which allowed them to complete the change to Third Edition rules. The Infinity Engine required extensive modification to comply with Third Edition rules, as it had originally been designed for Second Edition rules; certain elements of the rules were removed due to interface and engine issues. The game's interface was redesigned, and all-new art was created. It features new item icons, with new spell icons by Brian Menze; Menze had previously created Planescape: Torments spell icons. Jason Manley, the portrait artist for the previous Icewind Dale games, left Black Isle Studios in late 2001; several new works he painted before his departure were later used in Icewind Dale II. Black Isle Studios artist Justin Sweet was asked to substitute. The game's resolution was increased to a minimum resolution of 800x600, with an unofficially supported maximum resolution of 2048x1536. J. E. Sawyer managed rule implementation, but the areas of the game were divided between designers. For example, designer Chris Avellone created the opening sequence, designer Dave Maldonado developed the Black Raven Monastery and a large area of wilderness, and designers John Deiley and Damien Foletto created the ending areas. Partway through development, Sawyer left the team to work as the lead designer on another internal project; Dave Maldonado and Chris Avellone were given his areas to finish. The developers wanted the game to contain more breaks from combat, with character interaction and puzzle solving, than the previous Icewind Dale. The decision to include more puzzles was influenced by the positive reception to the puzzles in Icewind Dale: Trials of the Luremaster. The game went gold on August 5, 2002, and was released on August 27. After the release of Icewind Dale II, Sawyer expressed dissatisfaction over the Icewind Dale series, saying that "I wasn't particularly thrilled with how my work on [Icewind Dale] came out..." and, "...[Heart of Winter] managed to actually be worse than my Icewind Dale stuff". In regards to Icewind Dale II he said: "[It] came out better than I expected, but still, not exactly awe-inspiring". Chris Avellone later said: "Icewind Dale was a fun series, but it didn't try to set the bar for anything other than a fun romp. People may remember enjoying it, but it wasn’t trying to break any new ground or do anything revolutionary. In some respects, it was almost a step back from other games we'd done and focused more on exploration