
In the shadow of Starfield, it seems like the Baldur's Gate 3 hype train might finally be beginning to slow, but its own legacy is just beginning. Larian Studios' success seems to have surprised even the developers themselves, with the studio's lead writer paying tribute to the giants upon whose shoulders they stood to get here.
Larian lead writer Adam Smith spoke to PC Gamer and reflected on the task of following up on BioWare's Baldur's Gate 2: Shadows of Amn. Released in 2000, its widely regarded as one of the best games ever made, and Smith describes the pressure of continuing the story of its timeless characters.
Set 100 later, Baldur's Gate 3 tells an all-new story and doesn't require playing the previous entries, but that doesn't mean there won't be some familiar faces. BioWare lost the rights to the series (to Atari, of all companies), with the official Dungeons & Dragons setting making the property something of a hot commodity. It would be many years before Swen Vincke and Larian Studios would get their hands on the keys to the role-playing kingdom.
"It's easy to forget because the game's out there now, but when we first started working on [Baldur's Gate 3], it was 'shoulders of giants' stuff. [Baldur's Gate] was such a big shadow. We were like, 'Do we ever look okay in this shadow?' There was anxiety about it."
Both earlier entries in the series were dense, incredibly well-written games in their own right, and players could import their character from the first and continue their journey in the second. This idea, in particular, along with a focus on companion characters, was something that BioWare would explore in different ways in both the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises that would follow and keep players enthralled for years to come.
Recalling the heroic Harper, Jaheira, a recruitable companion in BioWare's Baldur's Gate games, Smith says the druid is the most important character in the series for him personally. Jaheira returns as a companion character in BG3, and Smith hopes that future creators hold his own creations in such reverence, stating:
"It means a lot whenever I see anybody who was even vaguely associated with the original games being pleased because we owe them a huge debt, and we hope we did them proud. If, in 20 years time, somebody picks up our characters and does something with them, it will be amazing. It does feel like a wonderful thing to have them live that long."
Are you glad to see a return to the glorious, CRPG-inspired roleplaying games of the 90s and early 2000s? Let us know in the comments section below.
[source pcgamer.com]
Comments 8
Hopefully BG3's success will encourage them to make a legendary edition of the dragon age trilogy
I played the original BG and honestly didn't like it, but only because I hate real time combat in rpg/crpg games. However, I'm loving BG3 on PC right now and it makes me happy that turn-based, isometric view games are making a comeback. Made me long for a proper Fallout successor and, lo and behold, Broken Roads is about to be released this year. Currently playing the demo on Steam and it's promising! Congrats Larian, you already achieved gaming immortality.
@gollumb82 Would recommend Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous if you want another expansive turn-based RPG, another excellent game by an excellent studio now working on a Warhammer CRPG.
Interested in bg3, I played bg 1&2 back then on pc but both didn't click with me, I like planescape torment (1997) though. I prefer jrpg compared to crpg but maybe I'll like this one, still undecided between playing it on pc or ps5. After I'm done with elden ring & later armored core 6 of course.
@ShadowofSparta
Thanks for the suggestion! I'll add the title to the list of games for late 2024, as starting from 6th September I will be jumping between BG3 and Starfield. Also, since I've only just returned to Playstation, I still haven't even played GOWR, GoT, HFW and Spiderman 2 is on the horizon...
This Studio cant put a foot wrong right now.
Its inspiring to hear them acknowledge and show deference to the works they built on, and such thoughts only go to further mark them out as dev to hold up and say 'See! This is how its done and we dont need any preditory mtx to make our buisness model work!' 😀
@gollumb82 Broken Roads has been on my wish list for a while now as well, looking forward to that getting released, I'll need to look into the demo.
And obviously can't wait for BG3.
There's a typo in the article title, btw – the apostrophe in 'shoulders'
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...