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ROLE MODEL
Engineering Director Justin Quimby on Genre-Redefining RPG D&D Online with Exclusive Screenshots
Wizards, warriors, fabulous treasures and fearsome beasts. stop us if you've heard the setup before. Barely a week goes by without another similarly themed fantasy MMO launching - only come the end of February, we'd bet dollars to daggers only one will remain a true force in Internet gaming.
That's when Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach - the first massively multiplayer title officially endorsed by franchise owners Wizards of the Coast and sporting 3rd Edition rules - hits the streets. Featuring real-time combat in a fantastic setting, complete with an emphasis on fast-paced dungeon hacks as opposed to lengthy level grinds, the outing promises to reinvent the entire category.
Engineering director Justin Quimby gives us the nitty-gritty on the game, explaining how its mostly instanced content (and eye for entertainment value) will change the face of online adventuring as you know it. With exclusive screenshots!:
LQGaming Services:: Obvious, but important question: Given that most MMOs are rooted in fantasy origins, why has it taken this long for a title based on Dungeons & Dragons - a game that's essentially the great grandfather of them all - to come out?.
Justin Quimby: One of the big things to consider is that we wanted to do it right. Dungeons & Dragons is something that a lot of the folks here in the office have been playing for a long, long time. We wanted to be sure that we could do it properly, and bring that passion into the online space. Another thing that's important to note about Turbine is that we worked on Asheron's Call and Asheron's Call 2, and thereby wound up creating some great technology that allowed us to make D&D Online a reality.
LQGaming Services:: Besides that technology, what makes you convinced that you've got what it takes to bring the most important role-playing franchise ever into the MMO realm?
Justin Quimby: Good question. One of the biggest strengths we have is that we're working very closely with Wizards of the Coast to develop the game. We talk to them all the time. We want to be as true to the pen and paper experience as we can. We're always getting their feedback.
The game really reflects the roots of Dungeons & Dragons the tabletop game. When we showed the game to series co-creator Dave Arnesen at GenCon, he said, "Yeah - this is D&D!" That's exciting, when one of the guys who originally made the game tells you that. We just have such passion for the franchise. I've still got my old blue and red boxed sets sitting by my desk. (My parents were smart enough not to let me have crayons or anything, so they remain in good condition.)
"We've gone to incredible lengths to be as true to the pen and paper experience as possible - you could print your character sheet and use it to play the tabletop version"
LQGaming Services:: How true to the source material - rule books, player's guides, novels, etc. - will the title be?
Justin Quimby: Consider this. Every time you attack in our game, you see a d20 pop up on screen that tells you what you rolled. We've gone to incredible lengths to be as true to the pen and paper experience as we can. Arrows do 1d6 damage. We have spells like fireball and magic missile. You could print your character sheet out and with very few modifications be able to play the tabletop version. We have all the ability scores, skills, feats. it all works the same way it does in the original version. That's one of the great things about having the Dungeons & Dragons license too. You don't have to come up with some random name like "magic bolt" for the incantations your wizard casts. you get to call it by the name D&D fans recognize.
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