Temple Of Elemental Evil Design Highlights

tim-cain temple-of-elemental-evil game-design d&d press-events troika-games

Abstract

Problem: How do you prepare to promote a game to press and fans — what do you highlight and why?

Approach: Tim Cain shares an actual "design highlights" document he wrote in May 2003 at Atari's request, intended as talking points for an upcoming press event for Temple of Elemental Evil.

Findings: The document reveals what Troika considered the game's key selling points: strict D&D 3.5 rules adherence, nonlinear design with multiple starts/endings, deep dialogue reactivity, turn-based combat with simultaneous enemy turns, precise spell targeting, magic item creation, metamagic feats, familiars, fallen paladins, and Iron Man mode — plus concrete stats (58 side quests, 144 NPCs, 35 followers, 90 monster types, 230+ spells, 40+ maps).

Key insight: A design highlights document serves as pre-prepared "sound bites" — quotable facts and features that communicate what makes your game special, and every developer should prepare one before press events.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGtFMspiEC0

1. Context: Why This Document Exists

Tim Cain found this document in his personal archive — a "design highlights" list dated May 13, 2003, written at Atari's request for an upcoming press event. The press event took place in August 2003 at a castle south of London. Tim wasn't originally assigned to attend; the first person had a family emergency, the replacement didn't have a valid passport, so Tim ended up going himself.

By this point, Tim had experience with press events from both Fallout and Arcanum (2001), so he knew what journalists wanted to hear. The document is essentially a template for how to promote a game — what to call out, what makes it special, and why press or players should care.

2. The Design Highlights

2.1. Strict Adherence to D&D 3.5 Rules

Temple of Elemental Evil was the first computer RPG to use D&D 3.5 edition rules. Tim notes it may have been the first to use 3.0 as well, though Neverwinter Nights may have beaten them to that. Their adherence was so strict that the game manual included an appendix listing every rule they had to omit or change. One example: they didn't include horses, so all horse-related skills and abilities were cut — and explicitly documented so players would know exactly where the game diverged from tabletop.

2.2. Multiple Paths: Starts, Middles, and Endings

The game featured multiple starting points (determined by party alignment), nonlinear progression through the middle, and multiple endings based on player behavior. Tim emphasizes this was the first time he'd seen a game where the starting scenario changed based on a character creation choice like alignment.

2.3. Alignment-Based Play

Beyond class restrictions (paladins must be lawful good, assassins must be evil), dialogues and endings changed based on player or party alignment. This was layered on top of the multiple starting points to create substantial replay variety.

2.4. Deep Dialogue Reactivity

Dialogues reacted to a wide range of player attributes and choices — not just dialogue skills, but also intelligence, class abilities, and reputation (which tracked the player's history with different factions). These checks would open or close dialogue branches dynamically.

Tim provided three concrete examples for press demos:

  • Talking to Furno or Spugnoir at the inn in Hommlet while naked opens a special dialogue branch
  • Discussing the tailor's problem with a short character (halfling, gnome, or dwarf) opens a unique branch
  • Speaking to the weaver's son-in-law with a beautiful female character (Charisma 15+) triggers special dialogue

Tim's punchline: you can see all three reactions with a single naked, beautiful, short female player character.

2.5. Simultaneous Enemy Combat Turns

To address the common complaint that turn-based combat is too slow, they implemented simultaneous turns for enemies who rolled the same initiative. Instead of watching four zombies act one by one, all four move at once, then it's the player's turn again. This was an optional feature designed to significantly speed up combat.

2.6. Precise Spell Targeting

Tim calls this one of his favorite features. In tabletop D&D, you can see exactly who a fireball will hit because it's your turn and nobody is moving. Many computer adaptations converted D&D to real-time or real-time-with-pause, losing that precision. As a turn-based game, ToEE displayed area-of-effect templates before casting, letting players place spells with certainty — no guessing, no friendly fire accidents from moving characters.

2.7. Magic Item Creation Feats

Players could craft their own magic items using creation feats and experience points. Crucially, the game included more magic item definitions than actually appeared as loot. This meant players could create items that would never drop in the module — the only way to obtain them was crafting. Since loot was also randomized, item creation feats gave players a way to guarantee specific gear for their builds.

2.8. Metamagic Feats

The game supported metamagic feats like Quicken Spell, which modify how spells function. This was particularly important for experienced players who wanted to execute specific character builds and play their spellcasters in particular ways.

2.9. Familiars and Animal Companions

Magic users could call familiars and rangers could get animal companions — not fixed or predetermined ones, but functioning the way they do in tabletop D&D 3.5. Some games at the time either skipped this feature entirely or provided only a fixed companion.

2.10. Fallen Paladins

Paladins who misbehaved — drinking too much, acting outside their lawful good oath — could fall, losing their paladin abilities and becoming regular fighters until they atoned. Tim humorously corrects himself mid-video: "I shouldn't say 'support.' Let's just say paladins can fall in this game if they misbehave. Calling it support makes it sound like we encourage it."

2.11. Iron Man Mode

A permadeath difficulty mode with a single save slot. The game auto-saves when you quit and loads that save when you return. If your party dies, the save is wiped. Tim frames this as the authentic tabletop experience — you can't ask the DM to reload a checkpoint. It captures how D&D actually works: you play, you can take breaks, but death is permanent.

3. The "Fun Facts" — Sound Bites for Press

Tim explicitly describes these statistics as pre-prepared "sound bites" — quotable numbers designed to be picked up in interviews:

  • 58 side quests in addition to the main story
  • 144 NPCs with actual dialogue (not counting generated greetings)
  • 35 potential followers hidden throughout the game
  • 90 different monster types (some only in random encounters or summoning spells)
  • 230+ spells (still being added at time of writing)
  • 40 explorable maps (100+ counting building interiors)

4. Lessons for Game Developers

The meta-lesson of this video is about press preparation. Tim emphasizes that every developer will eventually need to promote their game, and having a prepared document of design highlights — specific features, concrete numbers, and demonstrable examples — is essential. The document should answer: what makes this game special, why should press care, and why would a player want to play it.

5. References