Bard's Tale Returns!

                   Info collected by Sue

One of my newsletters from GameSpy (www.gamespy.com) gave told me
The Bard's Tale is making a comeback. It should be out at the end
of 2004 and it's coming from inXile Entertainment.
(www.inxile-entertainment.com)

There isn't much happening on inXile's site yet. The Bard's Tale
graphic that greets you is interactive so you can click on various
characters and get an amusing response. The company was formed by
Brian Fargo in 2002.  He also founded Interplay many years ago,
the producers of the original Bard's Tale series.

According to Brian Fargo and GameSpy's preview, the game will not
be Bard's Tale IV. It will be a much richer and fresh experience.
To this end, the company have started by writing a 700 page design
document which includes every line of dialogue from the game. It
took 6 months to write this document, create the maps and design
the quests. There are 5000 lines of dialogue and over 50,000 words
already. Every line in the game will be voiced and the dialogue
tree will be complex with the player able to answer in friendly or
sarcastic mode though the ultimate outcome will be the same.

The game will have a UK feel. It starts near Skara Brae in the
Orkneys and will use Scottish, English and Irish accents (no
mention of the Welsh, I see).  I'd already noticed the interactive
loading screen on the site used British accents. They're also
aiming for a good dose of humour while making the Bard a somewhat
cynical character who's in it for the money and the girls - or as
he puts it "Coin and cleavage". A narrator will fill out the story
as the player progresses and even the Bard will discover some
things about himself as time passes (All that drink has addled his
brain so he's forgotten a lot of his past!)

Music will play a big part in the game. This is because the Bard
will use his songs to summon fighters. At first he'll only be able
to call up something humble like a rat, but as he gains more
songs, he will be able to summon more powerful creatures like
attackers and spellcasters. These summoned individuals may even
slug it out if too many are summoned for the available slots, the
winners getting the places.

The game will use an improved version of the Baldur's Gate:  Dark
Alliance engine and combat will be action-based. It will have
about 30 hours gameplay and it will be possible to reply the game
and take a different route through some sections, revealing areas
not seen the first time. Sounds good!










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