Dragonshard Diary #1 at IGN

Remove all ads!

IGN has posted the first item in the series of Dragonshard diaries. Here's a snip:

When first given the opportunity to take the Dungeons & Dragons franchise and turn it into a real-time strategy experience, we were overcome with excitement over what cool gaming potential such a title would have. Then, we suddenly realized the demands a D&D universe called for: detailed environments full of history in which to explore, races and creatures beyond imagination, mystical and powerful items, armor, and weapons long forgotten, and of course the dangerous realms deep below the surface. With so many things to take into consideration, where do you start?

The answer was in the name: Dungeons & Dragons. We quickly began putting together a series of inter-connecting rooms, doors, and passageways much like those you would see in an issue of Dragon magazine, only ours were digital. Much to our dismay, we found that our computer-generated dungeon kit made things seem too confined and thus didn't give the environment the epic feel we were pursuing. It just didn't feel right. So, we changed our focus toward creating an entire underground city with towers that reached high enough to poke through the ground above, and glass domes that barely reached the surface, allowing just enough light into the depths for adventurers to explore. The city idea gave us an environment where all of our D&D demands could be met; a place we could fill with history, creatures, treasures, traps, and countless dangers.

Read the whole thing at IGN.