The demo begins in a hardscrabble village called West Harbor, once the site of a cataclysmic battle. The atmosphere of this swamp outpost is thickly oppressive: rushes grow in lifelike disorder over the rambling terrain, torches and will o' the wisps irradiate the mist in patches. The new graphics engine uses normal-mapping and HDR lighting to convincing effect. Though all the demo's dialogue is glib placeholder presently, a conversation system similar to that of Knights of the Old Republic is observable, with similar moral choices and ramifications. Fittingly, the demonstration centers on the rich customizations available to prospective "Dungeon Masters" (as the moderators of D&D sessions are called): Lead Programmer Frank Kowalkowski dismisses the fog to reveal far blue skies, which then pass rapidly through the hours of a picturesque day. He then turns the area's usual greenish light to glowering red, creating a semblance of a volcanic cave.