14 DAY TRIAL // I've never played pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons. In Communist Romania, it wasn't an option and I was only introduced to D&D when I played the first Baldur's Gate. I began to love it when playing Icewind Dale and was totally addicted to it when playing Baldur's Gate 2. Still, I couldn't get into pen and paper, which probably disqualifies me in the eyes of the purists.
Recently, I reinstalled Neverwinter Nights 2 and Mask of the Betrayer, intent on playing once more through the two campaigns as a preparation to getting and playing the new expansion, Storm of Zehir. So, I loaded up the game, chose a new campaign and then promptly quit. I was utterly overwhelmed.
Developers and game journalists have been talking a lot about the fact that games should offer meaningful choices. Well, the character creation screen in a role playing game and especially in Neverwinter Nights 2, which is based on the D&D 3.5 rule set, is very meaningful, as it will influence the entire way you approach the game. But there's probably a point when there are just too many options on my screen and no clear way in which to screen through them other than just selecting, selecting again and seeing how the final product reflects your initial choice.
In NWN 2, you need to choose a race, a class (further complicated by the addition of Prestige classes that need to be taken into account), starting stats for your character, a deity ruling over you, a background for the guy or girl or demon you are playing as (don't you find it weird that demons, orcs, fiends and yuan ti all have the same gender as us, humans?) and a couple of skills and feats you can accomplish. Sounds like a lot? Well, it is quite a lot. And I spent the better part of three hours reading stuff, going back on choices I had made and creating character images in my head that I translated into the in game world.
I loved it and, at the same time, something told me I also had to hate it a bit. A beginner gamer would absolutely quit that game and never get to see one of the best role playing Faerun based experiences in the history of gaming. Even some veteran gamers who are not well versed in D&D could be put off. I know it's necessary but I can't ignore the fact that the freedom of choice we all love so much and aspire to might at times be just too much. Humans need freedom but also structure.
