Table of Contents · Web viewDrow – They’re also trying to de-emphasize the role of the drow in...

Writer’s Guide to Premium NWN Modules Last updated: September 2, 2005

~ Table of Contents ~

1. Introduction 2. Design Goals

3. Writing Conversation 4. Other Writing

5. The Shared Systems Library6. The Approvals Process

7. Conclusion

1


~ Introduction ~

The Writer’s Guide to Premium NWN Modules is intended for advanced writers who are already familiar with building modules within the Neverwinter Nights framework. Scripters and technical designers are encouraged to read the accompanying Scripter’s Guide while project leads are encouraged to read the Project Manager’s Guide. In some cases, a single person may be filling all three roles.

This Writer’s Guide is not a collection of hard and fast rules but rather a series of recommended practices that will assist you in:

improving the overall quality of your module; navigating the formal approvals process at Atari and Wizards of the Coast; increasing the likelihood that BioWare will accept your final product; and minimizing the amount of final polishing that will be required once your module

is in BioWare's hands.

While we encourage you to follow these practices where possible, each module (and the writer or writers behind it) will have different needs and challenges. Please feel free to adapt and modify these practices as you see fit but recognize that, in doing so, you increase the risk that BioWare will consider your creation to be inappropriate as an official premium module.

Also note that this is a living document. If you have questions about what is contained within this Writer’s Guide or suggestions for future inclusion, please contact Rob Bartel, the Lead Designer on the BioWare Community Live Team.

2


~ Design Goals ~

2.1. Overview2.2. Expansion Content

2.3. Custom Content2.4. Forgotten Realms Setting

3


~ Design Goals ~

OverviewBioWare has some overarching goals for its premium modules. These goals are

largely determined by perceived demand within our target market. While we may accept or even internally develop modules that do not meet the criteria presented here, this chapter nevertheless serves as a general guide to the sorts of modules that we’re looking for. Note that these goals and criteria may change and evolve over time, in accordance with market demand.

Expansion ContentOver 95% of Neverwinter’s active remaining audience owns both the Shadows of

Undrentide and Hordes of the Underdark expansion packs and is operating at or above the minimum requirements officially listed for those titles. With this in mind, we strongly encourage you to draw on the additional content and functionality provided in the two expansions as well as anything made available in the latest patches when writing and designing your premium modules.

Custom ContentThe inclusion of substantial new art content in the Pirates of the Sword Coast

premium module was very well received and has established expectations that this trend continue into the future. Although there are limits to the number of new spells, prestige classes, and creatures entered into the Approvals Process, other types of new content like tilesets, placeables, music, and VFX are to be exploited and expanded upon wherever possible. At this point, download size doesn’t appear to be a significant inhibitor to premium module purchasing decisions.

Forgotten Realms SettingOur current approvals pipeline with Wizards of the Coast (owners of the D&D

license) seems to be most reliable when dealing with modules set in the Forgotten Realms. Modules based in other settings, licensed or otherwise, run a greater risk of being canceled late in development, as happened with Stefan Gagne’s Hex C0da module. That’s not to say that other settings aren’t possible but consider yourself forewarned. We hope to accommodate a broader range of premium modules with future BioWare titles.

For more information on the approvals process and working within the Forgotten Realms setting, refer to the Approvals Process chapter.

High- & Epic-Level AdventuresWith the introduction of epic-level rules in the Hordes of the Underdark

expansion, there has been a growing demand for modules appropriate to that level of play. This has been exacerbated by the present dearth of quality epic-level modules available within the free community and the low-level focus of our initial premium

4


modules. Direct sequels to the Hordes of the Underdark expansion are welcome as are high- and epic-level modules that are entirely unrelated to the official campaigns.

Multiplayer SupportWhile multiplayer support appears to have a negligible effect on premium module

sales, it is still something we like to include where possible and we encourage you to keep baseline multiplayer support in mind when designing, writing, and implementing your projects.

The Scripter’s Guide provides a number of technical tips on how best to accommodate multiplayer within your module. For writing tips, see the Writing Conversation section below.

5


~ Writing Conversation ~

3.1. Appropriate Line Length3.2. Formatting Your Text

3.3. Spelling Standards3.4. Writing with VO in Mind

3.5. Writing with Multiplayer in Mind3.6. Writing Henchmen

6


~ Writing Conversation ~

Appropriate Line LengthNWN’s conversation interface looks best and is most readable when you follow a

few simple rules: NPC lines should not wrap below the NPC portrait (approx. 250

characters). PC responses should only occupy a single line (approx. 50 characters). Uninterrupted NPC dialog chains shouldn’t exceed two nodes

(exceptions can be made for cutscenes or conversations between multiple NPCs).

