Editing David Mullich/Story of the Forge

[[David Mullich]]'s recollection of the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge's]] development and cancellation.

== Story of the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] (from Celestial Heavens) ==
Here's the story behind the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] Town.

HOMM exists in the Might and Magic universe, and over the past few years we made a conscious effort to intertwine the storylines of the two game franchises.

When we were thinking about possible storylines for the first Heroes 3 expansion, we were aware of Might and Magic IV's [[Heavenly Forge]], which produced artifacts utilizing the technology of the [[Ancients]].

We thought that it was time to allow Might and Magic's science fiction elements to appear in HOMM -- but only as an *expansion* of the game -- an offshoot of the game universe for those who would be interested in it, sort of like the various expansions in AD&D and other paper-based role-playing games. It would be there for those who liked the expansion, and not for those who just wanted to play the main game.

We did have some debate about what visual form this technology would take. I advocated more of a [[wikipedia:Jules Verne|Jules Verne]] glass-and-brass look; others wanted a WWII look. While we were still in the conceptual phase, our Marketing department said they needed whatever artwork we had.

Unfortunately, I rushed to fulfill their request and failed to ask what they wanted them for or to weed out concepts that we had rejected or were not fit for public viewing (such as bare-breasted Naga-tanks).

Well, all the concept art was posted on the Internet "as is," and the fan reaction was swift, negative, and passionate. Management quickly caved and ordered us to come up with a new idea for the expansion. Thus, the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] town was replaced with the [[Conflux]].

Sadly, some at [[NWC]] were sorely disappointed that the fans did not trust us, while some fans continued to vent their own disappointment at us for some time afterwards.

And even today, the effects of the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] Town incident linger on...

== Recollections on the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] to AcidDragon [https://www.forge.acidcave.net/listy_od_tworcow.html] ==
Work on the [[Forge (NWC)|Forge]] Town didn't progress very far. We started modeling the town and some of the creatures, but the pictures that were released (and caused all the furor) pretty much communicated where we were headed (although the pictures were more graphic than what we would have eventually ended up with). But the basic idea was a combination WWII/fantasy look.

[[Category: Behind the Scenes]]