Neverwinter Nights (2002 video game)
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''Neverwinter Nights'' is a
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
developed by
BioWare BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated Doctor of Medicine, medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip. Since 2007, the company has been owned by American ...
.
Interplay Entertainment Interplay Entertainment Corp. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by developers Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, Troy Worrell, and Rebecca Heineman, as well a ...
was originally set to publish the game, but financial difficulties led to it being taken over by
Infogrames Atari SA (formerly Infogrames Entertainment SA ()), also known as Atari Group, is a French holding company headquartered in Paris that owns mainly video gaming-related interactive entertainment properties. Atari SA's core subsidiaries include ...
, who released the game under their
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range of titles. It is the first installment in the''
Neverwinter Nights ''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set around the city Nev ...
'' series and was released for
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on June 18, 2002. BioWare later released a
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client in June 2003, requiring a purchased copy of the game to play.
MacSoft MacSoft was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993 by Peter Tamte as a subsidiary of WizardWorks, specializing in the production of video game ports from Microsoft Windows to Macintosh operating systems, as well as prod ...
released a
Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
port in August 2003. ''Neverwinter Nights'' is set in the fantasy world of the ''
Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setti ...
'' campaign setting, with the
game mechanics In tabletop games and video games, game mechanics define how a game works for players. Game mechanics are the rules or ludemes that govern and guide player actions, as well as the game's response to them. A rule is an instruction on how to play, whi ...
based on the ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' 3rd edition rules. The
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was designed around an Internet-based model for running a
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(MMOG), which would allow end users to host game servers. Up to 64 players could connect to a single server. The intent was to create a potentially infinite massively multiplayer game framework. This game was named after the original ''
Neverwinter Nights ''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set around the city Nev ...
'' online game, the first graphical
massively multiplayer online role-playing game A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
(MMORPG),Stormfront Studios Honored At 59th Annual Emmy Technology Awards For Creating First Graphical Online Role-Playing Game
MCV, January 10, 2008
which operated from 1991 to 1997 on AOL. The original release of ''Neverwinter Nights'' includes the game engine, a game campaign that can be played as single player or in multiplayer mode, and on Windows releases, the
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toolset used for creating custom content that would run in the same engine. Three expansion packs were subsequently released for the game: '' Shadows of Undrentide'' in June 2003; '' Hordes of the Underdark'' in December 2003; and ''
Kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a monarchy or royal in their political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious, and military means to influence the ...
'' in November 2004. BioWare began selling premium modules through an online store in late 2004. The game's success led to a sequel, ''
Neverwinter Nights 2 ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the second installment in the ''Neverwinter Nights'' series and is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights ...
'', released on October 31, 2006.


Development and release

The game was developed by 65 people. Development time was more than a year and the project had a multi-million dollar budget. The game was announced to use the Omen engine as a replacement for the Infinity engine which was not good enough for the new game. BioWare intended to create a game system which emulated the interactions in a pen-and-paper version of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' including the role of Dungeon Master. They worked alongside the '' AD&D'' to ensure the game framework was faithful to the tabletop game. A posting at the ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' Vault on June 4, 2008 contained information from what appeared to be original ''Neverwinter Nights'' documentation. At the BioWare forums, ''Neverwinter'' lead designer Rob Bartel confirmed that the "series of excerpts from the game's design doc" were not a hoax. When asked if the plans were altered due to time constraints, Bartel referenced various legal difficulties that the company was working through. The game was released for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
in North America on June 18, 2002, in Europe on June 28, and in Australia on July 3.
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released the game as its publisher on March 20, 2003. A
Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...
client for the game was made available on June 19, 2003. A
Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...
port published by
MacSoft MacSoft was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1993 by Peter Tamte as a subsidiary of WizardWorks, specializing in the production of video game ports from Microsoft Windows to Macintosh operating systems, as well as prod ...
was released in North America on July 30, 2003, and in Europe later the same year.


