Michael Cranford’s Classic Game Postmortem: ‘The Bard’s Tale I and II’

Michael Cranford, the mastermind behind the two original The Bard’s Tale games gave a presentation during this year’s Game Developers Conference where he looked back at the development of those two seminal RPGs. He started by talking about his early years, his childhood friendship with Brian Fargo, and his early attempts at game development. He then explained many of his design philosophies, his fondness for magic, and his falling out with Brian that was caused by a series of misunderstandings.

Sadly, there’s no convenient YouTube link currently available, so you’ll have to watch the presentation directly through the GDC Vault. Here’s the official description:

This session will explore the conception and development of Interplay’s ‘The Bard’s Tale I & II’, led by Michael Cranford. He will share the vision that led him to the game’s conception, design, and development from his years as a dungeon master. The games are an expression of Cranford’s personal love for the genre and desire to surpass the experience of tabletop gaming.The session will explore the vision behind the game and help illuminate a trajectory in gaming which has remained strong to the current day.