The release of Baldur’s Gate 3 is approaching us in big steps. There are less than three weeks until the start of the PC version on August 3, 2023. After the very positive previews following Larian’s last panel from Hell and a preview event in Ghent, where we were also present, a discussion about the game’s legacy broke out even before the release. The numerous previews and videos that have appeared over the last week praise the RPG for its diversity, depth of gameplay and the ability for players to truly create their own story. A public debate ensued on the internet, with many video game developers arguing that Baldur’s Gate 3 should not be viewed as the new standard of the genre, but as an anomaly.
The trigger for the discussion was Xalavier Nelson, head of the indie studio Strange Scaffold. “Like many others, I’m excited about what the nice folks at Larian have achieved with Baldur’s Gate 3, but I want to gently and pre-emptively resist players using that excitement to offer criticism or a ‘raised standard’ for to introduce future role-playing games,” writes the developer on his Twitter channel. He thinks that the game cannot be separated from the circumstances in which it was created. In the case of Baldur’s Gate 3, that would be a six-year development cycle, the two massive predecessors on whose technical and content expertise can be drawn, and a successful three-year Early Access phase that has provided critical feedback and steady revenue.
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“This isn’t a new standard for RPGs – it’s an anomaly. Trying to do the same thing the same way, especially without the same benefits, could kill a whole group of studios,” concludes Xalavier Nelson . Many other developers quickly followed Nelson’s point of view. Rebecca Harwick, Senior Narrative Designer at Spellforce 3 developers, writes that while gamers shouldn’t get upset about how much big games cost to develop these days, they demand that they set the standard by which all others are measured have to leave. Nick Tringali even questions the whole concept of a ‘standard’: “Honestly, even the concept of a ‘standard’ is a pernicious concept. Games don’t have to keep getting bigger or more technically complex, it’s just a narrative created by tech companies. If Larian wants to make a smaller game next time, that’s fine!”
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Of course, it’s understandable that indie developers resist being compared to a mega production like Baldur’s Gate 3. Most small studios don’t have the manpower and financial resources to keep up. However, it is somewhat strange that AAA developers and studios also get involved in the discussion and represent similar points of view. Among others, Chris Balser, senior designer of Diablo 4, has his say. “You’re absolutely right. Even if you look at one of Vincke’s touchstones, Ultima 7, it’s a game that’s been influenced by previous games for 12 years. If we were to look at that as a new benchmark, we’d have to focus on the To create conditions, just like with TotK. But too often people only look at the fruits of the work and not at the work itself. It’s always been like that, I think,” said Balser. Diablo itself is a series that can draw on decades of experience and Blizzard is a studio that easily has many times more resources available than Larian has.
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How do you see the whole topic? Should outstanding games serve as a benchmark for future productions, or are titles like Baldur’s Gate 3 rather exceptions for you? What should RPG developers learn from Baldur’s Gate 3? Write us your opinion in the comments.