Gameplay

The original scenario supplied with the ''Neverwinter Nights'' is the campaign. It comprises approximately sixty hours of
gameplay Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and Tabletop game, tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and t ...
. The gameplay centers on the development of a
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
(PC) through adventuring, who ultimately becomes the hero of the story. The PC is tasked with defeating a powerful cult, collecting four reagents required to stop a plague, and thwarting an attack on the city of Neverwinter, located along the Sword Coast of
Faerûn Faerûn ( ) is a fictional continent and the primary setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' world of ''Forgotten Realms''. It is described in detail in several editions of the ''Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting'' (first published in 1987 by TSR, I ...
, in the
Forgotten Realms ''Forgotten Realms'' is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setti ...
campaign setting of ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''. The first and final chapters of the campaign deal with the city of Neverwinter itself, but the lengthy mid-story requires the player to venture into the surrounding countryside and travel northward to the city of Luskan. Along the way, many optional side
quest A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. It serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nat ...
s are made available. As in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' tabletop game, the first thing a player must do is create a new character. The game provides a set of ready-made characters, or the player may create one from scratch. A series of panels are presented for selection of the character's gender, race,
character class In tabletop games and video games, a character class is an occupation, profession, or role assigned to a game character to highlight and differentiate their capabilities and specializations. In role-playing games (RPGs), character classes ag ...
,
alignment Alignment may refer to: Archaeology * Alignment (archaeology), a co-linear arrangement of features or structures with external landmarks * Stone alignment, a linear arrangement of upright, parallel megalithic standing stones Biology * Struc ...
, ability scores (such as strength and intelligence), specialized abilities called skills and feats, in-game appearance, and name. This process grants significant allowance for customization; one can be, for example, an outdoorsman ( ranger) or a healer (
cleric Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
), then choose skills and feats that would work well with that class in the game. Following a small prelude, there are four chapters in the original game, with each chapter following part of the general storyline. Within each chapter, there are many quests, subquests, and mini-storylines provided to the player. Depending on the specific quests completed, and the unique items kept, some storylines are continued throughout the entire game, such as the Henchman's or Aribeth's tales. Completing many of the side quests will give the player's character more experience and special items, making them improve more rapidly and continue to make the game easier as the player progresses. These improvements come in the form of levels earned through
experience point An experience point (often abbreviated as exp or XP) is a unit of measurement used in some tabletop role-playing games (RPGs) and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's life experience and progression through the game. Experien ...
s, with each level providing the protagonist with a set of enhancements as selected by the player. The game's mechanics are based on the ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' 3rd edition rule set; the outcome of most actions, such as combat and skills usage, are randomly determined by
dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...
rolls. For example, when a fighter attacks, the computer would digitally "roll" a 20-sided die (called a d20 in-game) to determine if he hits the target. On a success, another die is rolled to determine the damage dealt, with powerful weapons assigned to dice with a greater number of sides, due to their ability to do more damage. Although the outcome of nearly all actions is determined by dice rolls, the player does not see them, with the results calculated in the background. However, the player has the option to display the outcomes of these rolls. The player can control the game almost entirely via the mouse.


