Software:Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker

From HandWiki
Short description: Expansion pack for Neverwinter Nights
Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker
Developer(s)BioWare
Publisher(s)Atari Interactive
SeriesNeverwinter Nights
Platform(s)Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Release
  • Windows
  • November 10, 2004[1]
  • Switch, PS4, Xbox One
  • December 3, 2019
Genre(s)Role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker is an expansion pack released for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights that includes three premium modules: Kingmaker, Shadowguard, and Witch's Wake. Released in November 2004, Kingmaker won the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' "Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year" award in 2005.[2]

Modules

Kingmaker

This module requires the Hordes of the Underdark expansion pack and offers around eight hours of gameplay. It is available in lite and full versions, with the former lacking voice acting for NPCs in the module.

Plot

The module is set in a world that borrows many elements from Forgotten Realms and other Dungeons and Dragons settings. The story takes place near the Keep of Cyan, a northern part of the world. The player's goal is to win an election and become the Lord of the Keep. In order to do so, the player character must persuade at least four of nine guilds to aid him. Only then will the character have a chance to fight his nemesis, the Masked Man, a mysterious mage who uses a small army of creatures to conquer the Keep. On his journeys, the player character also has to reveal the mystery of his own nature and past. An unknown ally of great power also helps the character by granting him a sentient magical weapon with a friendly personality. The player can enlist help from two of four NPCs who traveled with him before the beginning of the game.

It is revealed later that the Masked Man is an Illithid, and the mysterious ally is the main character's grandmother, a demoness of great power who once fell in love with a man, thus making the player character part Tiefling. The Masked Man is also revealed to be the hero's brother. The game culminates with the player killing the Masked Man and becoming the rightful ruler of Cyan.

Shadowguard

Neverwinter Nights: Shadowguard is a premium module for BioWare's 2002 PC RPG, Neverwinter Nights.

Plot

The game is set in Abaron, a module-specific setting. The Sarakhan Empire is the most prominent force in this world that is led by a divine emperor named Rakha who wishes to unify the whole world. However, the northern lands refuse to enter the Empire. A mysterious Crimson Prophet is believed to be the leader of the resistance. The story takes place in Ghaarak, an imperial city located near the northern territories' border.

The module itself is named after the organization featuring prominently in the game. The player is the son of Ocaris, one of the city's leaders, who is finishing his studies at the academy. After the graduation, the instructor tells the player that a man named Markius is looking for them.

It is soon revealed that the character is meant to enter a secret organization, the Shadowguard, which protects the Empire from various threats. The story leads the player through a series of tasks given by Markius, the leader of the Shadowguard, and his friends. The city of Ghaarak slowly falls into chaos due to the arrival of the Crimson Prophet, a mage willing to destroy the Empire who steals powerful artifacts and kills Ocaris.

A full-scale assault on the city begins, carried out by the northern people under the Crimson Prophet's instructions. The player must escape the doomed city along with the members of the Shadowguard. Battling their way to the docks, they encounter the Crimson Prophet again, but they are unable to defeat him. The module's story ends with the character escaping the city with the Shadowguard on board a ship, the Voyager. The story was meant to be continued, but no sequels were ever made.

Witch's Wake

Witch's Wake uses an original game setting created for the module, completely independent of Neverwinter Nights' Forgotten Realms setting. It is a dark, mysterious world featuring unique sub-races with their own special abilities.

Plot

The game starts as the player character (PC) awakens on a battlefield with no memories. A dying prince asks the PC to deliver to his father the message, "She is dead." The PC then meets the Night Hag, a witch who is willing to help uncover their past. She grants the PC passage to the Plane of Sorrow, a place where the living world collides with the world of the dead, Stygia. The Plane of Sorrow is inhabited by souls who are about to enter the world of undead, and Filchers, spirits notorious for their thieving nature. The player journeys through the world looking for answers, sometimes visiting the Plane of Sorrow. After several dangerous encounters, the player enters a dwarf village, Brogan's Arm, where the Cavanaugh Stone, a holy artifact of great importance, has been stolen. At the end of module, the player encounters a man named Caldrian, who finally reveals what happened.

The PC remembers that they were part of a witch hunter squad that battled a witch and apparently killed her. The squad was obliterated by her power, and the survivors lost their memories.

A continuation module was planned but never made.[citation needed]

Reception

Gameplanet gave a score of 3.5 out of 5 and wrote: "In summary, while there's nothing really new here - either graphically or in gameplay, in our opinion the Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker modules are a worthy tribute to this RPG classic."[3]

References

  1. ↑ "BioWare launches online store". November 10, 2004. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/bioware-launches-online-store. 
  2. ↑ "Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences 2005 'PC RPG of the Year' award". http://www.interactive.org/awards/award_category_details.asp?idAward=2005&idGameAwardType=29. 
  3. ↑ "Reviews: PC Games - Neverwinter Nights: Kingmaker". 25 October 2005. http://www.gameplanet.co.nz/mag.dyn/Reviews/2950.html. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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