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Interplay Targeted By Bioware-fare

Posted by michael on from the neverpublished-nights dept.

corby writes: "Bioware Corp., developer of the highly anticipated multiplayer Dungeons & Dragons game Neverwinter Nights, is escalating the conflict with their troubled publisher Interplay. In September, they filed a lawsuit against the publisher, and now they have terminated their contract with Interplay to distribute Neverwinter Nights. The problem is, these guys need each other. The loss of Neverwinter Nights means that Interplay will lose out on substantial revenue from a surefire hit, but Interplay is apparently the only company with rights to distribute games under the AD&D license."

4 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. They've already cut back Neverwinter Nights... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting
    If you haven't heard, the editing tools (the part of NWN most people thought was nifty) were already stripped from the Non-Windowes versions. Talk was made of including them later, but...


    Stated reason was difficulty breaking them from an MS framework. Seems like a designer fubared by choosing that framework to begin with, huh?

    1. Re:They've already cut back Neverwinter Nights... by LMCBoy · · Score: 5, Interesting

      As I understand it, they designed the Toolset with Borland C++ Builder. They were expecting Borland to have a Linux version of this product (not Kylix), but it never materialized. However, the fact that they used BCB means a Mac version was never in the works...

      --
      Liberal (adj.): Free from bigotry; open to progress; tolerant of others.
  2. Whoa there! by HunterZ · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Back that truck up, slick! Check this out:
    http://www.poolofradiance.com/

    I don't see any mention of Interplay or Bioware there, yet it's an AD&D computer game. Would anyone care to explain?

    --
    Arguing about vi versus Emacs is like arguing whether it's better to make fire by rubbing sticks or banging rocks.
  3. D&D is not enough by fm6 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    D&D software in itself is not that big a thing. Been around for years. Rogue (the original version of Nethack) was an early example. Though Michael Toy had to change the names of the monsters after TSR reminded him that he didn't have a license to use them.

    Put Baldur's Gate and Rogue side by side, and you see that Bioware has done more than just computerize D&D. They've greatly enhanced the user experience with sophisticated interaction, simulation, and non-player character engine. And they've also created a story that is sophisticated enough to engage but simple enough to be managed by a "Dungeon Master" that's just a piece of software, and thus has no ability to improvise. That last is not technically sophisticated, but it's what impresses me the most.