Multiplayer

A robust multiplayer component separates ''Neverwinter Nights'' from previous ''Dungeons & Dragons'' games, as this allows players to play on many different servers hosting games. Depending on hardware and
bandwidth Bandwidth commonly refers to: * Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range * Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...
, each server can support up to ninety-six players on the same server application, plus Dungeon Masters (DM) to run the games, if desired. ''Neverwinter Nights'' game modules are run in a variety of genres and themes, including
persistent world A persistent world or persistent state world (PSW) is a virtual world which, by the definition given by Richard Bartle, "continues to exist and develop internally even when there are no people interacting with it". The first virtual worlds were ...
s (which are similar to
MUD Mud (, or Middle Dutch) is loam, silt or clay mixed with water. Mud is usually formed after rainfall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over geological time to form sedimentary rock such as shale or mudstone (generally cal ...
), combat arenas (
player versus player Player versus player (PvP) is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players. This is often compared to player versus environment (PvE), in which the game itself controls its players' opponents and is usually of ...
modules), whole servers dedicated to sexually oriented roleplay, and simple social gatherings similar to a
chat room The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
. BioWare requires that these persistent worlds be free of charge, primarily for reasons of copyright law. Because ''Neverwinter Nights'' lacks a global chat function aside from the supported
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
, players typically join pickup games through the game's multiplayer interface, or schedule games in advance with friends. Matchmaking sites can facilitate scheduling of games, and the experience is much like traditional pen-and-paper
role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, or abbreviated as RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out ...
s. Persistent worlds do this work for them by inviting players to visit their website and continue to roleplay there. An important feature of ''Neverwinter Nights'' is the Dungeon Master Client: a tool that allows an individual to take the role of the Dungeon Master, who guides the players through the story and has complete control of the server. Previous games such as '' Vampire: The Masquerade – Redemption'', based on the printed gamebooks by
White Wolf Publishing White Wolf Entertainment AB, formerly White Wolf Publishing, was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion Rampantcampaigns, while also allowing persistent world servers to flourish by permitting the DMs of those servers to take control of
non-player character A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by a ...
s (NPCs) in mid-game for added realism and flexibility. The Dungeon Master Client also permits the user to spawn and control masses of monsters and NPCs much in the same way as units would be controlled in a
real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
game.


Custom content

''Neverwinter Nights'' ships with the Aurora toolset, which allows players to create custom modules for the game. These modules may take the form of online
multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...
worlds, single player adventures, character trainers or
technology demo A technology demonstration (or tech demo), also known as demonstrator model, is a prototype, rough example or otherwise incomplete version of a conceivable product or future system, put together as proof of concept with the primary purpose of show ...
s. Additionally, several third party utilities have further expanded the community's ability to create custom content for the game. By the end of 2002, there were over 1,000 custom adventures available. Custom content creators are known as builders in the ''Neverwinter Nights'' community. The Aurora toolset allows builders to create map areas using a tile system; the appearance and surface textures of the area are defined by the area's selected tileset. Builders can overlay placeable objects onto areas, and use the built-in scripting language NWScript, which is based on the
C programming language C (''pronounced'' '' – like the letter c'') is a general-purpose programming language. It was created in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie and remains very widely used and influential. By design, C's features cleanly reflect the capabilities of ...
, to run
cut scene A cutscene or event scene (sometimes in-game cinematic or in-game movie) is a sequence in a video game that is not interactive, interrupting the gameplay. Such scenes are used to show conversations between characters, set the mood, reward the ...
s, quests, mini-games and conversations. Third party utilities allow builders to create custom content for most aspects of the game, ranging from new playable races and character classes to new tilesets, monsters and equipment. Custom content is added to the game in the form of hakpaks. Builders have used the Aurora toolset in combination with hakpaks to create playing experiences beyond the scope of the original campaign. Additionally, the Aurora toolset has allowed for the creation of a number of ongoing
persistent world A persistent world or persistent state world (PSW) is a virtual world which, by the definition given by Richard Bartle, "continues to exist and develop internally even when there are no people interacting with it". The first virtual worlds were ...
s modules. Despite the game's age, the ''Neverwinter Nights'' custom content community remains active. The community, mostly centered on the Neverwinter Vault, has created over 4,000 modules for the game, among them, many award-winning adventures and series such as ''Dreamcatcher''. The Aurora toolset is not available for the Linux and Macintosh versions of ''Neverwinter Nights''. The
open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
project neveredit aims to port the toolset features to these platforms. The game's module-making legacy was continued by ''
Neverwinter Nights 2 ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the second installment in the ''Neverwinter Nights'' series and is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights ...
''.


