We Need To Talk About Baldur's Gate 3 Being The New Industry Standard (The Jimquisition)

[@matthiasmortier3627]

Good thing: Larian did not impose crunch on it's employees. Bad thing: others trying to copy BG3 in it's ambition likely will. They ain't wrong in fearing that.

[@melrakan]

"No crunch" is a pretty wild claim to make based purely on blind trust in the new online darling company

[@greenhowie]

The frogurt always contains potassium benzoate.

[@Pecisk]

While it is always hard to know precisely how companies are run from outside, word what I have heard about working conditions there and leadership is that it is just...very good. So maybe they just got lucky with people at helm. And yes, that is not true with the rest of industry unfortunately.

[@funnseeker8494]

as someone who has worked on a few games, crunch is always there. Big difference though is for how long and why. Me spending an extr hour or 2 the week before it's released to make sure everything is working or looks pretty, maybe get rid of a bug we just found in last minute development is one thing, Versus me having to sleep at the fucking office for 3 months to get a game that had no reason to be released this soon other then on a bank teller's ledger. plus, thier is another thing that isn't brought up: Recovery. Larian studios said they are taking time to make smaller and personal games. They can rest, recharage and prepare. many other studios are not given that time off or put on a smaller assignment. Instead they are transferred to The Next Big Studio project that was planned on a corparate spreadsheet, damn those that worked on the others beow.

[@dragon1130]

@melrakan New? This Company's been around since *one quick google search later* 1996. I'd say they've been around for a while and earned their reputation if what I've been told of the other Baulder's gate games are true. Nobodies come out to talk about the company forcing Crunch on their devs yet, so there is a good chance they haven't. People talk, more so now than ever these days. something may come out and change the opinion, but considering the quality of the game... I doubt that crunch was enforced company itself. Edit: It was pointed out that Black Isle Studios made the first two Baulder's Gate games, Larian Studios made the Divinity games, which I've heard pretty good things about regardless.

[@mormegil231]

It is very telling that even the Larian CEO said that they want their next project to be something smaller. That should actually be an industry standard. Instead of trying one-up your previous project to just take a break after a huge project and make a few smaller ones.

[@Cool_Calm_Cam]

If this were EA or Ubisoft, we'd have Baldur's Gate 3 II already confirmed to release by Holiday 2024.

[@JomAnimatie]

this!

[@user-pq4by2rq9y]

The industry standard should be finished games without microtransactions.

[@nickv1212]

Honestly, I'd be fine with their first big project being BG3 DLC. There's probably so much to do and so many variables that I won't see everything for a few years.

[@dazaran714]

Larian went full nova on this game and it shows, but we all know you can’t nova on every encounter. Sometimes you have to use cantrips so you can keep adventuring longer.

[@PhilosophyTube]

BG3 was good, but it needed more Nocturne ;)

[@WraithMagus]

Why hello KZbinr whom I also follow. Honestly, the only bad thing about Baldur's Gate 3 is that it's sadly 5e and coming out just after WotC/Hasbro's massive anti-player and anti-third-party campaign.

[@NikELbErGErBergel]

I was flabbergasted when I heard your voice in game. Good job on getting that trans rep in!

[@Foley.machine]

Oh you ❤

[@Thisisthegreatestatofalltime]

Shin Megami Tensei 3 Nocturne Chronicles Edition HD remaster featuring Dante from Devil May Cry as paid dlc

[@TheNefastor]

Fancy meeting you here ! If the other comment is true and you voice-acted in this game, that's awesome !

[@danielcarver936]

Well I hope you're happy Larian Studios. Because you've made loads of money without microtransactions, you've made Bobby Kotick cry like a little wuss.

[@Amitlu]

And you ruined his date too!

[@CombineHgrunt]

I'm sure he'll be fine during his next trip to [REDACTED] island to have some [REDACTED] with [REDACTED]

[@DrownedInExile]

Glorious!

[@PenguinWithInternetAccess]

​@@CombineHgruntwait good old bobby is in the book ?

[@gamerdweebentertainment1616]

pretty sure Baldur's Gate made pennies vs what he makes.

[@AlluringSpy]

The "new standard" should be just a return to the old standards: -Microtransaction free -Complete experience and overall bug free -No DLC at launch -Denuvo free -No ridiculous performance requirements It's all gamers want really, no need for it to be a 300h+ experience or anything like that. And I'd say most indie devs are already in that standard, Cult of the Lamb comes to mind...

[@Carewolf]

Yeah, that is the new industry a lot of people are talking about. Not 120GByte of content.

[@antongrahn1499]

Bug free has never been the standard, agree With everything else though!

