Nemesis was developed by
Sir-Tech and conceived by director Linda Currie, the younger sister of company founders Rob and Norm Sirotek. Currie had worked at the company for many years, most recently as the producer of
Jagged Alliance. Speaking to
PC Gamer US in 1995, Currie explained that
Nemesis was designed as an adventure/role-playing hybrid that was "not [...] intimidating or complex." Its controls were simplified, and she compared its design to that of
Myst, but with a greater emphasis on action and conversation. Like
Myst,
Nemesis also features
pre-rendered 3D graphics. Currie said that the team hoped to provide "the enjoyment of adventure but the conflict of a combat game." According to
PC Gamers T. Liam McDonald,
Nemesis was an attempt by Sir-Tech to engage the era's influx of new computer game players, many of whom were unfamiliar with the
Wizardry license. However, instead of making the game part of the series' canon, Sir-Tech created an original setting meant to retain only what Currie called "the qualities that
Wizardry stands for: an epic story, intrigue, mystery, and arsenals of unique items." In contrast to previous
Wizardry titles, the designers chose to make
Nemesis a real-time game. Matching real-time combat and enemy movement with "step-based" player motion was a challenge for the team. In addition, Currie explained that combat speed had to be paced to give players time to react to enemy attacks. She told
PC Gamer that she wanted
Nemesis to offer strategic options, despite its real-time nature, to grant the player an opportunity "for something more than
click-click-click." In the July 1996 issue of
PC Magazine, writer Michael E. Ryan reported that
Nemesis was planned for a September release. It was ultimately released on October 17, 1996. ==Reception==