Generally try to provide a minimum of 3 PC responses to every NPC node.

For reference sake, here’s a list of final conversation word counts for previous premium modules, together with their estimated playtime:

Witch’s Wake = 33,888 words / 3 hours ShadowGuard = 80,116 words / 3 hours Kingmaker = 124,396 words / 8 hours Pirates of the Sword Coast = 94,989 words / 10 hours

Formatting Your TextNWN allows for only limited control of text formatting. When writing a premium

module, the following standards apply: If your module uses descriptive narration, then spoken text is enclosed

within quotation marks (“”) and is unformatted.o Example: “Welcome, hero, and stay awhile.”

If your module does not use descriptive narration, then spoken text is unformatted.

o Example: Welcome, hero, and stay awhile. Descriptive narration, if present, is unformatted.

o Example: The innkeeper considers you with a critical eye. Player actions and out-of-character explanations of the rules are

colored green using the <StartAction> token and enclosed in square brackets ([]).

o Example: <StartAction>[View Store.]</Start>o Example: <StartAction>[DC: 14]</Start>o Example: <StartAction>[100 gp]</Start>

Where, possible, avoid the need for textual emphasis or non-textual vocalizations. If they’re absolutely necessary, designate them with asterisks (*).

7


o Example: Don’t you understand? It’s about the *magic!*o Example: Please! *Cough* You must *cough, cough* help

me.” The <StartCheck> token generally goes unused as the red text that

results can be overly jarring. It is still acceptable in instances where you are contrasting success and failure, however.

o Example: <StartAction>[Success]</Start>o Example: <StartCheck>[Failure]</Start>

Spelling StandardsThe following spelling and grammatical standards apply to all premium modules:

Use American English at all times (“center,” not “centre.” “Neighbor,” not “Neighbour.”) The vast majority of our audience is American and alternative spellings are often perceived as typos or bugs.

Represent dialect through word choice, not deliberate misspellings. Even when they’re consistent and phonetically accurate, deliberate misspellings make the text very hard to read.

It is sometimes necessary to represent lisp and speech impediments within conversation. If that is true of your module, be sure to keep it simple and consistent.

o In the Pirates module, for instance, the troglodyte and sahuagin characters needed something to set them apart from their human and demi-human counterparts. For the troglodytes, every instance of the letter ‘s’ was tripled (‘sss’). For the sahuagin, the term ‘glub, glub’ was added to most lines as a conversational tic.

Writing with VO in MindProfessional voice acting (aka VO) is one element that can really help distinguish

premium modules from those already freely available within the community. Recording VO is very expensive but the Live Team is generally able to keep the costs manageable by hiring local voice talent and doing the recording right here at the BioWare offices (as opposed to renting an external studio).

VO for BioWare games generally falls into one of four categories, ranked in approximate order of ascending cost below:

Narrator – Typically the cheapest form of VO, this is a single actor doing a small number of lines. The narrator may appear only once (the introduction to ShadowGuard, for instance) or he may return multiple times throughout the module (like Captain Allendry’s ghost in Pirates of the Sword Coast).

Small Cast Intro – VO is recorded only for major characters. Only their opening lines (i.e. starting conditions and any immediate chains

8


of NPC nodes) are recorded. Important cutscenes may also be recorded. Kingmaker is a good example of this type of VO and probably represents the maximum amount of VO we can afford for a NWN premium module.

Large Cast Intro – Like the Small Cast Intro but applied to all characters, even minor ones. This is generally seen as cost-prohibitive for NWN premium modules. Witch’s Wake represented a weird hybrid between the Narrator and Large Cast Intro categories – only one actress was hired but she recorded the opening lines for all characters within the module. We are open to considering Large Cast VO if the right kind of module comes along.

Full VO – All NPC dialog lines within the module are recorded, not just the opening ones. We did this for our full retail titles Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire but the costs are too prohibitive for a premium NWN module. We may still consider it for non-NWN premium modules in the future, provided we feel the cost is justified.

Once we determine a VO budget for your module, we will work with your writers and team leaders to develop a VO Doc that will serve as a script for the director, voice actors, and audio engineers. The Live Team’s resident VO guru is currently Dan Whiteside and examples of past VO Docs can be found in the WotC Approvals Process directory in the Live Team Library.