[@carn9507]

@@antongrahn1499yeah, plenty older games had bugs and no real easy way to fix them. I did have a couple of Amiga games where you could send back the floppy disk and they'd sort it out and send you a fixed copy but I had X-Men Legends 2 on PS2 having a nasty bug that would wipe your save file and there was no fix. But I think Alluringspy probably meant 'relatively bug free'. Especially with how huge the code of games these days are it's almost impossible to be totally bug free, but as long as the bugs aren't game-breaking and get fixed quickly enough I don't mind too much

[@AlluringSpy]

@@antongrahn1499 By Bug free I mean not a complete mess like most games nowadays ofc there'll be bugs or even lots of bugs, but those should be mostly small if not amusing

[@bjorn-falkoandreas9472]

We can easily avoid the egregious bs by avoiding the usual players. What you praise is the old ways. I never strayed from that. Just don't buy battlepass bs. Or DLC hellscapes(I will make an exception for things where you do get extra entire armies and stuff with your DLC). Or lootbox trading card bs. The makers of V Rising just released a big thing. The green decorative lighting for your vampire lair was paid, the massive overhaul and full new story to your lair was free. It was like an entire version 2.0 you got and you could tip them by buying ghoulish green kit for your lair. I just activated my first battlepass ever in Diablo 4 and I am confused af. I don't understand what I got. I don't understand what I bought. I just installed Path of Exile and reinstalled Grim Dawn.

[@GHOST-in-the-MACHINE]

Honestly, the thing that annoys me about this whole thing isn't that devs are "panicking". It's that an *INDIE DEVELOPER* was used as a meat shield by executives from big publisher studios (see: Blizzard-Activision, Ubisoft, even Bungie) who have admitted to actively making their games worse as to not "raise standards" (paraphrased). I don't expect indie devs to do what Larian did. Some of my favourite games are things like Stardew Valley, Sun Haven, even Supergiant's Hades (though that's a slightly bigger scope still that the former two). I grew up as a consumer of this industry, I'm 34 and I've been playing video games for the past 29 years. I played D&D CRPGs when it was still in the hands of BioWare, and the scope and narrative quality of, say, NWN is comparable to BG3. So why can't BioWare make games like BG3 anymore when it used to be *the* leading dev when it came to CRPGs? Two words: Electronic Arts. I'm not mad at developers. I honestly want nothing more than the video game industry to unionise the world over, to stop exploitation of its work force and to have these people be held hostage by their work, manufactured deadlines, and the shitty executives they work under to *END*. I'm fucking furious at the publishers for ruining this industry with their capitalist greed, and then using indie devs raising excellent points to beat their consumers into submission and rob them off more money to line their pockets with. Devs get paid not by the success of a game, they just get paid, it's a job, boycotting something does not affect them, just as little as film crew is affected by boycotts because they don't get paid relative to their product's success, they just get paid. Success of a product influences publisher profits, and in this late-stage capitalist hell we've found ourselves in in this day and age, the expectation of infinite profit growth is both unsustainable and leads to the exploitation of both the work force *and* the consumer, as we now see in the video game industry. Baldur's Gate 3 is an anomaly in the current state of the industry, not because of its scope or depth or polish or the fact that it's a whole complete product without additional costs, because that *used to be* the standard. It's because publishers are greedy and exploitative, and their true customers aren't us, the people who buy and play their games, but their shareholders. So, as a gamer for the past 29 years: BG3 *is* aan anomaly, it shouldn't be, but it's not on the devs who are as much victims of this industry as we are (PLEASE UNIONISE!) but the capitalist pigs I mean publishers. I would live through a video game drought the likes of SAG-AFTRA just as willingly as the upcoming entertainment industry drought if that meant these workers could unionise and get fair working conditions and publishers could be destroyed for demanding inhumane shit from their force.

[@Mike_Oxlong07]

I hope the entertainment industry dies in fire

[@xBINARYGODx]

"narrative quality of, say, NWN" lol, wut?!!?!?!?!?! NWN is great... but narrative quality?

[@schrodingerscat3741]

If there's a video game drought I'll just go find more old and indie games to play

[@mr.bryteseid3189]

its not that i want every game to be Baldur's Gate its that i want every game to be made with the care and love Baldur's Gate was

[@jadedheartsz]

problem is that's simply not possible as the publisher is a private company that does not have to answer to shareholders demanding more money every year.

[@Avrysatos]

@@jadedheartsz Shareholders kill videogame development creativity.

[@BrokenTowelKP]

​@@jadedheartszthen the hypothetical game doesn't need to be made

[@jadedheartsz]

@@Avrysatos yeah, though I will admit to still liking AAA games made under crunch.

