[MUD-Dev] Re: Black Isle's Baldur's Gate

[Chris Gray]

[Raph Koster:]
[>> is JC Lawrence:]

 >> Black Isle appears to be doing a multi-player RPG:
 >> 
 >>   http://www.interplay.com/bgate/index.html
 >> 
 >> Which supports up to 5 simultaneous players per the FAQ at:
 >> 
 >>   http://www.interplay.com/bgate/mb.html
 >
 >Baldur's Gate is probably the most anticipated CRPG of the year. I know
 >I am very much looking forward to getting it. Its focus is a massive
 >non-linear single-player RPG, with the ability for small groups of
 >people to adventure along said non-linear subplots.
 >
 >The whole map is actually modelled and pre-rendered, not tile based, as
 >I understand it.

[Puffs out chest... :-)]

As far as I know, nearly all the work on Baldur's Gate was done by
BioWare. Perhaps "Black Isle" did the multi-player support. BioWare
is located 5 blocks from here, and an ex-coworker works there on it
and other projects. I had a tour and early demo over a year ago.
The scenery is rendered, then hand touched up. The characters, spells,
etc. are all hand drawn, I think. I had a look at the whole world
map when I was there, but I'm afraid I've forgotten most of it (it was
a pencil-drawn one about 3 foot square, on one of the walls). It was
an interesting place and set of people - not something I expected to
find up here in the red-neck country of central Alberta!

If anyone has specific technical questions that aren't answered in
their web pages, I should be able to find his phone number and ask him.
No guarantees I'll get an answer, however!

--
Chris Gray     cg at ami-cg.GraySage.Edmonton.AB.CA