In the meantime, here are a number of things that you can do to ensure that the process goes smoothly and we can include as much VO in your module as possible:

Stabilize your VO conversations as soon as possibleo With ShadowGuard we were still making substantial edits to

the quests and conversations right to the very end. As a result, we were only able to commit to recording the module’s opening narration.

o If late-stage changes do have to be made, you can address them using minor (i.e. non-VO) NPCs or by adding and altering lines deeper into the conversation, beyond the non-opening lines.

o We will not compile the VO Doc until after the module has had some in-house testing and assessment here at BioWare.

Be careful with your use of narrationo The easiest solution to this problem is to avoid the use of

narration altogether. Narration is an excellent tool within the writer’s arsenal, however, especially when trying to create a module with a darker mood or atmosphere. If it’s important that your conversations include both VO and narration, here are some strategies that will help them to peacefully coexist:

You can isolate narration and spoken text into separate dialog nodes so the two never interfere;

Within a single dialog node, you can ensure that the spoken text always comes first and the narration only appears at the end of the line. This prevents the jarring

9


effect of the eye reading the narration while the ear is already jumping ahead to hear the spoken voice;

You can proceed as we did with Witch’s Wake – intersperse the narration and dialog however you wish and then resign yourself to all characters being voiced by a single actor/narrator. It’s a neat effect, much like a book on tape, but not to everyone’s taste.

Prioritize your VO characters earlyo Maintain a list of your targeted characters for VO,

communicate that list with all of your writers, and prioritize it into clusters of descending importance so we’re in a better position to judge the needs of the module vs. the needs of the budget.

Writing with Multiplayer in MindThere are two approaches to writing a multiplayer module:

Realistic – NPCs can identify whether you are part of a party and respond accordingly. If they have already given out a quest to another player, they will refer to that player and ask that you assist him/her in completing the quest. This can get very logic-intensive, requiring substantial amounts of additional conversation lines and condition scripts. In general, the costs of such a system outweigh its benefits.

Suspended Disbelief – A more practical method is to treat the party as a family of identical quintuplets. A quest given to one player is assumed to be given to all and the NPC is never expected to distinguish one party member from the other. This keeps the writing and scripting efforts to a manageable level but may introduce some anomalous behavior. For instance, one player may enter the conversation that launches the cutscene that jumps him to the next chapter, leaving the others stuck behind.

In most cases, you’ll find yourself using a combination of the above approaches. Suspended Disbelief may be just fine for the majority of your conversations but you may want to employ more realistic methods at key junctures in your module. The general rule of thumb is simply to keep track of what should happen to players who lag behind or log in halfway through. Always provide them with a quick way to catch up, even if it doesn’t make realistic sense within the story. Pirates of the Sword Coast is a good example of a premium module designed with baseline multiplayer functionality in mind.

One other thing to note is that, if you are designing a multiplayer module, you should avoid major story aspects that imply a single-player experience (such as being the child of Bhaal in the Baldur’s Gate series or becoming lord of the keep in Kingmaker). Major plot holes like this run the risk of breaking the party’s suspension of disbelief on the one hand and leading you into accidental scripting traps on the other.

10


Writing HenchmenHenchmen are a staple of most NWN modules. They make it easier to balance

combat within D&D’s party-based structure and also give the player someone to invest in on an emotional level. Here are some general rules of thumb to follow when writing your henchmen:

Multiclass Tank/Spellcaster henchmen always seem like such a good idea but are best avoided. The NWN AI tends to make them waste their time casting ineffectual low-level spells rather than wading in with their more powerful melee attacks. We made this mistake (again) with the henchmen in Pirates of the Sword Coast.

With the HotU expansion pack, the game no longer places an upper limit on the number of simultaneous henchmen a player can have. The primary limiting factor is the amount of time you have to write them. As there’s a good cost:benefit ratio to inter-henchmen banter, we recommend a minimum of two henchmen per module.

When writing henchmen, we recommend using a universal henchman template and then customizing it to your needs. The Shared Systems Library does include some up-to-date henchmen templates extracted from the Pirates module but they are not yet universal across all classes and the text has not been genericized. We hope to remedy this as time allows.

Henchmen romances tend to be very well received by our audiences but they can greatly complicate the Approvals Process. At this point, our general recommendation is to avoid including henchman romances and focus more on building friendships instead.

We’re very interested in exploring new ways to interact with your henchmen so we encourage innovation in this area. If you have an idea you’re considering, bring it to our attention.

