Neverwinter (video game)
Encyclopedia
Neverwinter is an upcoming massively multiplayer online role-playing game
in development by Cryptic Studios
for the Microsoft Windows
platform and is currently scheduled for a "late" 2012 release. Based in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons
city of Neverwinter
, the game was originally scheduled to be released as a crossmedia
event coinciding with the release of an upcoming trilogy of books by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore as well as an upcoming tabletop game
from Wizards of the Coast
. Neverwinter was announced on August 23, 2010. Neverwinter is a standalone game and not part of the previous Neverwinter Nights series.
website. Atari also bought Cryptic Studios around this time.
On August 23 2010, Atari announced their Neverwinter Nights MMO game entitled Neverwinter to be developed by Cryptic Studios. However, due to a lack of details, Atari is still more heavily promoting Turbine's Dungeons & Dragon's Online. They revealed that the game would coincide with a multi-media event revolving around the city of Neverwinter, including the release of four books (one already in stores), a co-operative board game and a D&D role-playing game being released to promote the launch of the MMO. In May 2011, Atari announced that it would be selling Cryptic Studios. They stated that operations of Star Trek Online
and Champions Online
would continue as normal and that the development of Neverwinter, too, would continue as normal. Gamasutra reported that development of Neverwinter would continue as normal only for the time being.
The game was first publicly displayed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
in which many details about the game were revealed. Due to Cryptic's acquistition by Perfect World Entertainment
, Neverwinter was delayed to 2012. On October 5th 2011, Perfect World announced that Neverwinter has shifted from the co-operative multiplayer game that was announced the previous year into a free-to-play MMO. This further delayed the game to the back end of 2012.
classes
and form a group of up to five; including other players or computer-controlled non-player characters. A player-created content system codenamed "Foundry" will allow players to create their own stories and quests.
When asked for gameplay details during an interview with MaximumPC.com, Cryptic Studios chief operating officer
Jack Emmert explained, "It's not an MMO in the sense that there aren't zones with hundreds-and-hundreds of people. You are not fighting for spawns. There's a very strong storyline throughout the game. So it's more of a story-based game closer to things like Dragon Age
or Oblivion
, which we really try to follow."
Until Cryptic sold out to Perfect World Entertainment, Neverwinter would have been based around a modified version of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition rule-set making it the first game in the Neverwinter Nights series
to do so, the previous games never having gone beyond 3.5; including the use of healing surges and action points which will be implemented through a system referred to as "boons," allowing a player to perform an extra special ability upon accumulating enough of these action points through combat and other actions. On October 5, 2011, it was announced that the gameplay of Neverwinter will be re-structured into a Free-to-play MMO in which the game itself is free to play, but items and other advantages are available for purchase with a credit or debit card for a as yet unannounced fee.
, the remaining citizens form factions and struggle for dominance over the populace as the dead begin to rise and attack "the city they once called home." Easter Eggs which reference the previous Neverwinter Nights games will be scattered throughout the locations of the game.
In the E3 2011 trailer for the game, many factions of the game were shown. The most notable of the bunch being an army of skeletons with the female lich, Valindra, as their chief and a blue dragon as their leader. These are the dead citizens of Neverwinter that are attacking their home. The player is investigating the Sect Crown of Neverwinter and trying to figure out what the skeletons and some mysterious group are looking for and what they are trying to acquire.
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game
Massively multiplayer online role-playing game is a genre of role-playing video games in which a very large number of players interact with one another within a virtual game world....
in development by Cryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios, a wholly owned Perfect World subsidiary, is a small American massively multiplayer online role-playing game developer headquartered in Los Gatos, California.-History:...
for the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
platform and is currently scheduled for a "late" 2012 release. Based in the fictional Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
city of Neverwinter
Neverwinter
Neverwinter is a fictional city-state in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Neverwinter was founded by Lord Halueth Never...
, the game was originally scheduled to be released as a crossmedia
Crossmedia
Cross Media is a media property, service, story or experience distributed across media platforms using a variety of media forms...
event coinciding with the release of an upcoming trilogy of books by fantasy author R.A. Salvatore as well as an upcoming tabletop game
Tabletop game
Tabletop game is a general term used to refer to board games, card games, dice games, miniatures wargames, tile-based games and other games that are normally played on a table or other flat surface...
from Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
. Neverwinter was announced on August 23, 2010. Neverwinter is a standalone game and not part of the previous Neverwinter Nights series.
Development
Turbine, the developers of Dungeons & Dragons Online sued Atari for not promoting the online game's free-to-play launch. The reason was that Turbine believed that Atari was under-promoting the game in order to promote their own internally-developed Dungeons & Dragons MMO therefore they wanted the publishing rights to themselves in order to promote it. The result was of Atari retaining publishing rights in some areas and Turbine gaining them elsewhere and Dungeons & Dragons online being more heavily promoted. During this time, concept art of what appeared to be locations on the Sword Coast was leaked onto the Cryptic StudiosCryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios, a wholly owned Perfect World subsidiary, is a small American massively multiplayer online role-playing game developer headquartered in Los Gatos, California.-History:...
website. Atari also bought Cryptic Studios around this time.