[@jadedheartsz]

@@BrokenTowelKP chances are it won't be, publishers are much more interested in going after trends, i don't see many of them trying to copy BG3

[@Avrysatos]

Things I want to see companies take from this: If a game needs more time for development, it gets it. I want THAT to be an industry standard.

[@carrieullrich5059]

❤

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

Yep! Chuck out the crunch!

[@flossimoth]

Definitely, I want that too. but at this point, with the vast majority of people who play games either not following gaming news or just not caring about the treatment of developers, I highly doubt it's ever going to happen. which makes me sad

[@Avrysatos]

@@flossimoth true, even people who don't pay attention to the way developers are treated can feel the effects though, in the quality of the games going down while prices go up.

[@DrownedInExile]

See also: no DRM, no microtransactions, and being released in a complete playable state.

[@jonmac1987]

It's very clear how lovingly this game was put together - I don't think you can create the high quality content on display in this game if you relied on things like crunch or if the working atmosphere was shitty. When I hold this game as a new standard, I'm praising the obvious sincerity and love that this game was made with - not the size of map or the depth of it's dialogue trees or the fidelity of it's graphics. To all the people that bought this game in early access and were basically the beta testers for this thing for the last 100 years - I love you guys, you helped make one the best games in fricken ages.

[@BVargas78]

I think a big difference is they are privately owned and thus not answerable to shareholders. They have a good thing going, and I hope they resist the urge to sell out for a fat payout which will only lead them on the same path we saw Bioware fall to.

[@pinkgregory4365]

even then, good luck getting this many resources and development time without a property to license or a celebrity game dev leading the project, these games are rare because the circumstances are rare.

[@FaithlessIsHe]

Their owner has gone on record saying he's not interested in selling the company. So that's encouraging

[@Hawkatana]

@@FaithlessIsHe While that *is* encouraging, that could change for one reason or another.

[@pinkgregory4365]

@@Hawkatana if financial circumstances suddenly change, certainly.

[@Katy133]

^ I agree with OP. I feel like shareholders are a big reason why deadlines are not extended to where they're needed for production, which results in games that aren't done yet being released. This appears to be the same for the company Valve, since they can afford to not release a game for years and will only release a game like Half Life Alyx when they feel it's ready.

[@Lrbearclaw]

I was just reading an interview with Sven Vinke just before BG3 came out. This game actually came out with nearly no crunch. He pointed out they would do overtime if needed when issues arose or going into release (but that it was only a handful of people staying a few minutes to wrap up) and I remember early in the EA that when they realized that they were starting to crunch, they brought in more staff and went from ~50 to about 100 to lessen the load on everyone. As Sven put it, relying on crunch is a failure to prepare and that sometimes something unexpected would come up and require a bit of overtime to fix but to keep it small and quick. That the team works best when they take care of each other. And I respect that.

[@changingform250]

And that part should be the new industry standard, and I do mean base line standard.

[@learntooilpaint]

Except from internal reporting there is crunch. Never trust heads of corpos or game devs. They have less poor reviews than most, but there was definitely crunch

[@robertnomok9750]

So thats why act 3 is an unfinished mess with huge amount of cut content and mass effect 3 style ending?

[@jrcbroolz]

@@learntooilpaint This. I was looking into applying for a job there a while back, but the Glassdoor had crunch reports so I noped out.

[@mattandrews2594]

@@changingform250 You want every AAA-style game to have 6 years in development plus the initial third released in Early Access? Every single one?

[@nilus2k]

I don’t think anyone is expecting every game to be Baldur’s Gate 3 but I think the point is that these giant AAA studios need to take notice of what a AA studio did when they took the time to really work on a game and respected the player base enough to just sell them the whole thing at once instead of cutting it into tiny pieces to overprice and sell. It’s the story of how if you take your time to get it right and respect the source material, you get rewarded.

[@Quintessence4444]

But why can't small indie teams just make more games like bg3? /s

[@michaelteegarden1434]

I'd like to see that business model be the standard

[@JackdotC]

10 years ago this was the standard

[@styx971]

@@JackdotC longer than that i feel like , hell it was 9 years ago DA:inquisition came out n while not the weakest entry in that series ( that goes to 2) it was a far cry from what made da:o so special i think , this feels comparable in terms of quality honestly better even but that i'll just give being a mark of the times , and da:o is 14 years old at this point

[@kazioification]

Well, it's been almost a decade since Dragon Age: Inquisition and both BioWare and EA are really taking their time with DA4. Let's wait and see if they learned anything.

[@Skios]

Here's one thing I really hope that other companies follow Larian's example on - the use of intimacy co-ordinators in recording the mocap and voice acting for sex scenes. I specifically remember an interview with Jennifer English, who did the mocap for Shadowheart, talking about how even with all the weirdness in the game, there was never any 'yuck' for her. That absolutely should be the standard.

