Baldur's Gate 3 - Interview @ PC Gamer

[HiddenX]

PC Gamer interviewed Larian:

For the first anniversary of Baldur's Gate 3, we talk to Larian about how it reinvented itself, why it scrapped its plans for Baldur's Gate 4, and what the future holds

From failure, to reinvention, to Baldur's Gate and beyond.

It's early July, almost a year since Larian launched Baldur's Gate 3 - a year in which the studio has collected a vast number of awards and accolades for its monumental RPG - and the team has swapped the Forgotten Realms for the swelteringly hot Spanish city of Barcelona. Larian is here to discuss its next game behind closed doors. A couple of days ago, on July 8, it held a summit to talk about kicking off a new RPG. "Lift off," as CEO Swen Vincke puts it.

With its 97% score, Baldur's Gate 3 became the highest-scoring game in PC Gamer UK's 30-year history. At the time, we called it "an unrivalled RPG that will swallow your life whole". And for an entire year, it has.

There's the crackle of electricity in the air, not because a dragonborn sorcerer has just cast chain lightning, but because the team is about to set off on a brand new adventure. Larian's developers are now spread all over, including Dublin, Ghent, Warsaw, and here in Barcelona, where so many of them have gathered. Much of the excitement, then, is also down to a lot of them being in one place, rather than distributed across the world.

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

More information.

 

[Vaelith]

Stop talking about BG3, that's so old news by now, especially since there won't be a DLC. Talk about your next game dammit!

 

[Couchpotato]

I agree but they did talk a bit about what's next. Just not in detail.

I'm still very curious what the project that's bigger then BG3 will be.

Better not be another Original Sin.

 

[sakichop]

I'd be ok with another Original Sin game, but I would personally prefer a new IP. Whatever it is though, I hope it stays TB as Larian is where I go for my TB fix.

 

[Carnifex]

Something completely new and fresh would be my wish.

 

[JDR13]

Interesting. So they had actually started working on BG4 at one point or at least the planning stage it it seems.

 

[sakichop]

Interesting. So they had actually started working on BG4 at one point or at least the planning stage it it seems.

According to this article, it was actually partially playable and started out as BG3 DLC.

Article

Edit- Seems this article references the article posted here so not new info.

 

[bkrueger]

Better not be another Original Sin.

That reminds me, that I should replay OS2 some time...

I would be happy with a new OS, if they change some of the mechanics:
First they should reduce those environment-effects-based fighting mechanics, because it is no fun to produce and wade through puddles of water/fire/whatever all the time. And secondly they should change the levelling mechanics, which make your gear useless after a few level ups.

But the world, lore and storytelling in DOS2 are great, I find them better than that D&D stuff. In particular the companion's stories were much more interesting in DOS2 than in BG3 for my taste.

 

[JDR13]

I would be happy with a new OS, if they change some of the mechanics:
First they should reduce those environment-effects-based fighting mechanics, because it is no fun to produce and wade through puddles of water/fire/whatever all the time. And secondly they should change the levelling mechanics, which make your gear useless after a few level ups.

I think they've already listened to feedback on the environmental effects. There was a lot less of that in BG3, and I don't expect the next D:OS game will have nearly as much as D:OS 2 did.

I agree about the leveling mechanics. I also hope they never go back to the dual-armor system from D:OS 2.

 

[boobaloo]

I loved Ego Dragonis. I wouldn´t mind something in that vein. Gothic made by Larian.

 

[Darkheart]

I would like a nice space RPG. Not enough of that nowadays.

 

[Vaelith]

I loved Ego Dragonis. I wouldn´t mind something in that vein. Gothic made by Larian.

Larian were on the verge of bankrupcy and nearly disbanded the studio when they were making Ego Draconis games, just like PB. Then they got wiser and started making better games and only thanks to the rise of Kickstarter they managed to get enough funding for DOS, and start the absolute domination on the CRPG scence they've carried for the last decade.

If they revisit the franchise, which I'm fine with in general, it wouldn't be the type of game Ego Dragonis was, Larian are much wiser than that; else they would be disbanded by now, like PB.

 

[Couchpotato]

True but not the whole truth. Larian was almost bankrupt a few times because they chose bad publishers as well. Their ARPGs were their focus but they shifted focus later on.

Kickstarter saved the company by allowing them to not need a publisher anymore.

Bottom-line ARPGs can sell just as much as TB RPGs.

They just choose not to make them anymore.

 

[notdart]

Larian were on the verge of bankrupcy and nearly disbanded the studio when they were making Ego Draconis games, just like PB. Then they got wiser and started making better games and only thanks to the rise of Kickstarter they managed to get enough funding for DOS, and start the absolute domination on the CRPG scence they've carried for the last decade.

If they revisit the franchise, which I'm fine with in general, it wouldn't be the type of game Ego Dragonis was, Larian are much wiser than that; else they would be disbanded by now, like PB.

I love how you mis-state the truth. I don't know how well Ego sold but the big issue was dealing with the publisher (who also refused to support the game so Larian supported the game out of their own pocket). What made them a huge success wasn't (imho) the switch to game format in D:OS but that it was self published. With the player base they have today if they made a quality game in the same vein as Ego i'd bet a brownie point or a turd which ever you prefer that it would be a business successful.

 

[Vaelith]

Right, what I was trying to get at is that if Larian makes an Ego Draconis, it will be a modern-feeling, high-budget, high-quality ARPG, not the old-school, janky and quirky type of game that caused PB to go bankrupt and dissolve. And it would be a popular game, so it would instantly turn away a lot of the people asking for it, because they can't feel special about enjoying something that's popular. The absolute terror of being part of the "Dumb Masses (tm)" and all of that.

I do have a preference for a CRPG, but I'd be fine with it, regardless.

 

[Redglyph]

I think they're in a unique position to create a new IP, which is priceless for a video game company. Or they could continue with Rivellon, which is also theirs, but it would be a return to what they were doing before. From everything they said in the interview, I have the feeling it's something new and which they're very excited about.

 

[JDR13]

A new IP doesn't always turn out good for a developer. Harebrained Schemes and The Lamplighters League for example.

I'm more curious about what type of game it is than the setting/IP. Are they sticking with turn-based? Party-based?

 

[Redglyph]

A new IP doesn't always turn out good for a developer. Harebrained Schemes and The Lamplighters League for example.

I'm more curious about what type of game it is than the setting/IP. Are they sticking with turn-based? Party-based?

There's always a risk, that's sure. The ideas behind The Lamplighters League were original and the theme had character, so it could have been successful. I don't really know what went wrong (I lost interest after playing the demo).

I'm curious about the genre, too. Will they change? And most of all, I'm wondering when they'll reveal what they're doing.

 

[Andrew23]

I love how you mis-state the truth.

Shes hijacking every second thread with her agenda and toothless attempts to trigger annoyed reactions from locals. Not worth reacting at all as per my opinion.

 

[rjshae]

Larian is in a good place right now. The scary part is everything they could do to screw up. It must be a bit nerve wracking. At least they're willing to run a risk by escaping the seemingly safe D&D ecosystem. Good luck to them.