11


~ Other Writing ~

4.1. Journal Entries4.2. Object Descriptions

4.3. Object Names

12


~ Other Writing ~

Journal EntriesJournal entries are an important reference for players, allowing them to keep track

of what they still need to do in order to proceed with the game. The general rule of thumb is to assume that the player got part way through the game last week and is just loading the save game to pick up the game where they left off. Good journal entries should contain the following:

A quick summary of the quest’s progress to date. The name and location of the original quest-giver. Clear instructions regarding the next stage of the quest (where they’re

supposed to go, what they’re supposed to do, who or what they’re looking for, what sort of decision they need to make, etc).

There are some additional rules of thumb that will help you keep your journal entries organized and malleable throughout the development cycle:

We recommend writing your journal entries to be Replacive rather than Additive in nature. Doing so will make it easier to accommodate branching plot paths and will prevent you from encountering the hard limit that the game engine places on the length of journal entries. It also makes journal updates clearer to the player.

Avoid using the journal functionality provided in the conversation editor. Its functionality isn’t as robust and it can be very difficult to track down and debug. Our preferred approach is for all journal entries to be handled through scripting. This allows you to run searches for particular journal entries when they prove troublesome.

When numbering your journal entries, increment the value in steps of 10. This adds flexibility to your journal system, allowing you to make plot changes and introduce new plot states by inserting interim journal entries late in the development cycle.

We recommend maintaining a Plot State Document that tracks all of your journal entries and the specific actions that are supposed to trigger them. Your scripter can then update it to reference specific script names as they are created. As part of the Approvals Process, we are considering replacing the WotC Plot Summary document with a more technical Plot State Document at some point in the future.

Object DescriptionsWe have no specific standards in place regarding object descriptions other than

that they must be present and they must be appropriate to the context. Anything that is newly created or significantly repurposed will likely require changes. Items, Creatures, Placeables, and Doors all have player-accessible descriptions so we recommend

13


including some writing time in your schedule to make a pass through each of these object types.

During the development process, we encourage everyone to create new templates for any altered object rather than editing the instance. This makes it easier to identify and address bugs later in the development cycle and also prevents the introduction of new errors when using the Update Instances command. Updating instances is important but it is very time-consuming (making matters worse, there is a known memory leak in the toolset when updating large numbers of instances). It also tends to have a broad impact across multiple areas. For this reason, we recommend you get all of your object descriptions written early in development. The longer you leave them, the more painful and disruptive your resulting Update Instances process will be.

Object NamesAgain, we have no specific standards in place for naming your objects but we do

have a few important rules of thumb, as follows: When creating color-based puzzles (such as Vantabular’s Lighthouse

puzzle in the Pirates module), recognize that a significant portion of our audience is color-blind. Be sure to include the color of the puzzle component in its object name so that colorblind players can still identify it on mouseover.

Note that, until their properties have been revealed, unidentified items display their base type rather than their real name. This is fine in most cases but try to avoid basing any of your unidentified on the miscellaneous base types – seeing an item named ‘Miscellaneous Thin’ not only breaks suspension of disbelief but also looks like a typo.

When naming your NPCs, we recommend maintaining a clear delineation between unique and generic characters. If there is a unique quest-giver in a tavern, don’t hide her from your players by naming her ‘Tavern Patron’ or ‘Barmaid.’ Similarly, if any of the NPCs in your tavern are simply there for filler and are drawing on shared generic conversations, don’t confuse the player by giving them unique names. Character names are an important shorthand that allows players to determine who is worth talking to and who is just there as ambience. While following a clear naming pattern does not lend itself to realism, it empowers the player to make informed, intelligent decisions regarding the use of their time.

14


~ The Shared Systems Library ~

5.1. Introduction to the Shared Systems Library5.2. Blacksmith Item Upgrader5.3. Conversation Ability Use5.4. Henchman Conversations

5.5. Additional Systems

15


~ The Shared Systems Library ~

Introduction to the Shared Systems LibraryThe Live Team maintains an FTP directory of in-game systems developed for past

and present Premium NWN Modules. Where appropriate, internal and external developers are encouraged to make use of these systems to aid in development and add value and consistency to their modules. While the bulk of these systems are targeted towards scripters, a handful of them do have a significant writing component.

Blacksmith Item UpgraderThis system, originally created for the HotU expansion and then improved for use

in Pirates of the Sword Coast, allows players to purchase upgrades to various base item types through conversation with an NPC. It is being expanded and genericized even further for the upcoming Infinite Dungeons module.