Plot

The story begins with the
player character A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional Character (arts), character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters tha ...
(PC), the protagonist of the story, being sent to recover four creatures (dryad, intellect devourer, yuan-ti, and cockatrice) known collectively as the "Waterdhavian creatures" under the guidance of Lady Aribeth de Tylmarande. The Waterdhavian creatures are needed to make a cure for the Wailing Death, a plague that is sweeping the city of Neverwinter and forcing a quarantine. With the help of Fenthick Moss, Aribeth's love interest, and Desther, Fenthick's friend, the PC is able to retrieve the creatures. As they collect the creatures, they are attacked by mysterious assassins from a cult that is behind the spreading of the plague. As the cure is being made, Castle Neverwinter is attacked by the minions of Desther, who betrays the heroes. Desther takes the completed cure and escapes the castle, with the hero and Fenthick in pursuit. When they catch up to Desther, he surrenders after a short battle. Desther is sentenced to burn at the stake, and Fenthick, despite being unaware of Desther's true intentions, is sentenced to hang. The protagonist meets up with Aribeth and Neverwinter's spymaster, Aarin Gend, to begin searching for the cult responsible for the plague and the attack on Neverwinter. The PC retrieves the diaries of dead cultists and letters from a person named Maugrim Korothir, which convince Aribeth that the cult's headquarters are in Luskan. Aribeth goes ahead to Luskan, and the hero follows after speaking once more to Gend. After arriving in Luskan, the protagonist hears rumors that Aribeth has defected and joined the cultists. These fears are confirmed when she is found meeting with Maugrim and Morag, Queen of the reptilian Old Ones. They seek a group of magical relics called the Words of Power. The protagonist retrieves all of the Words of Power except for one held by the cult. The hero discovers that the Words open a portal to a pocket world inside the Source Stone, where Morag and the other Old Ones sealed themselves long ago to avoid extinction during a primordial ice age. The protagonist confronts Aribeth, and depending on how the meeting is handled, she either surrenders to the PC or they are forced to kill her. The hero battles Maugrim for the final Word, then uses the Words to enter the Source Stone and battle with Morag. After Morag's death, the protagonist escapes the Stone as the world inside it implodes.


Reception


Sales

For the launch of ''Neverwinter Nights'', publisher Infogrames shipped 1 million copies to stores, with half allocated to North America and the rest to international markets. In an experimental move, the company priced the game at $55, an increase over the $50 typical of computer games at the time.
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columnist Chris Morris reported that "gamers complained loudly about" this decision. The game proceeded to sell 125,000 copies by June 27, after its release on the 18th. It debuted at #1 on
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's computer game sales chart during the June 16–22 period, and held the position for two weeks, before being displaced by '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos''. However, ''Neverwinter Nights'' continued to place in the chart's top 10 consistently for its first three months of release. By July 23, the game's global sales had surpassed 200,000 units. NPD reported North American sales of 330,000 copies by late December, which brought in revenues of $18 million. It was ultimately the region's 11th-best-selling computer game of 2002. Greg Zeschuk remarked in June 2003 that ''Neverwinter Nights'' had sold above 1 million copies, before the release of its first expansion pack. In the United States alone, the game sold 510,000 copies and earned $23.2 million by August 2006. At that time, ''
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
'' declared it the country's 26th-best-selling computer game released since January 2000. It also received a "Silver" sales award from the
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, which indicates sales of at least 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom. Combined global sales of ''Neverwinter Nights'' and its expansion packs surpassed 2.6 million units by early 2005; by August 2006, the games totaled 1.3 million sales in the United States alone. Discounting its expansions, the original ''Neverwinter Nights'' ultimately sold 2.2 million copies, as of 2007.


