'I Was Jealous'; Here's What Famous RPG Devs Think of Baldur's Gate 3
The creators of such series as Fallout and Dragon Age addressed Baldur's Gate 3. In addition to admiration and appreciation, there is also a pinch of jealousy and criticism.
At the time of release of Baldur's Gate 3 almost the entire gaming world fell in love with Larian Studios' work. Praise for the RPG has been pouring in from both gamers and industry reviewers in recent weeks. In all this avalanche of opinions, the only thing missing was the position of other game developers. Admittedly, immediately after the debut of the full version of BG3 individual studios congratulated the success of Larian Studios, but we wouldn't find statements from individual developers among them.
Fortunately, the editors of PC Gamer decided to fix this "mistake" and asked several leading industry figures, known for their work on RPGs, about their opinions on Baldur's Gate 3.
Brian Fargo
One of the first developers contacted by journalists was Interplay and inXile founder Brian Fargo. The developer behind such RPGs as The Bard's Tale or Wasteland 2 stated that initially he felt jealous that it was Larian Studios that had acquired the license for the Baldur's Gate brand, but given the company's track record, he understood that it was the right choice. Here's what he said:
"I felt jealousy during the launch, because me and Feargus [Urquhart - CEO of Obsidian Entertainment - editor's note] had been vying for this license for more than a decade and Larian finally got it and was even more successful than I imagined. Given the design and success of Divinity: Original Sin 2, Larian was a very wise choice."
The developer added that he has not yet played BG3, because he is "afraid to start, when he hears stories about people wandering around the mountains for 60 hours, barely advancing the main storyline."
Mike Laidlaw
More compliments came from the former creative director of Dragon Age, Mike Laidlaw.
The developer, who has had a taste of the Belgian studio's RPG, commented on the gameplay itself. Laidlaw praised above all the themes from the Divinitys eries, which have been woven into Baldur's Gate 3. The developer noted that he was particularly captivated by the flavors present in the game, such as talking animals.
The only complaint the developer had about the game (or himself) is that he always wants to wash his face before going to bed.
Josh Sawyer
On the other hand, Obsidian director Josh Sawyer noted that, as was the case in Divinity: Original Sin 2, the level of interactivity of the world in Baldur's Gate 3 stands at a very high level.
And although the developer's commentary is generally positive, he did not fail to send a few jabs aimed at the game. He criticized at the game's interface, which according to Sawyer is too confusing and clumsy. The heavy camera navigation and the lack of a pause button also deserved a minus.
"The lack of a simple, easily accessible pause button in single-player mode is extremely annoying, especially considering how easy it is to accidentally send characters toward a distant location along a dangerous route," Sawyer rebuked the developers.
Jeff Gardiner
Same as Mike Laidlaw, Jeff Gardiner was delighted with Baldur's Gate 3. The creator, previously associated with Bethesda, whose credits include such productions as Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, made no secret of his love for the brand. The developer recalled his youthful years spent on D&D and Baldur's Gate 2. The founder of Something Wicked Games stressed that he had great expectations for the game, which upon release were not only met, but even exceeded.
"My expectations for Baldur's Gate 3 could not have been higher. I grew up playing Dungeons & Dragons, running campaigns in musty basements for most of my childhood. After earning my master's degree, instead of looking for a job, I obsessively played Baldur's Gate 2.
I would wake up in the morning, order a pizza, four liters of Diet Coke and play for 16 hours non-stop... For eight days without a break. Within an hour of BG3 launch Larian not only met my unrealistically high expectations, but far exceeded them" Gardiner praises the game.
Interestingly, the developer even called Baldur's Gate 3 a masterpiece.