The included conversation is currently that of Prugdush, the sahuagin blacksmith from Pirates. If you choose to include this system in your module, the writer conversation will need to be edited and customized to meet your needs.

Conversation Ability UseThis is the big one of interest to writers. Originally developed for Witch’s Wake,

then completely reworked for Pirates of the Sword Coast, this system allows you to add robust use of player spells, skills, and abilities to your conversations. Everything is set up as die rolls against a Difficulty Class (DC), resulting in either Success or Failure.

To use, the writer opens up the “ww_abilityuse.dlg” conversation, copies one of the broad approaches [Coerce, Confuse, Deceive, Pacify, Provoke, Request], and pastes it into their current conversation. The writer then goes in and customizes the lines with the necessary PC and NPC dialog before continuing on with the remainder of the NPC’s conversation. Additional instructions and information can be found in the document that accompanies the system.

This system is easy to use and has been well-received by the community. We strongly encourage all premium module writers to familiarize themselves with this system before starting work on their modules.

Henchmen ConversationsAlso of interest to writers are the revisions made to the henchmen conversation

files in time for the Pirates module. First, their internal structure was reorganized for improved usability. Second, any references to the current plot state were front-loaded onto the starting conditions to make the henchmen seem more responsive and less like an automaton.

16


While the included conversations are still specific to the Pirates henchmen, the intent is to create a single, fully scripted universal template that can be easily customized to any module.

Additional SystemsThe Shared Systems Library will continue to be updated on an ongoing basis. If

you have ideas for new writing systems or improvements to any of the existing ones, let BioWare know so they can be developed, documented, and filed for the benefit of future premium module developers.

17


~ The Approvals Process ~

6.1. Introduction to the Approvals Process6.2. Hot-Button Topics

6.3. Required Documentation

18


~ The Approvals Process ~

Introduction to the Approvals ProcessThe approvals process is one of the most critical aspects of developing a premium

module. Sadly, it has also proven to be the most unpredictable. There are four separate parties involved in the approvals process, as follows:

1. The Developer (you and your team);2. BioWare (us, primarily the Live and QA teams);3. Atari (NWN’s publisher. Their QA team must approve the final

Release Candidate);4. Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro (the owners of the underlying D&D

license).As a Developer, you will generally have clear and direct communication with us

at BioWare. Although the requirements we impose may be numerous, subjective, and complex, we have a significant vested interest in maintaining a relationship with you and helping you to complete your module. With that in mind, we do our best to remain approachable and we encourage you to get in touch with us regarding any questions or concerns that you may have throughout the development process.

Your contact with Atari will be very minimal, focused almost entirely on technical issues and the resolution of bugs late in the development process. Their primary concern is ensuring the stability of your product.

Wizards of the Coast (WotC) and their parent company, Hasbro, are focused entirely on maintaining the value and integrity of their brands. Compared to the overall value of their intellectual properties (even if you focus solely on the D&D-related products), they earn very little money from the sale of NWN premium modules. While it may be a bit disheartening, it is important to realize that your premium module ranks as a lower priority than Turbine’s D&D Online, Liquid’s Dragonshard, Obsidian’s NWN2, R.A. Salvatore’s upcoming Drizzt novel, or the 5 new D&D sourcebooks scheduled for release this quarter. And that’s not even getting into Magic: The Gathering and Pokemon. As such, know that frequent delays are the norm, that they may not view everything in its proper context, and that they may express strong opinions about seemingly minor aspects of your work. Don’t take it personally – it’s simply business as usual. BioWare will do everything it can to serve as your ombudsman in this process.

Hot-Button TopicsWizards of the Coast has not provided any pre-determined guide or handbook

outlining what they will or will not approve. What follows is a list of common sense things to avoid as well as some specific things that they have reacted negatively to when approving previous modules. Note that you may occasionally get away with some of these but don’t push your luck. If you put any of them in, be prepared to take them out upon request:

19


Violence against children – if you have children in your module, you cannot let them come to harm.

Sexual innuendo or flirtation – they’ll reject it long before it crosses the threshold into becoming graphic. They’ve advised us to avoid henchman romances altogether.

Swearing and expletives – ‘damn’ is on the borderline. Avoid the <bastard/bitch> token altogether. In the Forgotten Realms, ‘hell’ is always plural (‘the nine hells of Baator’).

Modern slang or idiom – keep it fantasy, keep it medieval, keep it Forgotten Realms.

Pop culture references – as tempting as it may seem, anything even bordering on copyright infringement can lead to substantial legal repercussions.