Critical reviews

In general, ''Neverwinter Nights'' was met with positive reviews, receiving "universal acclaim" according to
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
.
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
referred to it as "one of those exceedingly rare games that has a lot to offer virtually everyone, even if they aren't already into RPGs", and praised it for its campaign, its Aurora toolset, and its graphics. The publication later named it the best computer game of June 2002. ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
US'' called it "a total package—a PC gaming classic for the ages", and said that its "storyline sas persuasive as any I’ve encountered in a fantasy roleplaying game". Chris Chan of ''
New Straits Times The ''New Straits Times'' is an English-language newspaper published in Malaysia. It is Malaysia's oldest newspaper still in print (though not the first), having been founded as a local offshoot of Singapore-based ''The Straits Ti ...
'' said, "''Neverwinter Nights'' is every role-playing gamer's dream".
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found that the game's story was "humdrum" and "mediocre". Mark Meadows of '' The Wisconsin State Journal'' agreed, saying the game was too focused on technical details. Victor Godinez of '' Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service'' did not care for the turn-based combat system, preferring to have direct control. He also said the controls were difficult to use occasionally. ''
GamePro ''GamePro'' was an American multiplatform video game magazine media company that published online and print content covering the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software. The magazine featured content on various video ...
'' noted the game's graphics as being "gorgeous" and its sound as "untouchable", and GameZone likewise praised its visuals, specifically mentioning its combat animation and spell effects as being well done.
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
was not as impressed by the graphics, saying "The biggest, and arguably the only, glaring flaw in the game, is its graphics. You can tell that this game has been in development for five years ..; however, they praised its voice acting and music. Godinez agreed, and also liked the game's audio, noting in particular the scraps of conversation that can be heard in the background throughout the city. Allgame praised ''Neverwinter Night''s DM tools, calling the game's level creation options "impressive" and the multiplayer options "great". ''GamePro'' thought that ''Neverwinter Nights'' is the closest that any video game has come to accurately representing the full ''Dungeons & Dragons'' rules, a statement further reinforced by Greg Kasavin of
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
, who said that "Neverwinter Nights isn't the first ''Dungeons & Dragons'' game for the computer to make use of the pen-and-paper game's 3rd Edition rules, but it's the first to implement them so well". GameZone said that the Aurora Toolset was one of the "best features" of the game. John Breeden II of ''
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'' said including the tool set was "smartest thing Bioware did". He went on to say that giving such tools to the players became more commonplace, but was a bold move at the time of the game's release. Chan commented, "you could use the Aurora tools to create a dream world". Peter Suciu of ''
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
'' magazine called ''Neverwinter Nights'' "possibly the richest fantasy PC experience ever created." According to GameSpy, "''Neverwinters contribution to D&D gaming is always a hot topic and a source of argument."


Awards

During the 6th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, ''Neverwinter Nights'' was awarded with " Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year" by the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
(AIAS); it also received a nomination for "Computer Game of the Year". The game also won role-playing game of the year awards from ''
PC Gamer US ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games ma ...
'' and
GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
. RPG Vault declared it "Product of the Year", while '' Computer Games Magazine'' ranked it the year's second-best computer game across all genres. The latter publication's editors wrote that the "single-player game is merely passable", but they highly praised ''Neverwinter Nights'' content-creation tools, and argued that the game is "what computer role-playing games should have been all along". The game won special awards for its technology from ''Computer Games'', the
Game Developers Choice Awards The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding video game developer, game developers and video game, games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by ...
(GDCA) and RPG Vault, the latter two for its network programming and Aurora Neverwinter Toolset, respectively. The Aurora Neverwinter Toolset was also a nominee in the AIAS's " Computer Simulation Game of the Year" category. RPG Vault's staff hailed the tool as "an unprecedented combination of power, flexibility and ease of use." ''Neverwinter Nights'' received further nominations in the AIAS's special categories for "Outstanding Innovation in Computer Gaming" and " Outstanding Achievement in Game Design", and in RPG Vault's categories for music and writing, but lost these to other titles. However, it did win RPG Vault's "Outstanding Achievement in Community Building" prize. ''Neverwinter Nights'' was a runner-up for the "Role-Playing Game of the Year" awards of ''
Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American Video game journalism, computer game magazine that was published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 199 ...
'',
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
,
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
and RPG Vault, all of which went to '' The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind''. The editors of ''Computer Gaming World'' wrote that ''Neverwinter Nights'' "gave gamers a fabulous toolset for creating their own adventures—too bad the single-player campaign prompted a staffwide shrugging of shoulders." It was also nominated as the overall best computer game of 2002 by GameSpot, ''PC Gamer US'' and the AIAS, and as the year's best game on any platform by the GDCA. These prizes went variously to ''Warcraft III'', '' Battlefield 1942'' and '' Metroid Prime''.


