Black Isle Studios Showcases Baldur’s Gate 2.
Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn at E3. The Anticipated Sequel to the Award-Winning RPG will Enthrall Fans Yet Again.
Black Isle Studios Showcases Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn at E3. (The Anticipated Sequel to the Award-Winning RPG will Enthrall Fans Yet Again).
LOS ANGELES, California, MAY 11, 2000 – Black Isle Studios, the RPG (role-playing game) division of Interplay Entertainment Corp., and BioWare Corp. announced today their plan to showcase the sequel to the award-winning Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® game Baldur’s Gate™, entitled Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn™ (BGII) at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Awarded 1998 RPG of the Year by industry leaders Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer, Baldur’s Gate offered gamers a visually dazzling role-playing adventure that has redefined the genre and sold over 1,000,000 units worldwide
"In setting out to do a sequel, we want to give people the feeling that they are returning to a place they remember fondly,” stated Feargus Urquhart, Black Isle Studios Division Director. “We have a whole new set of tricks up our sleeves, to surprise and engross both the new player and the returning one.”
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn will be a mythic saga continuing the much-loved Baldur’s Gate storyline. The Forgotten Realms adventure ensues along the southern portion of the Sword Coast in the merchant kingdom known as Amn. The borders of this region include such diverse environments as the Elven forests of Tethir, the Cloudpeak Mountains, The Drow cities of the Underdark, and the Capitol City of Amn, Athkatla. Written by BioWare with an increased attention to detail, the engrossing plot features dynamic characters that players will become attached to over the span of the game.
Fifteen new NPC characters are available to join players in their quest, along with hundreds of completely new creatures and access to over 130 new spells. Hundreds of new items also add flavor to the game including the legendary Holy Avenger and the venerated Staff of the Magi. Higher-level character development and the exceptionally diverse combat proficiency system will allow for an expanded skill set including dual wielding or single weapon mastery. Over 20 new kits and classes have been added to the already extensive class list from Baldur’s Gate to make BGII the most all-inclusive Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® 2nd edition CRPG ever created.
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn features an enhanced version of the BioWare Infinity engine, which will support resolutions of up to 800x600, giving the player superlative graphical improvements and brilliance in a truly immersive world. 3-D acceleration support will be provided through the popular API Open GL for a number of hardware accelerators. In addition, the ability to abandon the graphical user interface panels will allow both novice and seasoned role players the opportunity to experience an even richer gameplay experience.
“We recognize that our fans will have extremely high expectations of the sequel to Baldur’s Gate. We’re totally committed to making Baldur’s Gate II a truly immersive and gripping role-playing experience – a game that we would want to buy and play ourselves, ” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s Joint CEO, and co-Executive Producer on Baldur’s Gate II.
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is due to ship in 2000 for Windows® 95/98 and will utilize the enhanced version of the BioWare Infinity Engine. More comprehensive information can be found on the official Baldur’s Gate web site, located at http://www.interplay.com/bgate2
Also in production at Black Isle Studios is Icewind Dale, A Baldur’s Gate engine adventure. In the spirit of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® adventure Tomb of Horrors, Icewind Dale will be a classic dungeon crawl and is also in development in-house at Black Isle. Launching in 2001 is Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter is being developed by BioWare Corp., and will be published by Black Isle. The game will bring the pen-and-paper D&D experience to the PC by allowing players to create their own modules, host those modules on their own server and even “DM” the game.
Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation’s largest specialty game retail chains. The company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanics of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world’s best-selling Pokémon and Magic:The Gathering® TCGs. Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers and is a publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons® games, family card and board games and electronic media products. The company’s retail locations, many of which provide game-play areas, include a growing number of Wizards of the Coast specialty game retail stores as well as 53 The Game Keeper® stores. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company’s website and electronic retail store at.