[@penname8441]

+

[@TheN00bmonster]

Interesting! That should be expected in this industry as well as in film/TV

[@suplextrain]

I'd rather they leave out awkward and bad sex scenes instead.

[@kstar1489]

I didn’t know they had intimacy coordinators, I hadn’t thought about it for a video game (usually I only hear it in reference to movies or tv shows) but that’s awesome!

[@jkitty542]

BG3 took over 5 years to develop by a team of over 300 developers, used Early Access as a tool to avoid having to work QA developers to death, aren't porting down to last gen consoles and are taking their time in porting the game to next gen consoles, the games graphics are relatively modest by industry standards, and Larian is privately owned so there's no need to rush the game out by the end of a financial quarter or fiscal year. If there's any game that is unlikely to be crunching it's developers half to death, it's this one.

[@HeathenWitchery]

Yeah, I get Steph's concern, but they literally had such a long period of early access just to avoid the crunch

[@vesperiadragon3221]

I don’t disagree, though its not a terrible stretch in my mind to imagine there was some. I think that’s generally how it is for anything with a release date. The second that’s set, there’s more than likely going to be some form of crunch. I’d like to believe the owner was fully willing to push the date back if need be and did their best to keep their leadership in communication with the devs to constantly verify the release date was achievable. But once you’re in those final weeks, there’s bound to have been some of the team that realized they were in a rough position and needed to crunch.

[@Avrysatos]

I think the biggest thing is Larian doesn't have to answer to stockholders. Stockholders make everything worse. Everything you said stems from that.

[@turtleswatter21]

I don't think that's the point Steph was making. What I took from it was, that if we are now saying that BG3 is the Industry Standard, then the crunch will come from the AAA publishers who will be demanding BG3 standards within the same timeframes and budget. It's not that BG3 used crunch, it's the knock on effect. Also, it was very much presented as just a thought to consider and watch out for in the future, not a direct criticism.

[@Zues120]

Dont worry all those triple a developer's bosses will be screaming, jumping on a table shirtless frothing about how they need a game this polished immedietely before the deadline or else the developers will be getting blacklisted and shit out of the game making industry

[@sophitiaofhyrule]

"It's astounding how much they put into it, but good lord am I too ADHD-addled to play it" I felt that

[@AlexofZippo]

I have severe ADHD and I literally needed to play co-op with a friend who’d played it before and literally had a notebook of written notes to keep me on track.

[@Xexorian]

its all the sugar in your food frying your brain @@AlexofZippo

[@Alex_Barbosa]

I've been trying to play divinity for over a year now. I love the idea, but I can not stay focused on this game in particular. I've never had this problem before. Just something about the quest structure in the first town and dialogue I can't stay on track at all

[@Xexorian]

tbh with you i think i played Divinity Original Sin, but I barely remember much of it, the second game to me was better, & I can remember most of that one. D:OS2 was great but the intro island is a bit boring after playing a few times through but that's why you save after leaving the tutorial and just load that game everytime u wanna play again through the main meat and taters of the game post-tutorial-island. xD @@Alex_Barbosa

[@ginidontthinkso4282]

As a person with ADHD myself, I’m getting annoyed how steph keeps blaming it and not doing anything to help themselves.

[@Gerd0]

I don't particularly want BG3 to be the standard for games by virtue of how it manages to be very expansive while still being very good. I just want it to set a standard of "games complete at launch made with the mindset of just making a damn good game can and will be successful". If the only takeaway the industry gets from this is that they don't need to make lazy garbage driven only by a profit incentive to make money, then I'll be happy enough.

[@bluester7177]

The thing is sometimes good games are not successful and for profit companies tend to not like to risk, BG3 was not a risk, it would be successful, is a licenced game made to an audience who was starving by a well known, well liked studio. I do agree development should be given enough time to complete a project, but we still live under capitalism, thing will not change just because this one game.

[@ozzzzy52]

I love how the dice roll has the same psychological effect as lootboxes, but without the financial drain.

[@snakesnoteyes]

Jfc, this is just any chance mechanic in a game. So just like any game not 100% based on strategy. Touch some grass.

[@itcouldbelupus2842]

​​@@snakesnoteyesDon't forget to take your own advice mate, seems like you could use some grass yourself.

[@jasukun]

@@snakesnoteyesdamn dude your reaction to this comment is way overblown. touch grass and the doorknob of an anger management class

[@jonathanmarth6426]

I recall a video by Adam Millard about Vampire Survivors, a game filled with quasi loot boxes, except you don't pay for them either. There's no such thing as an unethical game mechanic. They only become unethical if they are employed to prey on people.

