Neal Hallford Interview

RPGVault has interviewed Neal Hallford, talking about his new book, Swords & Circuitry: A Designer’s Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games, as well as his role in the upcoming Dungeon Siege. Here’s an excerpt:

Q: Please describe your most recent role writing for Dungeon Siege. How did you come to work on this title?

A: My role on Dungeon Siege as Lead Story Designer has primarily been to create and manage all the dialog and all the backstory of the game. Along the way, Chris Taylor also allowed me to toss in a quest here and there, but the relaxed nature of my relationship with Gas Powered Games on this project was actually something of a blessing. It gave me the time to write a technical book on game design, which is something that’s been high on my list of priorities for several years, and it also gave me some much needed mental space. Not having to be responsible for every ball that was being juggled was a nice break from what I usually have to do on a project, and I certainly didn’t have to worry that the main game design would be in good hands since I knew Chris would be at the wheel.