On August 23 2010, Atari announced their Neverwinter Nights MMO game entitled Neverwinter to be developed by Cryptic Studios. However, due to a lack of details, Atari is still more heavily promoting Turbine's Dungeons & Dragon's Online. They revealed that the game would coincide with a multi-media event revolving around the city of Neverwinter, including the release of four books (one already in stores), a co-operative board game and a D&D role-playing game being released to promote the launch of the MMO. In May 2011, Atari announced that it would be selling Cryptic Studios. They stated that operations of Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online
Star Trek Online, often abbreviated as STO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Cryptic Studios based on the popular Star Trek series created by Gene Roddenberry. The game is set in the 25th century, 30 years after the events of Star Trek Nemesis...
and Champions Online
Champions Online
Champions Online is a free-to-play superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game by former City of Heroes/Villains developer Cryptic Studios based on the Champions license. The game's rules and setting are loosely based on the HERO System ruleset...
would continue as normal and that the development of Neverwinter, too, would continue as normal. Gamasutra reported that development of Neverwinter would continue as normal only for the time being.
The game was first publicly displayed at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011
The Electronic Entertainment Expo 2011, commonly known as E3 2011, was the 15th Electronic Entertainment Expo held. E3 is an annual trade show for the computer and video games industry presented by the Entertainment Software Association . The event took place June 7–9, 2011 at the Los Angeles...
in which many details about the game were revealed. Due to Cryptic's acquistition by Perfect World Entertainment
Perfect World (company)
Perfect World is a China-based online game company specializing in MMORPGs. Beijing Perfect World Co. was founded in 2004 by Chi Yufeng, the president of Human Software Corporation. The company aims to develop and market games with Chinese characteristics...
, Neverwinter was delayed to 2012. On October 5th 2011, Perfect World announced that Neverwinter has shifted from the co-operative multiplayer game that was announced the previous year into a free-to-play MMO. This further delayed the game to the back end of 2012.
Gameplay
According to an August 23, 2010 press release, players will become one of five classic Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
classes
Character class (Dungeons & Dragons)
A character class is a fundamental part of the identity and nature of characters in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. A character's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses are largely defined by his or her chosen class; choosing a class is one of the first steps a player takes in order to...
and form a group of up to five; including other players or computer-controlled non-player characters. A player-created content system codenamed "Foundry" will allow players to create their own stories and quests.
When asked for gameplay details during an interview with MaximumPC.com, Cryptic Studios chief operating officer
Chief operating officer
A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
Jack Emmert explained, "It's not an MMO in the sense that there aren't zones with hundreds-and-hundreds of people. You are not fighting for spawns. There's a very strong storyline throughout the game. So it's more of a story-based game closer to things like Dragon Age
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise...
or Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is a single-player action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks and the Take-Two Interactive subsidiary 2K Games...
, which we really try to follow."
Until Cryptic sold out to Perfect World Entertainment, Neverwinter would have been based around a modified version of the Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition rule-set making it the first game in the Neverwinter Nights series
Neverwinter Nights (series)
Neverwinter Nights is a series of video games developed by BioWare, Obsidian Entertainment and Cryptic Studios, based on the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game...
to do so, the previous games never having gone beyond 3.5; including the use of healing surges and action points which will be implemented through a system referred to as "boons," allowing a player to perform an extra special ability upon accumulating enough of these action points through combat and other actions. On October 5, 2011, it was announced that the gameplay of Neverwinter will be re-structured into a Free-to-play MMO in which the game itself is free to play, but items and other advantages are available for purchase with a credit or debit card for a as yet unannounced fee.
Characters and Setting
According to the initial press release issued by Atari, the setting city of Neverwinter takes place in a time when the city is plunged into chaos after the death of the Lord of Neverwinter. In the aftermath of the spellplague and a primordial destroying Neverwinter, as seen in the novel GauntlgrymGauntlgrym
Gauntlgrym is a novel released in October 2010 by fantasy author R. A. Salvatore set in the Forgotten Realms campaign world. It follows the continued adventures of drow elf renegade, Drizzt Do'Urden...
, the remaining citizens form factions and struggle for dominance over the populace as the dead begin to rise and attack "the city they once called home." Easter Eggs which reference the previous Neverwinter Nights games will be scattered throughout the locations of the game.
In the E3 2011 trailer for the game, many factions of the game were shown. The most notable of the bunch being an army of skeletons with the female lich, Valindra, as their chief and a blue dragon as their leader. These are the dead citizens of Neverwinter that are attacking their home. The player is investigating the Sect Crown of Neverwinter and trying to figure out what the skeletons and some mysterious group are looking for and what they are trying to acquire.