David Gaider Interview

The Dragon’s Breath Forge has once again posted up an interview with David Gaider of BioWare concerning many issues in Baldur’s Gate II and Throne of Bhaal. Here’s a taste:

Q: Were there any plans at all while the game was being developed to include spells like Snilloc’s Snowball Swarm, Icelance, and Antimagic Shell?

A: We had a big list of spells which we wanted to include originally. I think we had to cut at least a hundred, mainly due to them being infeasible with the engine, redundant due to another spell doing pretty much the same thing or just very complex. Illusion spells come under this category, as was Otto’s Irresistable Dance. I remember we had been trying to figure out how to do Antimagic Shell at one point. Part of the thing, too, was that you don’t want to have TOO many spells…the list, even as it is, can overwhelm players at the higher levels.