Legacy

IGN ranked ''Neverwinter Nights'' No. 4 on their list of "The Top 11 Dungeons & Dragons Games of All Time" in 2014. Ian Williams of '' Paste'' rated the game #4 on his list of "The 10 Greatest Dungeons and Dragons Videogames" in 2015. The game has inspired a number of fan-made films made using
machinima Machinima () is the use of Real-time computing, real-time computer graphics engines to create a cinematic production. The word "Machinima" is a portmanteau of the words ''machine'' and ''Film, cinema''. According to Guinness World Records, ma ...
techniques of synchronizing video footage from a game to pre-recorded dialogue and other audio, such as '' BloodSpell'', and ''Neverending Nights''. Since the original release of ''Neverwinter Nights'', several in-game portraits have been modified in patches due to their having been copied from outside sources. In another instance, the
Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic'', a
role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...
based in the ''
Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...
'' universe, was also released by BioWare using a modified version of the Aurora engine of ''Neverwinter Nights'', called the Odyssey Engine. The sequel, '' Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords'', also used it. Because of this, modders have been able to modify these games using some ''Neverwinter Nights'' modding tools. '' The Witcher'', a role-playing video game by CD Projekt Red, is also based on the Aurora engine of ''Neverwinter Nights''. BioWare used ''Neverwinter Nights'' and its toolset to develop prototypes and mock-ups of various areas and scenarios for '' Dragon Age: Origins''.


