''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games 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, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
and
Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Irvine, California. It was founded in June 2003, shortly before the closure of Black Isle Studios, by ex-Black Isle employees Feargus Urquhart, Chris Avellone, Chris Par ...
, based on 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 alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a ...
'' campaign setting of the ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...
''
role-playing game
A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, 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 these roles within ...
. Aside from also being set in the Dungeons & Dragons world and around its city Neverwinter, it is unrelated to both the 1991 ''
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 in the Dungeons & Dr ...
'' online game and the 2013 online game called ''
Neverwinter''.
Overview
The ''Neverwinter Nights'' series take place primarily in the city of
Neverwinter, located in the
Sword Coast
A sword is an edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter blade with a pointed tip ...
region of the fictional land 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, Inc.) ...
''. Also commonly referred to as the City of Skilled Hands, Neverwinter grew from a multi-racial settlement named ''Eigersstor'' founded several hundred years prior to the start of ''
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 in the Dungeons & Dr ...
''. At the time the first game takes place, the city of Neverwinter was beset by a magical plague named the Wailing Death, whereas in the second game the city is threatened by an invasion from its ancient enemy named the King of Shadows.
Gameplay
The ''Neverwinter Nights'' series is a franchise of role-playing games with a third-person isometric perspective. The systems of the games are based on the rules of ''Dungeons & Dragons'', a table-top role-playing game originally developed by
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
Both ''Neverwinter Nights'' and ''
Neverwinter Nights 2
''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights (2002 video game), Neverwinter Nights'', based on the ''Dungeons & ...
'' contain three game modes: a default campaign, a multiplayer mode, and custom contents.
Campaign
Both ''Neverwinter Nights'' and ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' include a default campaign, which focus on the development of the player character through a series of distinct acts. In addition to the main story, the player also has the opportunity to undertake a variety of side quests, some of which form storylines that span the entire game. The player has the ability to make key choices in specific quests can affect combat encounters, key plot points, and the outcome of the overarching story.
Before the player can begin the campaign, they must first create a new character through the game's character creation interface. The player may customize a new character from scratch, or select one of the pre-set characters provided by the games. If the player chooses to create a new character, they are then guided through a series of choices about their character, including race, class, appearance etc.. Some of the choices such as gender and appearance are purely cosmetic, whereas others such as race and class affect how the player character fights and what abilities they have access to.
Custom content
In addition to the base campaign and the multiplayer mode, both Neverwinter Nights and ''Neverwinter Nights 2'' also included sets of software development tools which allow the players to create custom campaigns which they can then share with other players.
[Tonden (2019, May 31). ''Aurora Toolset''. https://nwn.wiki/display/NWN1/Aurora+Toolset. Neverwinter Nights Wiki.] ''Neverwinter Nights'' shipped with the ''
Aurora Toolset
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. It was founded in 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk and Augustine Yip, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zeschuk. Since 2007, th ...
'',
[ while Neverwinter Nights 2 shipped with the '']Electron Toolset
''Neverwinter Nights 2'' is a role-playing video game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Atari Interactive. It is the sequel to BioWare's ''Neverwinter Nights'', based on the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy tabletop role-playin ...
'', which was completely rewritten 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, alongside Trent Oster, Brent Oster, and Marcel Zes ...
using the programming language C#.
Reception
The first instalment in the series, ''Neverwinter Nights'', was generally well received according to review aggregator Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which gave it a score of 91/100 based on 34 critic reviews and a score of 8.1/10 based on 608 user reviews. 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 ...
praised the game's accessibility, calling it "one of those exceedingly rare games that has a lot to offer virtually everyone, even if they aren't already into RPGs". Gamezone appreciated the game's graphic and sound design, and that "the musical score foreshadows game action (the music picks up in intensity when combat looms), and is well done". Allgame
RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel.
Blinkx was founded in 2004, went publ ...
reviewer Mark Hoogland commended the Aurora toolset shipped with ''Neverwinter Nights'', calling the breadth of level, story, environment, and module creation options "impressive". Eurogamer
''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 and owned by alongside formed company Gamer Network. Its editor-in-chief is Martin Robinson.
Since 2008, it is known for the formerly eponymous games trade fair EGX ...
reviewer Gestalt was less convinced, criticising the single-player campaign's emphasis on combat encounters over "actual roleplaying", but was optimistic that the game's mod support will give it longevity.
Compared to ''Neverwinter Nights, Neverwinter Nights 2'' received a lower Metacritic score of 82/100 based on 46 critic reviews and 6.6/10 based on 633 user reviews. The game's story continued to attract praise from critics such as Greg Mueller of GameSpot, who was impressed by the "very apparent" impact that player choice has on the way the story unfolds. Some critics like IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game 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 distri ...
's Charles Onyett also enjoyed the game's sound and graphics design, in particular the visceral orchestral soundtrack during battles.
A common complaint from critics was ''Neverwinter Nights'' 2's numerous technical glitches. Eurogamer drew particular attention to the bugs surrounding "pathfinding and NPCs' artificial intelligence", a problem which contributor Kieron Gillen found made precise control in combat difficult. IGN also acknowledged the game's technical glitches, but commented that none of them "hampered... gameplay experience".
Legacy
The Neverwinter Nights series has been adopted by a number of educators for use in the classroom. 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,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...
's Professor Mike Carbonara and colleagues made use of the ''Aurora Toolset'' to develop an "economics game" aimed at teaching the concepts of fixed price commerce, mark up, and supply and demand. Squire & Jenkins at MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
Education Arcade created the multiplayer game Revolution, which allows players to roleplay characters with different dispositions and political views in 1770s colonial Williamsburg, with an aim to improve the student's understanding of the American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. In 2005, researchers Nora Paul and Kathleen A. Hansen designed a custom module for journalism students; players took on the role of a journalist investigating a train derailment in the fictional American town named Harperville, during which they must investigate and analyse multiple sources.[Paul, N., Hansen, K., & Taylor, M. (2005). Modding' Education: Engaging Today's Learners. International digital media and arts journal, 2(1), Spring.]
Games
* A "premium module" is a small-scale, stand-alone adventure.
* An "adventure pack" is similar to the first game's premium modules.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neverwinter Nights (Series)
Video game franchises introduced in 2002