[@j.d.4697]

I just realized that the other day, and it explains why it has absolutely 0 appeal to me.

[@RpiesSPIES]

Just want to make a note. Larian goes to game conventions often. The designs for their shirts and the quality of their prints are amazing. If anyone goes to a con and sees their booth, buy something. Or if they sell it online, idk. But seriously. So good.

[@Timbo6669]

Doesn’t surprise me. Everything they touch is just covered with quality.

[@lvl99paint]

BG3 is truly lightning in a bottle. Larian were perfectly poised to make this game and even then they really had to struggle to get it made at all. They got the Wizards license, they made Divinity Original Sin 2 and carried over all that knowledge, experience and all their systems into BG3 and then spent 6 years making it on kickstarter funding (no immediate deadlines or corporate oversight) and made extra cash by selling a genuinely brilliant and well contained Early Access Demo that helped them to bugfix and test everything before the big release. It's astonishing something like this was ever made at all tbh.

[@TheBT]

Divinity 2 wasn’t that great, it was so buggy they had to release a second version. Now Original Sin 2, that was so wonderful. See it’s a joke about how they had a game in the 2000s called Divinity 2 which was a sequel to Divine Divinity (despite Beyond Divinity also be a sequel). My Dad loved that game, it was like Diablo. Original Sin 2 is also a sequel of it, but Original Sin was a prequel. You also had Dragon commander, and just google Jesse Cox Dragon Commander to see the stuff from that game

[@hazukichanx408]

@@TheBT Ah, Dragon Commander. The game that asks "Would you like an actually pretty cool overarching story and organic developments? Nice, but unfortunately you didn't make the exact right moves in turns 2 and 3 of the third campaign mission map so it's basically unwinnable now, locking you out of progress. Yeah, they can just keep stacking army units on their home territory until there's literally no way to win if you go there. Fun!" Cool story, absolutely crap RTS/Grand Strategy bits.

[@Ara_Arasaka]

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and here is my take away: - it is not the singular developer’s fault. Any developer you hear that is saying “this sets an unreal expectation” is saying it because they know it was a passion project and made with love, care, and never had to meet any release windows. It was done when it was done - these game devs are scared and upset because they know they can’t make stuff like this because the people they work for push them in to making shit that the publishing house demands. Not what they want. How they want. When they want. - look at the developer’s who say this, find out who they work for and blame those publishers and never trust them again. I had the initial wrong take that we should laugh at the devs when in reality most developers are victims of toxic work environments and are not allowed to make projects like this due to how bad the overall game industry has become.

[@ramenbomberdeluxe4958]

The problem is that this USED TO BE the standard back in the day, because while there always existed bad games...even some of the now-infamous companies knew that all they needed to do was make a full, finished, complete product, sell it for a profit, and move on. Nowadays, companies are fully mask off about their greed and they cant just be satisfied with making *some money*, they have to grab at every penny possible while whipping their employees across the back :/

[@jonathanmensch9698]

It's also time to stop painting every single development studio as some scrappy underdog being kept down by greedy exes and/or publishers. Plenty are just as eager to cut corners, overwork employees, and push out buggy messes as any other source of video games with absolutely no prodding by a publisher.

[@AndrevusWhitetail]

​@@jonathanmensch9698 EXACTLY, just look at Anthem, as shit as EA was, the devs were doing FUCK ALL until the last 6 months of development, and only scraped together that horrid mess when EA finally started stepping on their toes and demanding results. Now, far be it from me from defending one of the worst, most disgusting companies in the entire goddamn world, but it's NOT just the publishers that are greedy...

[@shadowrobot7708]

That makes sense but if thats how they feel they should explain that.

[@Ravensgale]

​@@jonathanmensch9698 Beat me to the fucking punch.👍

[@sigur95]

You make such a good point in regards to creativity and originality. That's really what I'm looking for in games by the end of the day, rather than the copy-pasted bandit camps and watchtowers, etc. Good character writing and environments designed with intent.

[@sophitiaofhyrule]

We have written stories for thousands of years, it's impossible to make something truly original

[@sigur95]

@@sophitiaofhyrule I think you know what I mean, but choose to be contrarian for whatever reason.

[@CuriousKey]

@@sophitiaofhyrule The quaint "nothing new under the sun" aphorism is really nonsensical if you pay even the slightest attention to it. For one thing, it's older than science fiction. In fact, it's *older than the novel* - the original form is the from Ecclesiastes. The point being, every new form of art for thousands of years has been presaged by some dusty old fool saying nothing would ever be original again. Unless you think there's literally been no original art in the last two thousand years, you don't believe in the saying either.

[@wariodude128]

It sounds to me like the dev is most worried about big game publishers learning the exact wrong lessons from the success of Baldur's Gate 3, which I can very much understand.