Expansion packs and modules

''Neverwinter Nights'' received an
expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...
, '' Neverwinter Nights: Shadows of Undrentide'', in June 2003. Its story line concerns a student sent out to recover some stolen magical objects. The story begins in the Silver Marches, moving toward the desert of Anauroch and the old Netherese city of Undrentide. A second expansion '' Neverwinter Nights: Hordes of the Underdark'' was released in December 2003. The story continued where ''Shadows of Undrentide'' ended, with a character of at least 15th level, and led into the vast subterranean world known as the
Underdark The Underdark is a fictional setting which has appeared in '' Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing campaigns and ''Dungeons & Dragons''-based fiction books, including the Legend of Drizzt series by R. A. Salvatore. It is described as a vast subter ...
. The first chapter of the story took place in the Undermountain dungeon beneath the city of Waterdeep. '' Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker'' was released in November 2004, and features three premium modules: the award-winning ''Kingmaker'', ''Shadowguard'', and ''Witch's Wake''. Atari and BioWare helped to promote and release free downloadable hakpaks, models, and tileset expansion packs, which greatly expanded the possibilities of mod-making. The ''Players Resource Consortium'' (''PRC'') was released in early December 2003, and is a group of hakpaks adding classes, races, skills, and spells to the game. The ''PRC'' has roughly three times the number of prestige classes the original game had. It also adds dozens of epic spells, and many normal spells that make better use of BioWare's Aurora engine.
Psionic In American science fiction of the 1950s and '60s, psionics was a proposed discipline that applied principles of engineering (especially electronics) to the study (and employment) of paranormal or psychic phenomena, such as extrasensory percept ...
powers have also been included. The ''Community Expansion Pack'' (''CEP''), originally released in March 2004 (last updated in January 2017), is based on the ''Neverwinter Nights'' community's fan-made material. This freely downloadable expansion was compiled by members of the community. It combines a selection of previously released custom content into one group of hakpaks. In late 2004, BioWare launched its online store and started selling what it called "premium modules" as part of its digital distribution program. This initiative was led by BioWare's Live Team Lead Designer, Rob Bartel. These smaller-scale adventures introduced new storylines and gameplay, and include new music and art that BioWare integrated into later patches to the core game. According to BioWare, the revenue generated by sales of the premium modules would be used to support their fan community and provide ongoing updates and improvements to the game. The modules that are sold in the BioWare store require an active Internet connection to play, even when played in single player mode. The modules in the ''Kingmaker'' expansion were stripped of this requirement, but are only available for Windows systems. The modules included with ''Neverwinter Nights Diamond Edition'' do not require Internet access to play. In August 2009, BioWare discontinued its selling of premium modules due to a request made by Atari. On June 16, 2011, the ''Neverwinter Nights''
digital rights management Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures, such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM ...
(DRM) authentication server was temporarily taken down as a reaction by
Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...
to the ''Neverwinter Nights'' store being hacked and customer data stolen. Premium modules which were purchased via BioWare's store could not be played during that time because they could not connect to the server to validate the purchase, though DRM-free modules were unaffected. The modules ''Kingmaker'', ''Shadowguard'', and ''Witch's Wake'' were sold as part of the ''Diamond Edition'' package. include '' Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker'', BioWare's flagship premium module, which later received the
Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences (AIAS) is a non-profit organization of video game industry professionals. It organizes the annual Design Innovate Communicate Entertain Summit, better known as D.I.C.E., which includes the presentation ...
" Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year" award. In the module's story, the hero must defeat the evil at the Keep of Cyan and win the throne. Others include '' Neverwinter Nights: ShadowGuard'', created by community member Ben McJunkin; '' Neverwinter Nights: Witch's Wake'', a remastered version of a module by Rob Bartel; ''Neverwinter Nights: Pirates of the Sword Coast''; ''Neverwinter Nights: Infinite Dungeons'', a BioWare module taking place in the Undermountain area below Waterdeep; and ''Neverwinter Nights: Wyvern Crown of Cormyr'', which features fully ridable horses, flowing cloaks, tabards and long coats, a new prestige class (the Purple Dragon Knight), and extensive new art, creatures, and tilesets. Premium modules were eventually discontinued. Three premium modules were known to be in development before cancellation. Two of them ended up being free downloads, while the third, a planned sequel to ''Witch's Wake'', was never released. ''Hex Coda'' by Stefan Gagne, the first cancelled premium module, was released to Neverwinter Vault in May 2005. The story was a mix of fantasy and science fiction and involved the protagonist dealing with the machinations of a multinational corporation called Cathedral. A sequel was in development, but was cancelled. In August 2006, Ossian Studios Inc., headed up by Alan Miranda, a former producer at BioWare, released the second canceled premium module to the Vault: '' Darkness over Daggerford''. The story takes place in and around Daggerford and has been compared favorably to '' Baldur's Gate 2'' in terms of its scope. Characters start at the 8th level. The module includes a cinematic intro (like the main campaign) and a world map. Darkness over Daggerford's status as a quasi-official expansion pack was supported by the next release of the team, this time a fully official one: Mysteries of Westgate for Neverwinter Nights 2.


Sequels

A sequel to ''Neverwinter Nights'', ''
Neverwinter Nights 2 ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the second installment in the ''Neverwinter Nights'' series and is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights ...
'', was developed by
Obsidian Entertainment Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California and part of Xbox Game Studios. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquh ...
, a company with a long history with BioWare. According to BioWare, the change of developer was due to BioWare's business with other titles, such as ''
Mass Effect ''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...
'' and '' Dragon Age: Origins''. ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' shipped in November 2006. On August 23, 2010,
Atari Atari () is a brand name that has been owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by French holding company Atari SA (formerly Infogrames) and its focus is on "video games, consumer hardware, licensing and bl ...
announced
Cryptic Studios Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in MMORPG, massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California, and was a wholly owned Perfect World (company), Perfect World subsidiary, a ...
would be developing '' Neverwinter'', an online role-playing game based on the book series of the same name by R.A. Salvatore. It is based on
Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...
's global property ''
Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
'' rules and feature the titular city Neverwinter. It was scheduled for an early 2013 release, and was ultimately released on June 20, 2013.


