* You don't have to know the first three DSA games to enjoy Drakensang
* The preview version they played at the developers Berlin studio was 80% complete.
* In the beginning your character travels to the capital Ferdok to meet with an old friend called Ardo. But he is missing and after a few inquiries you find out that there have been several murders in Ferdok and that your friend is somehow involved.
* Later on the player will learn that Ardo is dead and stumble across a big conspiracy.
* You may play elves, dwarfes and humans
* You do not need to understand the pnp system to play the game.
* There won't be day/night cycles
* You walk from one area into another by using a map (like BG oder NWN2 I think)
* There will be 50 locations, all about 1km^2
* There are random encounters
* The game looks and feels like a BG
* Six person party: Four heroes, one guest and a summoned creature
* You may 'store' your characters in one location and they level even if you are not using them (see NWN2 or Kotor)
* you may pause combat at any time
* There are 40 spells
* Some of them have been modified (for example the 'five-minutes' spells)
* You can hurt your own party members if you are not careful enough
* Not all dialogues will be synchronized
* There will be only on ending but a few ways to get there

RPGVault has conducted an interview with Project Director Bernd Beyreuther to catch up on Drakensang.

Jonric: How significant will the story element be, and what are you doing to make this part of Drakensang stand out?

Bernd Beyreuther: Drakenang's story is one of its key elements. This game is no rush-through action hack and slay. The story has been the cornerstone since the start of the whole development process; you can even describe the game as story-driven.

Players will experience an epic story with unique characters. There were six original The Dark Eye authors who created the Drakensang story, dialogues and more than 80 unique characters that, of course, also got unique looks. In-game cutscenes support the story, which develops very intensely when you talk to other characters. We had a very special eye for all these characters that the player can take into his party. We are convinced they will easily find a way into the player's heart.

Jonric: How significant will the dialogues and other interactions with characters be within the overall gameplay?

Bernd Beyreuther: Dialogues are definitely another key element of Drakensang and its gameplay. They are mandatory for solving quests; we could even say they are the story's motor.

We expanded the classical multiple choice dialogue system to make it more dynamic. Dialogue skills like beguiling or convincing will mean conversations never run the same. It is important for the player to get immersed into the story, to engage in dialogues; otherwise, he won't be able to complete various quests, or even get them.

Link: Drakensang interview on RPGVault.