Sword Coast Legends - New Interview

Develop-Online had the chance to interview CEO Dan O'Leary about his studio's new RPG Sword Coast Legends. Just follow this link for the announcement if you missed it.

Tell us more about the talent you have brought on board for this new RPG project. Who have you hired and why?

I first brought on Dan Tudge as president over two years ago. Dan was the director of Dragon Age: Origins, but our paths had first crossed prior to that when he was running his own development studio and we were both working for Nintendo. I hired Dan to fill shoes left empty in 2008 and to help pivot the company. Even then we were talking about this project, which was a great fit for his experience and passion.

In turn, Dan brought in Ross Gardner and Jay Turner, both BioWare vets and prior members of the DA:O team. Ross came on as the project’s technical director, leveraging over 13 years of experience at BioWare on Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2, Neverwinter Nights and The Old Republic, among others.

Jay is the narrative director for Sword Coast Legends. While at BioWare, he wrote for several titles including Dragon Age: Origins, Jade Empire and the Mass Effect series, before moving to EA where he wrote for Dead Space 3 among others. Together with n-Space’s proven team of veteran developers, it is a formidable combination.

How else will you ensure Sword Coast Legends stands toe-to-toe with other games set in the Forgotten Realms universe?

At n-Space, we are all passionate fans when it comes to D&D and the Forgotten Realms, and that passion drives a deep understanding of the brand. The team is committed to authentically recreating the Forgotten Realms setting, its characters and stories, myths and legends to deliver a game that stands tall in a long line of classic D&D titles.

Like many on the team, Sword Coast Legends is a game that I have dreamed of since I was first introduced to D&D. I still vividly remember the moment I learned that skeletons take more damage from blunt weapons than edged. That experience in sixth grade framed my entire understanding of games as rule systems and kickstarted a lifetime of playing and making them. This project brings me full-circle, nearly 30 years later. I speak for the entire team here at n-Space when I say that our goal for Sword Coast Legends is to provide its players with life-long memories of fun-filled experiences.

More information.

I think N-space is trying a wee bit too hard on catching buyers with name dropping.


Saying that, this is another example of a studio wanting to move away from "work-for-hire" to become truly independent and self-published…and once again they pick a game type that "big publishers" don't think can make money. lol

The Hype Train is now leaving Fluent's station at full-speed!!! All-Aboard!

Can't wait to hear more about this one. I hope the devs contact me soon so I can do a preview for the 'Watch!

Originally Posted by azarhal
I think N-space is trying a wee bit too hard on catching buyers with name dropping.

It works for me as they have all the talent to make a good game. Time will tell though.

Originally Posted by Fluent
Can't wait to hear more about this one. I hope the devs contact me soon so I can do a preview for the 'Watch!

Let me know if they agree. It would make a good article on the Watch to convert cynics.

I'm excited. I play games looking for what good about them not their flaws. For example - the atmosphere in POR2 was allowed me to get into it and ignore everything people were complaining about. I concentrated on the classes and features the game had and not what it was missing. I admit however I'm very forgiving of anything bearing the DnD stamp

Sounds pretty good to me.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
I'm excited. I play games looking for what good about them not their flaws. For example - the atmosphere in POR2 was allowed me to get into it and ignore everything people were complaining about. I concentrated on the classes and features the game had and not what it was missing. I admit however I'm very forgiving of anything bearing the DnD stamp

There were some pretty iffy games that came out over the years for DnD….hillsafar anyone?

Hillsfar was ok. It was a fun way to gain a few levels in-between PoR and CotAB

Well it looks sort of like Baldur's Gate. Hopefully it will play like Baldur's Gate too.

This looks good to me.

This article was cool, gave us a bit more info about the game.
More info will come during and after GDC, that is what they said on their forums.
Few more weeks until then.

I like to read name-dropping, if it's names which would entice me to be more interested in the game as is the case here.

Wow you guys are incredible. Name dropping? The question was:

Tell us more about the talent you have brought on board for this new RPG project. Who have you hired and why?

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Wow you guys are incredible. Name dropping? The question was:

Tell us more about the talent you have brought on board for this new RPG project. Who have you hired and why?

He only talked about devs who worked on Dragon Age Origin. We don't know anything about the other "veterans" devs at N-Space.

And I wonder if saying that Jay Turner was Oghren main writer in that interview would gather that much enthusiasm…

When he talked about the actual game he mentioned playing with friends and DM mode. If those are the focus, the game loses me completely. If Baldur's Gate and NWN are the focus, then I stand in line. That is what I need to know. Hybrids rarely work. Show me.

While I still like the idea of another D&D-based game, there have been some real lemons released under that ruleset. (Example: Pools of Radiance: Ruins of Myth Drannor.) I'm simultaneously very hopeful and a little wary about this title.

rj, It's a new D&D game, man. How can you be wary of D&D?!

And was that Pool of Radiance game really that bad? Seems like an interesting one to me. I like games that most people say are trash. Gives me a real thrill and a silly smile comes across my face when I realize the hype wasn't true and the game is worth playing.

Originally Posted by Fluent
And was that Pool of Radiance game really that bad?

I think he is talking about the remake, which win the award for most dangerous bug. One of them was that it erased all of your system installs when you uninstalled it…

Ouch…..as bugs go, that's pretty damn wicked. Just…..ouch.

If Im going to play a Pool of Radiance. I will play the 80's gold box game (and sometimes still do) any …. any day over the 'newer' version.