Educational usage

''Neverwinter Nights'' has been used by colleges and universities for a variety of educational purposes. It has been used at West Nottinghamshire College in the United Kingdom as a means of delivering key skills and of showing IT designers how to understand the coding in the game. The Synthetic Worlds Initiative at
Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...
has used it as a basis for the creation of '' Arden: The World of Shakespeare'', where Shakespeare's dramatic history of
Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...
and The War of the Roses can be interactively explored. The game and the Aurora toolset were also used at
Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...
in Australia. The
University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...
has offered a video game design course which uses ''Neverwinter Nights'' and the Aurora Toolset as the platform for teaching and course projects. The
University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
has used the game to teach journalism students how to gather facts and information for news events with a modified modern setting for the game that involves interviewing witnesses and doing library research; in a modified game, students would work in pairs putting together a story about a train accident that causes a toxic chemical spill. ''Neverwinter Nights'' has also been used as an interface for some
Moodle Moodle ( ) is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning project ...
activity types.


Editions and re-releases

Atari released subsequent editions of the game following its first release in 2002. These editions are: *''Neverwinter Nights: Gold'' (2003), which includes ''Shadows of Undrentide'' *''Neverwinter Nights: Platinum'' (2004) (in Europe: ''Neverwinter Nights: Deluxe Edition''), which includes both ''Shadows of Undrentide'' and ''Hordes of the Underdark'' *''Neverwinter Nights: Diamond'' (2005) (in Europe: ''Neverwinter Nights Deluxe: Special Edition''), which includes everything in the ''Platinum'' edition plus the ''Kingmaker'' expansion pack **In 2010, the ''Diamond'' edition was licensed for online distribution to GOG.com. Atari also re-released the game and both expansion packs in the following collections: *''Atari Collection: Rollenspiele'' (2005) *''Neverwinter Nights 2: Lawful Good Edition'' (2006) *''Neverwinter Nights 2: Chaotic Evil Edition'' (2006) *''Ultimate Dungeons & Dragons'' (2006); ''Rollenspiele: Deluxe Edition'' (2007) *''Neverwinter Nights 3-Pack'' (2007) *''Neverwinter Nights: The Complete Collection'' (2011) Beamdog announced the upcoming release of ''Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition'' on November 20, 2017. This version includes fixes made by the community since the last release, graphic improvements, premium modules, and the return of a multiplayer server list that was lost when ''
GameSpy GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1999 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for Quake, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
'' shut down. A digital deluxe version includes the soundtrack and the rest of the premium modules. A pre-release version was made available to purchase on November 21. ''Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition'' launched on Steam on March 27, 2018, and on Google Play for Android on December 4, 2018. Skybound Games, a division of
Skybound Entertainment Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. It operates in concert with Image Comics. History Skybound Entertainment is the company behind the long-running comic series, ...
, released Beamdog's remastered version for
Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...
,
PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
, and
Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
on December 3, 2019.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Neverwinter Nights 2002 video games Atari games BAFTA Interactive Entertainment Award for Best Games winners BioWare games Cooperative video games Fantasy video games Game Developers Choice Award winners Infogrames games Linux games MacOS games MacSoft games Massively multiplayer online role-playing games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Role-playing video games Sega video games Video games about cults Video games developed in Canada Video games scored by Jeremy Soule Video games set in castles Video games with gender-selectable protagonists Video games with user-generated gameplay content Windows games Xbox One games