Current events references – they’re particularly wary of references to recent human tragedies or any sort of political commentary.

References to real-world religions or mythologies – Christian, Muslim, Ancient Greek, Roman, or Hindi, just don’t. Stick to the pantheon provided in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting sourcebook.

References to drugs or suicide – no opium dens, no lovers’ leap. Stripping the player of their items – They drew the line after the

Pirates module. Sorry. Substantial rules changes to the player (vampirism, lycanthropy,

undeath) – it’s not that they’re opposed to this. Just be prepared to do it by the book or not at all.

Constructs – They’re de-emphasizing the role of constructs in the Forgotten Realms, reserving them for their new Eberron setting. Certainly don’t have any as major NPCs, plot points, or significant villains along the way.

Drow – They’re also trying to de-emphasize the role of the drow in the Underdark so they can expand their focus to a broader range of villains.

Manual of the Planes / Planar Handbook – The material in these books is considered to be part of Core D&D (ie: Greyhawk) and not a part of the FR license. The approved cosmology is discussed in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting, pp.256-259.

The Blood War – They’re de-emphasizing the role of the longstanding Blood War between demons and devils in the outer planes. It’s unclear if it’s because they consider it to be Core D&D (ie: Greyhawk) or if they’re trying to get rid of it altogether.

20


Killing official Forgotten Realms NPCs – if you can find them in a sourcebook, they’d better still be alive and continuing on with their daily routines once your module is over.

Destroying official Forgotten Realms geography – don’t collapse any important dungeons or wipe any cities off the face of the map.

Required DocumentationThe Approval Process is fully documented within the Live Team Library FTP

site. Templates and past examples exist for each type of documentation that will be required. Here is an overview of the various approval documents and at what stage of development we expect them to be delivered. For more information, see the Live Team Library.

1. WotC Concept Doc (Alpha / Pre-Alpha) – This brief overview document is provided early in development, enabling WotC to identify any macro-level issues they may have with the overall concept of the module.

Typical length = 1-2 pages.2. WotC Art Submission (ASAP) - This document tracks the art approvals

process and is created on a per-asset level. It is used twice, once to approve the initial concept art and once to approve the final, in-game content. Once an art asset has been fully approved and purchased, it can be used in future modules without the need for additional approval.

Typical length = 2 pages.3. WotC Quest Summary (Beta) – This more in-depth document is

provided once the module is content-complete. It serves as a critical path walkthrough for WotC staff playing the module and also helps them identify any potentially objectionable content that they don’t come across in their particular play-throughs. We are considering replacing this with a more concrete Journal/Plot State document in the future but have yet to develop a template. If you already have something of that nature, feel free to submit that to us instead.

Typical length = 7-10 pages4. WotC Text Dump (Late Beta) – This generated file is provided once all

of the module’s text has solidified. It provides a full summary of all conversations that take place within the module, allowing WotC to isolate any issues they may have with the specific wording or terminology.

Typical length = 250-500 pages5. VO Doc (Late Beta) – Once a Voice Over (VO) budget for your module

has been determined, we will work with your writers to compile a VO Doc that will serve as a script for use by the Director, Voice Actors, and Audio Engineers. The resulting files are typically delivered within a week of being recorded for in-game balancing and final testing.

Typical length = Varies according to the amount of VO.6. WotC Issues Doc (Late Beta) – This document tracks any outstanding

concerns and issues that WotC has identified with the module content. All

21


issues must be addressed to their satisfaction before the module can be announced, let alone sold. There is no standardized template for this document but it should include the specific concerns identified by WotC together with the specific changes you have made to the module to address those concerns. Issues are flagged on a case by case basis as WotC reports that they have been resolved to their satisfaction.

Typical length = Unknown

22


~ Conclusion ~

Thank you for taking the time to read this Writer’s Guide. Hopefully the information contained herein will speed up your development process and give you a clearer idea of what to expect as a writer of premium modules. If you are a solo developer or find yourself wearing multiple hats, we recommend you read the other guides in this series, as appropriate.

As mentioned earlier, these guides are considered living documents. If you find gaps or errors in the content of this guide, please let us know. We’re very open to new suggestions and ideas and look forward to answering any additional questions you may have.

Rob BartelLead DesignerBioWare Community Live Teamstore.bioware.com

23

http://store.bioware.com/

Table of Contents · Web viewDrow – They’re also trying to de-emphasize the role of the drow in...

Documents

Transcript of Table of Contents · Web viewDrow – They’re also trying to de-emphasize the role of the drow in...