Yes, Baldur's Gate 3 is happening and is being developed by Larian Studios, the creator of the amazing Divinity: Original Sin 2. The abandonment of a RPG also acclaimed by the criticism seems to be the perfect marriage – and the partnership between Larian and Wizards of The Coast (Dungeons & Dragons licensees) has the whole story. Prior to the official revelation of Baldur's Gate 3, GameSpot video producer and aficionado of D & D, Dave Jewitt, was able to catch up with the founder and director of Larian Studios Swen Vincke. They talked about almost everything that led up to this point; Baldur's Gate and his creative approach when managing a legendary franchise were influenced by Larian's office dynamics and the impression of working on the Google Stadia online gaming platform.
Although Baldur's Gate 3 was announced in the Stadia Connect stream before the E3 2019, Larian plans to also offer it to PCs. There is no release date yet. It is therefore likely that the game will not be launched alongside Stadia. As Vincke says, the game will be ready when it's ready. For now, enjoy Dave's conversation with Swen Vincke on everything about Baldur's Gate below or see the breakdown they've made together in the video above.
A shot of the trailer show the flayers in the mind.
What was the mood in the studio after Divinity: Original Sin 2, given its receipt after the final edition and so on?
Swen Vincke: Ecstatic. That sums up just about everything. Super proud. People worked very, very, very hard on it, so it was very rewarding to see all the praise from the critics, and from there fans and sales. It was just fantastic.
Has this factor entered Baldur's Gate 3 or have you ever worked with D: OS2?
SV: The team already knew we were working on Baldur & # 39; s Gate 3 and so she was very excited to start, really looking forward to starting working on it. One of the things we had to do to conclude this agreement was to pass the story script to Wizards of the Coast before the release of Original Sin 2, in reality. I think it must be July or August [2017]just before his expedition.
With the writers, we went to a hotel room and sat there all weekend. We just released the full script that we sent to Wizards of the Coast.
What did Wizards of the Coast say?
SV: They said, "You should finish Divinity: Original Sin 2!"[[[[Laughs]
It's the second version, but the basic ideas were already there. We simply did not have time to fix everything, but then, once D: OS2 was shipped, we had plenty of time to focus on Baldur's Gate. So we spent a lot of time at their desks.
What made you want to apply for the Baldur's Gate license?
SV: There are a lot of reasons. Dungeons & Dragons is something that is super loved in the studio. Of course, we make RPGs, and that's 40 years ago. Secondly, if you think about what D & D is, it's a game system in which you are given an adventure, a reason to go do things and use gaming systems to overcome challenges. In general, you will do all kinds of crazy things to defeat the game master. And if the game master is good, they will make sure they can do it.
If you think about Original Sin 2, that's literally what we're trying to do as well. There is a very close match between offering systems to players and reasons to do things, and then asking them the very big question you ask in D: OS2 and in D & D: what are you doing? The situation was very natural and some time ago, Wizards of the Coast began to get talked about.
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The third thing is that it's an incredible challenge. People have been waiting for it for over 20 years now. It's something the team has to overcome, it's to make them even better than they already are, and say 'can we make it happen?' People are very motivated to demonstrate that they can because they all have a lot of talent. So, hopefully, we will get there.
Was it something that Wizards of the Coast approached you with, or was it something you wanted to do with your lineage and approach them with the idea?
SV: It goes both ways. I originally approached them after Divinity: Original Sin 1, but they felt that I was still too green at the time. While we were doing Original Sin 2 and when they saw what we were doing, I suppose Nathan de Wizards approached me and asked me, "Do you want always do that? " I said, "F *** yeah!"
I said, "I want to do this"So," he said, "here's what you need to do. "Then we did all these things, and from there came out the market.
What was the reaction? Did you sit everyone in the studio and say, "We have Baldur's Gate 3" – how was it?
SV: There were two reactions. It was quite funny actually. So we have four studios. And I also told Steve not to tell other guys, because I wanted to have the joy of being the one who tells them and who sees their faces.
We brought everyone together and we had two reactions. We had the guys who were completely panicking. But then surprisingly, or maybe not so surprisingly, the younger ones who said, "What is it?[[[[whisper]"In reality, they did not know what it was.
This shows you how long people have not played at Baldur's Gate. Then, when people explained the situation to them, the reaction became: "Oh my god, okay, it's really cool." But they did not have the insane reaction you see of those who played there when they were young.
For many of them, it was their first role play that they played. It was actually a revelation and instantly told us something that we had to overcome. If we want to make this game, we have to educate people about what it really is.
Is three a reinvention? A straight sequel? How much do you take originals?
SV: The previous Baldur & # 39; s Gate games were based on Dungeons & Dragons 3.5. We are now the fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Much has happened in Forgotten Realms. Much has happened in Baldur's Gate, so it will be a new entry.
There will obviously be references to everything that happened in the first and second, but it's really his own story. You do not need to play Baldur's previous Gates to understand what's going on, but if you know it well, you'll recognize the references. For example, if you just watch the trailer, you will notice that the guy is Flaming Fist, he has a flaming fist on his chest.
