Summary

• Other companies may have difficulty replicating the success of
  Baldur’s Gate 3
  without having to accept any serious disadvantages.
• The high standard the game sets may inadvertently encourage poor labor practices in the industry.
• The success of Larian Studios with
  Baldur’s Gate 3
  was born from a combination of creative freedom, player feedback and a dedicated team.

It is no secret that Baldur’s Gate 3 has established itself as one of the best games of the last decade. Its masterfully crafted story and mechanics, accompanied by a variety of features, have made it a favorite among players of all backgrounds, from CRPG veterans to newcomers. Due to its quality, several developers have commented that it probably won’t be long before it gets repeated.

According to several developers, the milestone that Larian Studios is reaching with the release of Baldur’s Gate 3 is an exception to the rule and not the norm to be followed. This opinion has angered more than one player, outraged by the recurring problems of various companies in the industry, such as unrepaired games, high prices and unnecessary microtransactions. However, developers’ opinions may shed light on a key industry-wide problem that needs to be addressed.

Other companies can hardly repeat such a performance without suffering significant disadvantages

The developers fear that setting such a high standard could indirectly encourage bad practices in the workplace

Shortly after the release and impressive reception of Baldur’s Gate 3several developers began sharing their opinions on social media about why It would be wrong to call the game a new standard for all subsequent releases in the industryThis mindset could be detrimental to both the developers and the players themselves, even if they are not aware of it.

Strange Scaffold studio head and BAFTA-nominated writer Xalavier Nelson Jr. sparked the discussion by sharing his perspective in a Twitter/X thread. In the posts, the writer explained that behind the creation of Baldur’s Gate 3was a lot of hard work on the part of Larian Studios that could hardly be reproduced again due to the sheer size of the project. Making such a gigantic investment again would not guarantee a successful launch and could, on the contrary, endanger all the companies involved.

Many other developers supported this opinion and highlighted further details. A prominent element to consider would be the creative and financial freedom that the project hadlike Obsidian Entertainment’s designer Josh Sawyer of Fallout: New Vegas Fame. It is worth remembering that something similar happened with a Sawyer project, because with Kickstarter funding the studio developed the acclaimed Pillars of Eternity.

One particular element highlighted by several developers in the conversation was the risk of encouraging poor labor practices in companies that don’t have the resources or number of employees to maintain such standards. In other words, this mindset would further normalize crunching and ignore the work and effort that Larian Studios needed to create one of the best games in recent years.

Many things had to come together for BG3 to be a critical success

The success of other CRPGs paved the way

• The publication of Divinity II: Ego Draconis left Larian in debt, but it was the support of Kickstarter and the success of Divinity: Original Sin to get the studio back on its feet.
• Since Original Sin 2The company has released its games in Early Access to get feedback from players and make the necessary changes to improve the experience.
• Baldur’s Gate 3 appealed to a wide range of players: fans of the original saga, western RPG fans and Dungeons & Dragons fans.

Larian Studios had a number of important advantages in preparing the creation Baldur’s Gate 3. First and foremost It was a mixture of good management, a big budget, a big time frame and, above all, knowledge from previous projects.The company was founded in 1996, but only gained recognition in 2002 with the release of Divine Divinity. Since then, they have continued with other projects in this CRPG saga, until the release of Divinity: Original Sin And Original Sin 2 were released to great critical acclaim and at the box office.

It was the Larian developers themselves who were interested in making a sequel to the Baldur’s Gate series, so they contacted Wizards of the Coast to propose the idea. However, it was only the success of Original Sin 2 that gave the project the green light, and since then they have been working on a project that would last 7 years. Taking advantage of the experience gained with the Early Access launch of Original Sin 2The studio decided to use the same approach for Baldur’s Gate 3and launched it in Early Access in 2020 to gather public opinion. This meant 3 years of continuous work based on players’ opinions and feedback.

Several elements were crucial to the success of Baldur’s Gate 3 before its release. Many players were looking forward to the company’s new project after the success of Original Sin 2while many others longed for a new RPG that could fill the gap left by games like Mass Effect and the original Baldur’s Gate. On the other hand the growing success of shows like Stranger Things And Critical role more people were interested in Dungeons & Dragons. When a particular scene involving a bear was finally revealed and caused a stir, a whole fan community formed, interested in knowing the official release date of the full game.

It is also important to highlight the work that can be seen directly in the game. There is a great variety of mechanics to explore, which offer endless possibilities to each player, but they are adapted in such a way that it is not necessary to use hundreds of tutorials to learn them. In addition, the writing is almost flawless and full of exciting adventures with captivating dialogues complemented by good cutscenes with impressive voice acting. Of course, all this took shape little by little and with constant feedback and correction work taking into account the opinions of the players.

The industry can adopt several ideas to achieve more successful releases

Creative freedom and player feedback are of great importance

• Creative freedom is a fundamental point. Larian Studios took many creative risks with Divinity: Original Sinbecause the trend of the time was quite different.
• Player feedback literally shaped the kind of game they themselves would enjoy Baldur’s Gate 3and this quality benefited a wider audience.
• Many fans supported the decision when it was announced that the game would be a one-time purchase with no microtransactions.

Beyond the comparison and the inability to get a comparable game Baldur’s Gate 3it is important to recognize what details can be reproduced in order to create more games of such high quality under favorable conditions for the same developers that stand out from the rest. In this respect, Larian’s game can become a role model rather than a basic standard for what is prescribed in the industry.

Many of the above details could come about through a favorable working environment, which according to journalist Jason Schreier would be made possible by Larian Studios’ status as a private company. As a result, they would not be limited to practices such as short deadlines and publisher-driven microtransactions, as would be the case in other cases. This could also be a wake-up call for other companies to give development teams more freedom to deliver high-quality content that has a better chance of being well received.

It is important to understand that in case of Baldur’s Gate 3Larian took an approach that focused on fans of a specific niche: fans of CRPGs and Dungeons & Dragons. This led to the use of tools like Early Access to find out in almost real time what players liked or didn’t like and make the necessary changes. This is evident when comparing earlier versions of the game with the final version, as many details of the text and interface were completely changed and even new characters were introduced that are now fan favorites, such as Halsin and Minthara. They also showed that they understood their fans by releasing the game in its entirety and foregoing microtransactions.

A very important detail, however, which one must take into account when developing Baldur’s Gate 3 The key to success was the team behind the entire game. It was a team of experienced developers who had worked on similar games for several years, learning and experimenting on their own along the way. People who understand what needs to be changed and how to do it right. This is becoming increasingly difficult when so many companies are constantly cutting staff and not allowing their employees to gain enough experience to not only make good games, but also make a living developing video games without risking their financial stability and health.

After all, there are many things that Baldur’s Gate 3 has done very well. Excellent writing, hundreds of hours of content that never seems to end, complex but easy to master and fun game mechanics and much more. But It’s important to remember that this is all thanks to a dedicated team who took their time and enjoyed the process. Understandably, many developers believe that a game like Baldur’s Gate 3 will never be repeated, but it also means that there is potential for even better games if better conditions are normalized for the developers themselves.