LOS ANGELES, California, MAY 11, 2000 – Black Isle Studios, the RPG (role-playing game) division of Interplay Entertainment Corp., and BioWare Corp. announced today their plan to showcase the sequel to the award-winning Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® game Baldur’s Gate™, entitled Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn™ (BGII) at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). Awarded 1998 RPG of the Year by industry leaders Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer, Baldur’s Gate offered gamers a visually dazzling role-playing adventure that has redefined the genre and sold over 1,000,000 units worldwide
"In setting out to do a sequel, we want to give people the feeling that they are returning to a place they remember fondly,” stated Feargus Urquhart, Black Isle Studios Division Director. “We have a whole new set of tricks up our sleeves, to surprise and engross both the new player and the returning one.”
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn will be a mythic saga continuing the much-loved Baldur’s Gate storyline. The Forgotten Realms adventure ensues along the southern portion of the Sword Coast in the merchant kingdom known as Amn. The borders of this region include such diverse environments as the Elven forests of Tethir, the Cloudpeak Mountains, The Drow cities of the Underdark, and the Capitol City of Amn, Athkatla. Written by BioWare with an increased attention to detail, the engrossing plot features dynamic characters that players will become attached to over the span of the game.
Fifteen new NPC characters are available to join players in their quest, along with hundreds of completely new creatures and access to over 130 new spells. Hundreds of new items also add flavor to the game including the legendary Holy Avenger and the venerated Staff of the Magi. Higher-level character development and the exceptionally diverse combat proficiency system will allow for an expanded skill set including dual wielding or single weapon mastery. Over 20 new kits and classes have been added to the already extensive class list from Baldur’s Gate to make BGII the most all-inclusive Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® 2nd edition CRPG ever created.
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn features an enhanced version of the BioWare Infinity engine, which will support resolutions of up to 800x600, giving the player superlative graphical improvements and brilliance in a truly immersive world. 3-D acceleration support will be provided through the popular API Open GL for a number of hardware accelerators. In addition, the ability to abandon the graphical user interface panels will allow both novice and seasoned role players the opportunity to experience an even richer gameplay experience.
“We recognize that our fans will have extremely high expectations of the sequel to Baldur’s Gate. We’re totally committed to making Baldur’s Gate II a truly immersive and gripping role-playing experience – a game that we would want to buy and play ourselves, ” said Dr. Ray Muzyka, BioWare’s Joint CEO, and co-Executive Producer on Baldur’s Gate II.
Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn is due to ship in 2000 for Windows® 95/98 and will utilize the enhanced version of the BioWare Infinity Engine. More comprehensive information can be found on the official Baldur’s Gate web site, located at http://www.interplay.com/bgate2
Also in production at Black Isle Studios is Icewind Dale, A Baldur’s Gate engine adventure. In the spirit of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons® adventure Tomb of Horrors, Icewind Dale will be a classic dungeon crawl and is also in development in-house at Black Isle. Launching in 2001 is Neverwinter Nights. Neverwinter is being developed by BioWare Corp., and will be published by Black Isle. The game will bring the pen-and-paper D&D experience to the PC by allowing players to create their own modules, host those modules on their own server and even “DM” the game.
Wizards of the Coast Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is the worldwide market share leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories. Wizards of the Coast is a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products as well as the owner and operator of one of the nation’s largest specialty game retail chains. The company holds an exclusive patent on the play mechanics of trading card games (TCGs) and produces the world’s best-selling Pokémon and Magic:The Gathering® TCGs. Wizards of the Coast is also one of the world’s leading fantasy and science fiction book publishers and is a publisher of adventure games such as the classic Dungeons & Dragons® games, family card and board games and electronic media products. The company’s retail locations, many of which provide game-play areas, include a growing number of Wizards of the Coast specialty game retail stores as well as 53 The Game Keeper® stores. Headquartered near Seattle, Washington, Wizards of the Coast has international offices in Antwerp, Paris, Milan, London and Beijing. For more information on Wizards of the Coast, visit the company’s website and electronic retail store at