on the fly, much like a real tabletop experience. This was largely unheard of in mainstream video games at this point. You also got a full single player experience as well, and although opinions on the quality of the base games story varied, there was also the option to share and download creations that other players had uploaded. The game saw a wealth of content to be played thanks to this, everything from original content to adaptations of existing games and for the D&D fan, adaptations of some classic pen and paper modules like the Tomb of Horrors. Like everything, quality levels varied from module to module, but there were some real gems there too. The game was well supported and playing with others was very easy. I know that for myself, I was able to reconnect with some gamers that I used to play D&D with from years ago and organize an online game with NWN every week with a DM running the show behind the scenes. It was a great revival for our group that had ended due to external circumstances before (many members moved away for work, or school), and this was a way that we could re-connect. We have maintained our gaming since then too, and I have always credited NWN for offering that experience to strengthen those gaming bonds. Moving forward Bioware released a couple premium modules and 2 expansion packs that seemed to greatly increase in quality. This was a great time for RPGs in general and really redefined what a CRPG could offer in terms of delivering the D&D experience.
A Community with Legs
The NWN community was huge and is still going to this day. Thanks to places like GOG, we have versions of NWN that run on modern hardware. However the community has really provided this game with its lasting legacy. I remember participating in annual online NWN conventions and being absolutely blown at how strong the community support was the community expansion pack for example, and all the shared resources outside of the game as well. I remember participating in one the annual conventions as a player and upon completion of the module we sat, down in-game with the DMs avatar to discuss what worked and what didnt for the scenario we played so the DM could adjust as needed for later slots of the same game. It felt like such a good realization of the D&D experience, and this convention felt like it could have been a tabletop game run at Gen Con for example (one of my most frequently attended cons). We have since seen the impact that NWN had in various ways, The Witcher 1 for example was built on a modified version of the Aurora toolset, the ill fated Sword Coast Adventures in recent years tried to capture what NWN had developed. The setting was used again for the MMO Neverwinter. There was a good sequel to NWN created that carried the torch for a while as well. Id even go as far to say that the 4 v 1 style of game has some inspiration from the new approach that NWN took although it is a different style of game, I still feel like I can recognize some of that DNA. The Infinite engine games have been given the enhanced treatment in recent years, and I feel it is only a matter of time before we get some form of enhanced/remastered treatment for NWN (or maybe Im just hopeful). Either way, this game will always hold a place in my heart as a game that came the closest to bridging the gap between tabletop RPG and CRPG.
For my money, NWN was the last truly great Bioware game that was released (Im willing to make an exception for KOTOR as well I suppose, but that was the beginning of their downward trend imo).
I know overall there were more mixed opinions on NWN vs. Baldurs Gate, but this thread isnt meant to argue one over the other, I just wanted to acknowledge how special NWN was to me back then and the place it holds in my heart. It mostly due to the experience it provided as opposed to the storyline presented in the main campaign. NWN is one of those video gaming memories that I will never forget, akin to the first time I played Super Mario 64.
What are your thoughts on this game and its legacy? Please feel free to share any memories you have.