So, this game is more faithful to the tradition of the table than it comes directly from Baldur's Gate 2.
SV: Yes. This is in the Forgotten Realms and where the universe is, but it is its own story. We have worked closely with the Wizards, they have actually adapted some things to make it work in the video game as well. They have been very very flexible in this regard. We had to make various adaptations to make it a video game, but this one contains a lot of iconic elements that people like at Dungeons & Dragons.
Larian, of course, having great expertise in this genre, what do you think your studio will be able to add to what is already a dense franchise with a story?
SV: I think that the focus on our systems that we had in previous games that we created will add a lot. You will have many more agencies available because of all the freedom we will offer you when you have overcome challenges. The effect of this is going to be a big thing.
We are also in 2019 now – the launch will not necessarily happen this year – but in 2019, the world has evolved tremendously. With Divinity: Original Sin, we demonstrated that we could create what people call the classic RPG values we can modernize. You will see a modern version of Baldur's Gate, but it will be more than ever true to the heart of Dungeons & Dragons. It will involve difficult decisions, a player agency, systems, a strong narrative, companions, reunite your party.
All these things will be present and you can play solo and multiplayer, like the original ones, but then in our own way and much more evolved than they were at the time.
The evolution of games over the past 20 years since the original will obviously affect the position of Baldur's Gate 3.
SV: Yeah. We try not to go back, but to go ahead. I think we will also bring new things to the genre. There are a lot of things, ideas that we have sat down on and we have not been able to integrate into our previous games and that no one has put in role plays. You will see that it goes through Baldur's Gate 3.
When you worked on the original Divinity, was this inspired by the Baldur & # 39; s Gate series?
SV: It's funny that you talk about it. Just before that, we created a game called The Lady, The Mage, And The Knight (LMK), which was canceled. And we discovered that Baldur & # 39; s Gate was in development while we manufactured LMK. Then, of course, it was canceled and put on the back burner.
When it came to presenting the first Divinity to the editors, we explained to them that it was a cross between Diablo and Baldur's Gate, just to explain the concept to them. Yes, there was really inspiration there. Diablo was the one who had the RPG action focus. Baldur & # 39; s Gate concerned more about all the systems and statistics you had, as well as the party and their participation in the exploration. Baldur's Gate was the subject of much more global exploration than you had done at Diablo because you could interact with people, you could even talk to them, while Diablo was really focused on the progression and the action of the characters.
Since this series has influenced your first games, it must be pretty amazing now to build the next iteration of this series.
SV: Yes, it is a very big responsibility. I mean, this is the type of game that people have already defined for themselves. So we're going to fight those expectations, but we're going to do it our way, which we think is the right way to do it. Then we will see what the community will say. I think they're going to have fun with that, but yes. We will see.
What do you expect from the official announcement?
SV: We wanted to talk about it because we kept the secret very bad, so it's clear. We also want to start talking to our community. We created all our games with the community. It will not be different. Obviously, we will have the entire Dungeons & Dragons community in which we will begin to engage and, in one way or another, together we will evolve towards the RPG that it deserves to be.
Do you follow the same path that you did with Original Sin 2? Do you go with a Kickstarter or do you take it fully and run with some community involvement?
SV: I can not tell you that it will not be a Kickstarter. Original Sin 2 has been so successful that it would not make sense to take it. [Baldur’s Gate 3] Kickstarter, except for the community. We will do other things to involve our community and we will announce them in the coming months.
What stage of development is it at this moment?
SV: We are in production. This is the biggest role-playing game we have ever created. Our team therefore has more than 200 people in-house and, with all the external staff, we manage more than 300 people. It's a very big production. It's the biggest we've ever done.
Being the biggest role-playing game you've ever created, do you have a general purpose: what can you expect to see in terms of reach?
SV: Freedom of choice, free will is the main pillar. Whether you play solo or multiplayer, you have the freedom to affect the world and the world reacts to your actions as you embark on this fantastic narrative and you have many different ways to play so that when you talk to a friend of yours My friends about your session, you say, "Are we playing the same game?" Mainly because of the choices you make, it is the ideal scenario.
The production values are also very high. At the time, Baldur Doors 1 and 2 were actually achievements when we saw the size of the world. It must be the same when you look at it.
Then a lot to explore, right? When you play Baldur & # 39; s Gate, you explore a lot of things, so it must be the same when you have that sense of exploration, there is one more thing to discover and say, "Oh my God, that leads to that, I did not expect that. "Then, preferably, when you get there, you'll say," Oh, because of what I've done there, Is what happened here. " Right? If we can have that feeling, then you will feel like the adventure belongs to you or belongs to your party.
As he is so inspired and based on dungeons and table dragons, does this influence your approach to the multiplayer mode? Is it going to be like sitting with a dungeon master? Or will there be a fixed number of party goers?
SV: It's a video game, so you want your video games to react quickly to what you're doing and to present it to you in a visual way. A dungeon master is very appealing to your imagination, so we have to show things. In this sense, it will be different.
In multiplayer mode, you can expect that, as in a traditional table session, each person is his own hero. We are having a party together, but we each have our own story and we each define a part of what will happen in this adventure and maybe even conflict. This should be very present.
