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Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
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Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford
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==Development== Alan Miranda was a previous employee of BioWare and had worked on other Dungeons & Dragons titles like ''Neverwinter Nights'' and ''[[Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal]]''.<ref name="nwvcpmi">{{cite web|url=http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=252|title=Cancelled Premium Module Interview -Alan Miranda (Darkness over Daggerford)|date=08-17-2006|publisher=NW Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> In 2003, he left BioWare to form his own company, Ossian Studios, with his wife Elizabeth Starr.<ref name="wcmowint">{{cite web|url=http://www.warcry.com/articles/view/interviews/3805-NWN2-Mysteries-of-Westgate-Interview-with-Alan-Miranda|title=NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate Interview with Alan Miranda|last=Ford|first=Suzie|date=04-14-2008|publisher=Warcry|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> Miranda approached BioWare joint CEO Greg Zeschuk in 2005 to discuss the possibility of Ossian developing a "premium module" for ''Neverwinter Nights''.<ref name="wrapint">{{cite web|url=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/738/738807p1.html|title=Darkness over Daggerford Wrap Report|date=2006-10-13|publisher=RPG Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> Premium modules were adventures created for ''Neverwinter Nights'' by BioWare and other companies.<ref name="bwpremium">{{cite web|url=http://nwn.bioware.com/premium/|title=Premium Neverwinter Nights Modules|publisher=BioWare|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> BioWare had been given autonomy on the premium module process from the game's publisher, [[Atari]], and Zeschuk approved Miranda's proposal.<ref name="wcmowint" /> Miranda's initial draft of the project was a pirate-themed adventure in the [[List of regions in Faerûn|Sword Coast]], which happened to be the same idea that BioWare itself was creating a premium module for, ''[[Neverwinter Nights: Pirates of the Sword Coast]]''. Miranda revised the concept and chose the Western Heartlands as the setting.<ref name="nwvteamint" /> [[File:DoDToolset.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A portion of the city of [[Daggerford]], being created by [[Ossian Studios|Ossian]] designers using ''Neverwinter Night''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[Aurora toolset|toolset]].]] Ossian began putting together the team for the module and decided to hire prominent amateur "modders" from the ''Neverwinter Nights'' fan community.<ref name="nwvteamint">{{cite web|url=http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=256|title=http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=256|date=2006-08-26|publisher=NW Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> The team set out to create a premium module that was ultimately to be as large as an [[expansion pack]],<ref name="nwvcpmi" /> with a large number of sidequests and a focus on exploration, like ''[[Baldur's Gate (series)|Baldur's Gate]]''.<ref name="gsutraint">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12870|title=Road To The IGF: Darkness Over Daggerford's Alan Miranda|last=Wallis|first=Alistair|date=2007-02-23|publisher=Gamasutra|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> Early on, the team decided to focus on the creation of a world map system for ''Daggerford'', as well as a stronghold system that players could use as a customizable home and base.<ref name="nwvcpmi" /> Ossian estimated that a module on par with other large games like ''Kingmaker'' would take four to five months. Pre-production on ''Daggerford'' began in April 2005 and took a month and a half. Ossian went through five designers in this stage, none of whom worked out. Choosing a designer required much of the time allocated for pre-production, and to compensate Ossian developers immediately began creating the game, fleshing out details as they went.<ref name="wrapint2">{{cite web|url=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/738/738807p2.html|title=Darkness over Daggerford Wrap Report (page 2)|date=2006-10-13|publisher=RPG Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> In order to keep in line with the exploration spirit of ''Baldur's Gate'', Ossian hired designers specifically for the game's sidequests.<ref name="spint" /> The world map system in particular posed problems to designers; who stated "the toolset really wasn't made to do what we wanted it to do."<ref name="nwvmapint">{{cite web|url=http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Interviews.Detail&id=254|title=Darkness over Daggerford World Map System - Alan Miranda/Brian Watson|date=08-19-2006|publisher=NW Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> In addition, only Miranda and his wife worked in a [[Brick and mortar business|brick and mortar]] building—most of the game's design was coordinated online using [[Skype]].<ref name="wrapint2" /> The production of ''Daggerford'' took longer than Ossian had anticipated, and in February 2006, BioWare's Live Team Lead Designer Rob Bartel offered the studio advice on their module.<ref name="spint" /><ref name="wrapint2" /> The next month, BioWare inspected the game and approved it for content completion.<ref name="spint2">{{cite web|url=http://www.sorcerers.net/Main/Articles/darkness_over_daggerford_interview2.php|title=Darkness over Daggerford Interview (page 2)|coauthors=Taluntain, Chevalier|date=2006-10-26|publisher=Sorceror's Place|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> In May 2006, Atari cancelled the premium module program, with no warning to developers of the current projects.<ref name="spint2" /> Miranda and his team decided to finish the game anyways,<ref name="gsutraint" /> and in August 2006 it was released free of charge on [[IGN|IGN's]] Neverwinter Nights Vault.<ref name="nwvrelease">{{cite web|url=http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=modules.Detail&id=5122|title=Darkness over Daggerford|date=08-15-2006|publisher=NW Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> Despite the game being self-funded, the cancellation of the premium module program was "more than a little disappointing", according to Miranda. In July 2006, BioWare and Atari decided to release one of the other modules that had been cancelled, ''[[Neverwinter Nights: Wyvern Crown of Cormyr (module)|Wyvern Crown of Cormyr]]'', which Miranda described as "perplexing".<ref name="spint2" /> ===Reception=== ''Darkness over Daggerford'' surpassed 25,000 downloads in five weeks, a higher number than that recorded for previous Neverwinter Nights Vault's Module of the Year winners.<ref name="wrapint4">{{cite web|url=http://rpgvault.ign.com/articles/738/738807p4.html|title=Darkness over Daggerford Wrap Report (page 4)|date=2006-10-13|publisher=RPG Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> The game went on to win the site's Reviewer Award, a Gold Award for the second-best module of 2006, and an entry in their Hall of Fame,<ref name="nwvrelease" /> which collects the highest-rated and most popular modules.<ref name="nwvhallfame">{{cite web|url=http://nwvault.ign.com/static.php?page=Hall_OF_Fame|title=Hall of Fame|publisher=NW Vault (IGN)|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref> It also won the Best RPG Mod award at the [[Independent Games Festival]] in 2007.<ref name="gsutraaward">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12134|title=2007 IGF Mod Category Winners Announced|date=2006-12-16|publisher=Gamasutra|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref>
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