Atari is bringing the Dungeons and Dragons experience to Facebook. Dungeons and Dragons: Heroes of Neverwinter is a new Facebook game that has just entered into beta. The game is set to use the 4th Edition game mechanics. I think most gamers and D&D players agree that the rules seem build for just that.
You can check out their official Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/HeroesOfNeverwinter
This looks like it might hold some potential but I will reserve judgment until I have a chance to play it. Daggerdale also looked like it might be alright but it was a serious flop, not worth the 15 bucks they were charging you for.
Here is some initial info from their announcement.
http://www.gamepro.com/article/news/219932/atari-brings-dungeons-and-dragons-to-facebook/
It’s been a while since we had a really good Dungeons and Dragons game — let’s just forget Daggerdale ever happened — so a lot of people have high hopes for the upcoming Neverwinter.
Interestingly, the original press release for Neverwinter noted that the game would be a “multi-platform event” including a number of spin-off products such as tie-in novels and tabletop RPGs. Atari, it seems, is keen to incorporate EA’s successful Dragon Age: Legends approach into this multi-platform strategy, so the company is bringing the Neverwinter franchise to Facebook this summer.
Heroes of Neverwinter is a turn-based dungeon crawler where players explore, kill monsters and gather treasure. There will be 50 different dungeons in the game at launch, with three different difficulty levels for each. Player will be able to recruit their Facebook friends’ characters into their adventures, much like Dragon Age: Legends allows players to use their friends’ characters in combat.
One of the most intriguing things about the game is the fact it will include user-generated content in the form of the Dungeon Workshop. High level players will be able to create and publish up to six of their own dungeons for the community to play through for a nominal fee of in-game currency. The developer hopes to create a community for the game similar to that which many PC games enjoy, with user-generated content extending the game’s lifespan and encouraging regular active participation.
The game also includes a “spectator mode” where players can watch their friends play through a dungeon and offer buffs and words of support. Atari is hoping to incorporate a simultaneous multiplayer mode in the future, but this likely won’t be present at launch.
The game is likely to launch in the summer and will have cross-compatibility with other Dungeons and Dragons video games, including Neverwinter. Like Dragon Age: Legends unlocked items in Dragon Age II, so too will Heroes of Neverwinter unlock items in Neverwinter.
They have launched closed beta and if you keep a close eye on it you might be able to get into the test. Just keep an eye out on their Facebook page.
Atari’s Heroes of Neverwinter for Facebook has been attracting the eye of hardcore Dungeons and Dragons fans since it was first announced. After all, 4th Edition Dungeons and Dragons is practically made for a video game adaptation featuring, as it does, tile-based strategic battles, limited-use “super abilities” and the ability for players to collect a vast swathe of treasure, skills and equipment.
Atari has remained pretty quiet on the subject of a release date for the social dungeon crawler, however, simply saying that it would open up “this summer.” However, recently, indications on the official Facebook page seem to suggest that the closed beta will be launching today, and that those who have clicked Like on the page to stay updated with the latest news will be first in line to try the game out for themselves.
At the time of writing, the beta hasn’t yet launched, but if you want to be in with a chance, now would be a good time to click that “Like” button. Remember that even if you get in, though, you’ll be playing a closed beta — that likely means there’ll be a few bugs, and the possibility of having your progress wiped when the game transitions to open beta. The game itself has the potential to be a lot of fun, however, particularly given its inclusion of user generated content via the Dungeon Workshop mode.
All in all this could be a bit of an upgrade from Farmville, at least that is the hope. We will see if Atari pushes for more quality after the backlash from Daggerdale.
I like the thought of being able to have user created dungeons. I think games that support user created content give themselves a huge boost as there always seems to be new and exciting things to do in the game. This is always a good thing.
Let us hope that this is a gem and not a turd. We all know too many Dungeons and Dragons games turn out to be the second.
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