Larian Studios Respects Every Player. Including One Who Doesn't Want to Figure Out Mechanics and Skip Dialogues
For Larian Studios, it doesn't matter who the player is. First and foremost, the player is supposed to have fun.
There is no doubt that Baldur’s Gate 3 is a big game. According to HowLongToBeat, just completing the main story takes 66 hours, and if you add side quests, this number increases to 110 hours. However, not everyone can dedicate so much time to a single title and never make it to the end credits, as the developers at Larian Studios are well aware.
Interview With Baldur's Gate 3 Devs - Swen Vincke and Adam Smith
This news was created based on an interview conducted by our editorial team with Swen Vincke and Adam Smith during Digital Dragons 2024.
It doesn't matter who your player is, they need to have a good time
Our editorial team asked Swen Vincke (head of Larian Studios) and Adam Smith (screenwriter) whether they also consider such players during game design and strive to ensure they experience satisfaction even from a brief excerpt of the entire game. Their response can actually be condensed to these statements:
It doesn't matter who the player is, they need to have a good time. They're going to be spending time in your game and this is something we take really, really seriously.
The developers believe that satisfaction should come from every moment spent with the game, and it's okay if someone doesn't familiarize themselves with the entire thing. Adam Smith gave the example of his own wife, who started Baldur's campaign four times and never even finished the Second Act. It's important for every player to be able to find something in the game that brings them fun.
According to the screenwriter, it is also important to make players aware that skipping dialogues isn't a bad thing. For this reason, he tries to conduct the narration in such a way that in every situation players would be able to say to themselves: "I understand where I'm at; I know where I'm going next. I know where and what to kill."
The available game mechanics are also an important aspect. The fifth edition of D&D, on which the third Baldur is based, may seem complicated to some and not everyone will want to fully engage in it. The developers are aware of this and, when designing a game, they also keep these players in mind.
I want to use my magic, so I tend to stick to the simpler classes. I'm not very good, but I want to try everything. [...] It's about making sure that the people who aren't as engaged systemically are still able to play a character where they can say: “I'm just gonna enjoy it.”
I must admit that devs from Larian managed to achieve their intended goal. I have 7 characters on my account, but I've only finished the storyline with one of them. They were typically powerful half-orcs who did nothing but chop down everyone with a massive axe. Baldur's Gate 3 simply offers so many possibilities that many players will find something to enjoy at every stage of the game.