[@flossimoth]

Oh yeah, there's a long history of that happening after all. And as long as they get a game they enjoy, the majority of gamers do not care what happened to the devs when they were making the game

[@mergele1000]

@@flossimoth Have you heard of crunch happening at BG3? Because so far I haven't

[@flossimoth]

@@mergele1000 I haven't, no. And I hope that it didn't but I don't have the sort of inside information to say whether it did or not for certain.

[@AllanSchumacher]

@@flossimoth I was curious and just checked out stuff like Larian's Glassdoor reviews to see what people with negative experiences had to say. There were a few comments of "guilt culture" which in my experience in the game industry is a way of employees crunching without "mandating" crunch (I've also run into this, where I often don't consider my own unpaid overtime to be crunch because it was something I wanted to do, etc). Another common one was salaries being below average as well. I do think that it's likely a lot less rosy than a lot of people would like for it to be just based on my experience working in games. (In my experience, the most nefarious type of crunch is the voluntary crunch. Burnout is burnout and it honestly took me years to realize I was suffering on it after doing a lot of voluntary crunch because I just wanted to make sure the project was as good as possible)

[@MigranBTW]

@@AllanSchumacher I agree with all you said, but it's important to keep in mind that Glassdoor is about as trustworthy as a random youtube comment. And while I don't think allegations of things like crunch and low pay should be ignored, I think it's important to get something stronger than Glassdoor reviews. Everyone has their own definition of guilt culture, so it's important to either wait for allegations with proof behind them before taking action against a company. But at the same time, creative industries tend to always have some levels of guilt tripping going on, since a lot of people in the field are doing it because it's their passion and when others aren't "up to their standards" the treatment of co-workers can get bad really quick.

[@prof.loophole9708]

The worse thing about BG3 is that D&D is owned by such a toxic company that actually made people flee

[@BillNyeTheBountyGuy]

Don't forget WotC sent the Pinkertons to that dude's door for getting product accidentally.

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

I am one of those people who stopped playing DnD after the Atlantic slave trade thing

[@michimatsch5862]

I ain't buying bg 3 or anything associated with WoTC unless it's basically free.

[@shadowsonicsilver6]

@@BillNyeTheBountyGuyWoTC hates Konami and Kazuki Takahashi for Yugioh. If I recall WoTC tried to sue Takahashi when Duel Monsters first appeared in the original manga

[@luketfer]

@@BillNyeTheBountyGuy Not only that but it was their FIRST RESPONSE to send the Pinkertons and it was product WotC accidentally sent *themselves*, not even a mail order mixup, they just accidentally sent him the cards too early. So instead of just contacting him by, I don't know, email or phone and asking him to send the stuff back (he's a MTG focused youtuber, he knows that if he does an 'amazing new early reveal' he'll be fucking himself over in the long run since he'll be blacklisted) you sent literal hired goons to his house.

[@ConclusiveConfusion]

I love how quickly vampy elf ponce became the go to companion to snog when the game was in early access and I am beyond amused to see that that still holds true post full release. Oh the melodramatic fanfics this character has and will spawn, it's going to be glorious.

[@theeatherlash69]

Fan Girls: "Astarion appears to be a man made entirely out of red flags." Hahaha-- I LOVE BG 3!!

[@ScottishVagabond]

Have to say, I prefer sulky-sarcky, posh goth girl, Shadowheart, myself 😅 I did get a ladyboner when I let Asterion savage me, though 😅 Oh boy is The Blade of Frontiers irritating though. Glad he ditched me for my murder hobo ways :P

[@Thalanna]

@@theeatherlash69 I'll admit yeah, I cannot believe the love there is for someone who'd basically be considered a walking red flag yeah :')

[@thegyroneer32]

I do love that Gale was the most killed companion.

[@ScottishVagabond]

@@thegyroneer32 he's so annoying I thought he was a bard at first :P

[@PickaHand]

I am absolutely loving the game but I gotta say I agree with you (and the devs mentioned here. especially Xalavier). Larian themselves said that their next game will not be this big. They have to scale it down. To me, that sounds like Baldur's Gate 3 is shaping up to be an amazing and *anomalous* passion project for the studio that actually built it. A studio that has been building games like these for decades. It sounds insane to me for people to expect this or more from future RPG experiences.

[@adriankoch964]

With BG3s blazing success Larian will be in a difficult spot afterwards. Expectation and scrutiny will be sky high and the cost base of their 400 staff also continues. Will people still enjoy their a turn based formula 3 or 6 years from now? Industry tastes change and maybe by then everybody wants to cheer for an RTS revival or whatever. If they let people go now to scale down a bit so they can make something smaller that does not need 400 people to make - it'll be a PR nightmare, despite the people who are let go having a really strong success on their resume, making it easier to find a new job or get attention for any new self-funded studios.

