The role-playing and hack-and-slash genres are about to receive a fresh injection of excitement with the upcoming release of Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale on the Xbox Live Arcade. We here at PlanetXbox360 have an exclusive interview that was conducted this past week to get insight on what to expect from the anticipated return to D&D for gamers. Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale centers on the desperate struggle to defeat the evil Rezlus and his Zhentarim in their attempt to invade and conquer the Dalelands. Dungeons & Dragons Daggerdale is an engaging multi-player experience that introduces a riveting narrative and treacherous new characters. Players are charged with the task of restoring order to Nentir Vale by unlocking the secrets of the Mines of Tethyamar, defeating the evil within the treacherous Tower of the Void, leading to the final confrontation with Rezlus himself. Having not seen a release from the D&D license since 2004, all we can say is: "It's about time!"
PlanetXbox360.com: How did the decision come about to create an episodic Dungeons & Dragons title?
Bedlam Games: D&D at its core is an episodic adventure so to take a snippet and put it out on XBLA made complete sense. That being said, there are no current plans to continue the story set forth in Daggerdale. Before everyone gets in a huff, that doesn’t mean you won’t see more Daggerdale content or even another Daggerdale game – it really all depends on how well it’s received by the fans.
PXB360: Where do you see the future of episodic titles heading on the digital front?
BG: I wish there were more to be honest. Episodic games make sense on the digital front and it’s a shame that more publishers and developers are not figuring out ways to capitalize on them.
PXB360: On estimate, how long is the episode for full completion?
BG: For Daggerdale, the same as any RPG these days, it depends on how you play the game. If you rush through everything, you can probably get through somewhere around the 6-8 hour mark. If you try to actually get some good loot and do the side quests, you’re looking at something around 8-10 hours. It’s a good amount of gameplay for the price.
PXB360: How much depth will Daggerdale have for gamers who are looking for their next RPG purchase?
BG: Quite a bit. All of Daggerdale's role-playing systems are built on a foundation based in the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition rules. Together with Wizards of the Coast and Atari, Bedlam has tweaked, tuned and balanced the game to fit the pace and flow of an intense action RPG game. Not only will players be able to get their RPG fix, those that are looking to cleave a goblin in half or sink an arrow into a Dragonborn's chest can find that satisfaction in Daggerdale as well.
PXB360: When playing cooperatively online, what will players take away from joining in on a friend's game in terms of loot and experience?
BG: Players can further enhance their gameplay experience by grouping together with other gamers and form an adventuring party. Daggerdale will scale the player difficulty dynamically based the number of human players and their character class and level. With more players, more enemies at higher levels will engage the players. Intrinsically, this will speed up the chance to level the characters. This will also increase the opportunity for rare items and weapons to drop.
PXB360: How likely is it that the team will explore a competitive multiplayer mode?
BG: It would be cool feature. If we went down this road, it’s something we would want to do right.
PXB360: What does the Freeplay mode exactly entail when compared to the Campaign mode?
BG: Daggerdale's level structure is pretty centralized and user friendly. Once the players have created a character and are in the game, they are free to explore the environment as they see fit. The players can take on quests from NPCs in the levels and through the quests they can unlock new areas to explore. Players can effectively "grind" anytime they want to, defeating enemies and looting throughout the levels.
PXB360: What hurdles were there to overcome when developing episodic content for the XBLA?
BG: The main challenge is to make sure each set of content can stand on its own and is a compelling gameplay experience.
PXB360: How does the story carry over from one episode to the next? Is it safe to assume that we won't encounter the ancient evil?
BG: No plans yet, but I’ll be sure to let you know if we decide to go with the second episode and how the story will progress from one to the other.
PXB360: What differences will there be with the XBLA version compared to the iOS iteration?
BG: The differences between the two are that the iOS version will have a control scheme built exclusively for the iOS devices (iphone/ipad/ipod), Openfeint/Gamecenter/Facebook integration, and will be split into two releases.
PXB360: What's the biggest advantage the team has learned of from transitioning from a full-on retail game to a smaller bite-sized digital title?
BG: Building digital download games and retail games are very similar. The core technologies, tools and pipelines are all comparable. The overall scope of the titles is the main difference and time is a big factor, but the process in attaining AAA quality remains the same. Daggerdale is a great example of this and the title is packed to the brim with content. We can't wait to see the fan reaction to this game.