For those who do not know Baldur's Gate, as you've said before, some people are new to this franchise, can you sort of break down what we see in the teaser that will catch up with us and will prepare for Baldur's Gate 3?
Baldur & # 39; s Gate III – Uncut Press Release | E3 2019
Cut:
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SV: D & # 39; agreement. You start by seeing the city of Baldur's Gate 3, making it, in my opinion, the first 3D rendering ever made. Then you see a knight belonging to a group of mercenaries called The Flaming Fist, who makes order outside the city and in parts of what is called the Lower City. You also have a part of the upper town where all the rich live in Baldur's Gate. They are ruled by someone else called The Watch.
Then you see that there is clearly a conflict. There are corpses everywhere and then this knight has something to do and he is actually experiencing a version of what we would call an accelerated ceremonial, which is basically a means of reproduction of these creatures called the crooks of the spirit .
They stick a tadpole in people's heads, this tadpole grows up, then he turns a human being or any humanoid into a mental burrower and maybe they're guys you may know about Stranger Things. These are these psyonic creatures with tentacles and very intelligent, but they are hive creatures. They have brains of elders who command them.
They once had an incredible empire called Mind Flayer Empire, but things went wrong. They have been hiding in a place called The Underdark, which looks like the basement of this world of Forgotten Realms. In one way or another, they managed to get people in Baldur's Gate who turn into mind-burners and you see shots where they fly off, c & rdquo; Is therefore an elephant invasion of mind dissipation.
In the very last shot, you see that big thing with tentacles, which is called a naulitoid and that is the thing that they had when they had their old empire. Think of it as a spaceship capable of navigating the astral plane, which is almost tantamount to quantum mechanics to explain how it works.[[[[Laughs].
Yes, that's what you see. It's time to gather the party.
What do you do in Baldur & # 39; s Gate 3, does it now influence the world table version of Baldur's Gate?
SV: Yes, and we worked closely with Wizards and the people who were working on what was previously called Eclipse, Baldur's Gate: Descent to Avernus. They spent a lot of time with us and we spent a lot of time in their offices.
There was close collaboration to plant the seeds of what we needed in Descent Into Avernus, which begins just before Baldur's Gate 3, the video game. You will find many things that you will see referenced inside the game and vice versa. There are seeds planted for things that will evolve in the video game.
It's one of the first games we've heard about its launch on Google Stadia. Can you tell us how this will work on an unknown platform like this?
SV: This is not so unknown to us[[[[Laughs]. We have been there for a while. The problem with Stadia is that it will be accessible to everyone, at least if you have Stadia services in the country where you are. This will allow you to play the game with very high settings on a very crappy PC, which will solve one of the problems we have with this game as the production values are high. We have always tried to make the games pretty low, so that solves the problem.
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Stadia autorisera également toute une série de fonctionnalités communautaires que vous ne seriez pas en mesure de réaliser. Je ne sais pas si vous avez prêté attention à ce qui se passe dans le domaine du streaming en ce qui concerne Dungeons & Dragons, mais il se passe beaucoup de choses là-bas. Des choses comme Stadia vous permettent de faire beaucoup plus.
Nous implémentons Stadia assez profondément dans le jeu, en fait. En temps voulu, nous annoncerons les fonctionnalités et les démontrerons. Je ne pense pas que les gens comprennent, pour le moment, à quel point le Stadia sera transformateur. Pas de manière professionnelle, je le pense vraiment. Parce qu'ils ne l'ont pas vu, ils ne l'ont pas touché, mais c'est assez spécial.
Je suppose que c'est un excellent moyen d'apporter quelque chose comme Dungeons & Dragons qui est censé être accessible à tout le monde, Stadia semble être le partenaire idéal pour cela. Comme vous l'avez dit, n'importe qui avec un PC de merde peut toujours jouer et s'impliquer.
SV: Cela le démocratise. Je veux dire, vous pourrez y accéder n'importe où et si vous avez un RPG qui dure plus de 100 heures et que vous jouez en multijoueur, l'un de vos plus gros problèmes est de savoir quand puis-je rejoindre mon parti? Quand la fête sera-t-elle en ligne ensemble?
Si vous pouvez y accéder depuis n'importe où avec quelque chose comme Stadia qui augmentera les chances de pouvoir continuer votre aventure ensemble, je pense que c'est une très bonne chose.
Vous m'avez littéralement montré le teaser, mais avez-vous un délai quelconque pour déterminer quand les gens peuvent mettre la main sur Baldur's Gate 3?
SV: Quand c'est prêt, oui. Vous auriez pu voir celui-là venir[[[[Laughs]. Nous allons prendre tout le temps nécessaire pour rendre celui-ci vraiment, vraiment bon. Je pense que les gens attendent depuis 20 ans, alors ils peuvent se permettre d'attendre un peu plus longtemps.
Il y aura beaucoup d'excitation une fois que les gens le découvriront. La fuite nous a déjà enthousiasmés, mais je pense que cela mérite d’être vraiment bon et je pense vraiment que mon équipe est capable de donner des résultats.