[@victormaranescu3341]

That closing 7/10 score was hilarious

[@VornameNachname-e2n]

It was the perfect ending! :D

[@Vamptonius]

How could she resist?

[@sgthometar]

7/10 is a solid score. It's a good game.

[@victormaranescu3341]

I think you missed the joke@@sgthometar

[@sgthometar]

no, I'm going along with it@@victormaranescu3341

[@dustind4694]

Larian: Couple things, we need every animal you talk to to be hilarious, absurd immersion, and likable side characters Everyone: Shut up and take our money you stupidly cool Belgian bastards

[@dibuk123]

I LOVE Grub

[@JacobSReeds]

I started this game as a naked dragonborn bard based on the classic trope when someone starts imprisoned with nothing. Just immediately threw everything on the ground. I got through the tutorial and was like, "this wasn't bad, I wonder how far I can go?" Then I found the bracers of defense and realized I wouldn't wear clothes again. The cutscenes with my bits hanging out are HILARIOUS. 11/10 game!

[@shupasopni]

Doing this when I get 60 bucks to spend. Thanks!

[@scifisyko]

This is the way.

[@greeblecultist2213]

Holy shit a fellow nude dragonborn player. bracers of defense are a great call, I made mine a monk to get around the armor issue

[@jeannecaelum5167]

Honestly the way to play, let it be free and hang.

[@Rustwraith]

Bad Dragon: The Musical

[@robinbarnard1434]

In their Steam post, Larian say that we played for 1225 years over the opening weekend, as long as they spent making it. This gives me hope that the talented staff could maybe accomplish this without crunch... I certainly hope so!

[@KristianKumpula]

According to the CEO, the average overtime before the month leading up to launch was 10-20 minutes and that they definitely crunched much less with BG 3 than they did with previous games.

[@Mynestrone]

i can't follow the logic here

[@thoralexandermichelsen6592]

@@KristianKumpula Having to do some overtime is not crunch though. Almost regardless of wich job you have, you will get some times where you need to do overtime because of something special, Launching a game will be that something.

[@_ninjas555]

Everyone who played the game that weekend totaled 1225 years of play time. This is how many years were spent making the game. OP says they hope this means there was no crunch. Based on what I remember from the video I just watched we end up with: 1225÷400 =3.0625 2023-2017 =6 3.0625/6 =0.51042(years) That the avwrage worker spent making the game.

[@Xankill3r]

@@_ninjas555 that would be 0.5 worker years per year of production. Or more than 12 working hours per day without breaks. I really hope that the 1225 years figure is counting 8 hours = 1 work day because that can be explained without crunch assuming that the team size changed dynamically over the production. Arriving at 1225 years by adding up work hours implies crunch unless the team was much bigger than 400 people at some point.

[@aaron5364]

The second half of your video is so INCREDIBLY important. Sh*t that is missing from almost every other channel posting commentary on this game. Would expect no less from you, Steph. Major props and thank you for doing what you do. Also, thank you for introducing me to Boneraiser: Minions. I am now an addict ☠️

[@terrachan8225]

It's something I needed to see because before this I was just thinking it was only triple a devs moaning and groaning about having to do more work.

[@AegixDrakan]

The nutty thing is that AAA studios consistently resort to crunch, when crunch actively makes the game harder to make. I work at a small studio, and the boss has repeatedly said "There is no way we could have made the game we did if we had crunched". Only by rigorous planning, smart pivots during development to play to strengths, and retaining awesome talent by treating our people like actual human people were we able to make an open world RPG with the width, depth and replayability it had, with such a small team and such a small budget. The boss fully believes that if we had crunched, we would have burnt out and would not have been able to succeed, and I believe him. But of course, AAA studios never really learn that lesson, because the people making that decision are insulated from the consequences of it. :(

[@Dumbird0]

What game is it?

[@afroraykun]

It's a faulty mindset all across our society and work culture. "If people do X work per hour, making them work double the hours will mean they do 2X work!" People are not machines and the case for employee welfare is not purely a moral one. Glad to hear you work at a studio that realises this!

[@RaptieFeathers]

You have a damn good boss.

[@AegixDrakan]

@@RaptieFeathers He REALLY is. At least one of our programmers got a job offer elsewhere for a hefty pay increase and he laughed them off. You don't get that kind of loyalty unless you're running a REALLY good ship!

[@arasdabear8785]

I don’t expect every game to be bg3 but if they are gonna ask $70 for a game I expect it to work.

