Snowblind Studios game engine

Dark Alliance Engine

Developer(s)	Snowblind Studios
Operating system	PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Type	Game engine
License	Proprietary

The Dark Alliance game engine also referred to as the Snowblind engine is a game engine created by Snowblind Studios for perspective correct overhead third person view role-playing games. It was first used by Snowblind Studios to create Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance. The previous Baldur's Gate games used the Infinity Engine which was created by BioWare for isometric role-playing games. The difference is that Dark Alliance was created to use real-time strategy whereas Baldur's Gate used pausable real-time strategy, also Dark Alliance was graphically superior to Baldur's Gate. Dark Alliance allowed for 3D Graphics that were critically acclaimed whereas Infinity only allowed 2D Sprites to be animated.

History

The first game to use the engine was Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, a joint collaboration between Interplay Entertainment and Snowblind Studios. Interplay then used the engine for all their ports of the game except the Game Boy version, which used its own game engine. These ports of the game greatly expanded on how much content the game was able to use and the amount of saving slots present in the game.

The game was then used by Snowblind Studios in its EverQuest starting with Champions of Norrath. Snowblind improved the engine in their own ways, such as adding new features such as character creation and online multiplayer. Interplay, however, continued to use the engine, due to the fact they partly owned the engine, for their console games. Interplay used the engine for their sequel to Dark Alliance, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II, which was developed by Black Isle Studios. This sequel once again improved on the engine's capabilities and added more features, improved graphics and better audio; it added features from the Infinity Engine Baldur's Gate games such as Companions. Interplay then released Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel and The Bard's Tale, both game's improved on the engine in their own way. Brotherhood of Steel added a reputation system to the game and The Bard's Tale improved on other features of the engine, such as audio. The Bard's Tale was the Dark Alliance Engine's first PC release. Interplay was developing a sequel to Brotherhood of Steel, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2. This game would have added the features of sniping, stealth and a more advanced reputation system, it would have still been simpler compared to other Fallout games, it was, however, canceled.

Snowblind Studios then released Champions: Return to Arms, which refined the online multiplayer and changed the linear portion of the game's released for the engine and allowed characters to change the ending. Around this time, Snowblind began to license the engine out to indie developers, however, of these developers, only one could make a game. The game was met with a lawsuit by Titus Software, the owners of Interplay, and Acclaim Entertainment but in the end, it was ultimately released as Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers. Combat Elite is the only game made using the Dark Alliance Engine to have gotten an extremely negative review.

Snowblind then created Justice League Heroes with the same engine in 2006. The game was released around the time the next gen of video game consoles was out, but due to it being created for the previous gen, it was released for Xbox and PlayStation 2. A portable version of the engine was used for the PlayStation Portable but the Game Boy and Nintendo DS versions used their own engine. To fit the superhero theme of the game, Snowblind Studio's put most of their effort into the length of the game, thereby taking out many features of the engine.^[1]

Games

• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance (2001) - Developed by Snowblind Studios.
• Champions of Norrath (2004) - Developed by Snowblind Studios.
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (2004) - Developed by Black Isle Studios.
• Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004) - Developed by Interplay Entertainment.
• The Bard's Tale (2004) - Developed by InXile Entertainment.
• Champions: Return to Arms (2005) - Developed by Snowblind Studios.
• Combat Elite: WWII Paratroopers (2005) - Developed by Battlebourne Entertainment.
• Justice League Heroes (2006) - Developed by Snowblind Studios.
• The Lord of the Rings: War in the North (2011) - Developed by Snowblind Studios.

Canceled

• Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel 2 (2004)
• Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance III (2005)

References

1. ^ "JLA Heroes, Snowblind uses the Dark Alliance Engine". http://www.411mania.com/games/reviews/46932. Retrieved 24 June 2011.