[@godcomplex5821]

And If you think Sterling is saying anything different than what you said, you didn't watch the video lol

[@ricksanchez5949]

Have you seen the Starfield "Ultra" pre-order price? It's disgusting and if it's anything like Fallout4 it's gonna be absolute wank on the PC and the console version will be slightly less wank but playable. I've seen the footage online. I have a decent set up at home but, these videos look like they came from a £10K+ rig. Is that the standard these days? Mine clock's in at an 'embarrassing' £4K. So what now? I guess a £6K upgrade is worth the ~£100 Bethesda want for you to play their pretty game...

[@robertfishburn8545]

Asmon said it best, "I don't know shit about building cars but if you try to sell me a car with 3 wheels and sell me the 4th wheel as DLC, I'm gonna be fucking pissed."

[@cornflakeshumunculus8373]

I haven’t heard from this series in almost 20 years since I last played baldurs gate 2 old school version. Such an amazing rpg game that was back then and seeing this studio continue its legacy warms my heart. We need more games like this in todays time.

[@peachy_lili]

it has been so awesome to be a BG fan and see new people who haven't played the older games reacting to just how captivating and compelling BG3 is. I've had a little kick in my step. they really proved you can still do what they did for us decades ago and not give in to the greed. or have any reason to release the game before it can make a good first impression. but yes. shorter games, in general, by people paid more to work less, would reflect in the tone and writing of the games. it's almost like we might improve people's moods on a regular basis if EVERY SINGLE THING THEY INGEST isn't being made by overworked, underpaid, stressed out people..

[@CMage101]

I've played BG1 and BG2. It's clear that Larian did, too, and learned from their examples. Compelling story. A track record of excellence that they strived for. Focusing on making the characters the focus of the story. If BG1 and BG2 were remade in the same format as BG3, there would be COUNTLESS people lining up to throw money at Larian for doing so. And I'd be one of them. In fact, I predict that, as soon as the kit for making your own adventures is available, people will be RACING to try and re-do earlier BG games with it.

[@suplextrain]

Eh, I'd say as a BG fan this game didn't do it for me at all since it's nothing like the older games. I also think Larian just produce subpar everything from writing to combat, so their games fail to hold my interest. Great it people enjoy BG3, but I wouldn't really compare it to the older games at all.

[@MDHDH-iy7nm]

​@@suplextrain lol this gave me a laugh

[@Xexorian]

@@suplextrain I don't even have words for how shite of a take this truly is. This isn't a case of 'they don't build things like they used to' this is they built something like they used to but then made it even greater, and you generalize the entire genre into 'i 'can't' compare it to the older games' well, obviously the graphics are better. 'didn't do (what) for me at all' ? explain yourself better, cmon. and then you hit us with your complete bias 'larian produces subpar everything' - yeah okay, spoken like a true competitor/game dev crying in his britches. You gave yourself away, toolbag!

[@Krytern]

@@suplextrain Not enjoying gameplay is understandable, entirely different kind of gameplay to the older ones if you prefer those. But bad writing? Really? You honestly believe that?

[@AegixDrakan]

7:19 OKAY, as a narrative designer/game writer myself, I FULLY FEEL THAT. Dialogue trees can so easily spiral out of control. Try writing a debate/dialogue battle and experience the regret after spending a few hours writing it only to realize you're only halfway done with it and one of your responses puts you into a completely separate kind of argument so now you have a large branch IN a large branch! :o

[@will2goforth]

And then weep as you realize that only a small subset of players will even encounter the initial debate/dialogue battle and an even smaller subset will take the path that leads to that massive branch nested in the initial branch. Or even worse, read the stat of how many people kill off the character that has that dialogue before getting to the part where it would unlock.

[@InvisiblePon3]

And the worst part is when you need to make it cycle back to previous dialogue nodes or jump between already existing branches. And those nodes/branches better be written with consideration of multiple outcomes leading to them, or else you're about to do a hell of a rewrite, if not a whole new branch that practically doubles an already existing one, but with slight variation. Narrative design is fun :D

[@AegixDrakan]

@@InvisiblePon3 SO much fun. :D I absolutely love my job, even when it makes me bang my head on the desk. XD

[@jackielinde7568]

Can we take a moment how Larian Studios built into their character creator a way players can have any combination of naughty bits and pronouns ... AND NO ONE THREW A TEMPER TANTRUM ABOUT IT DEMANDING THE COMPANY EITHER REMOVE IT OR GET CANCELED??? Seriously? Did CDPR take that bullet for Larian or did Larian just figure out how to do it without anyone losing their shit?

[@sonnzzels7884]

And it works so fucking well, im so happy to finally see a goodass character creator for an rpg that takes into affect how you want the story to go rather than just looks

[@thoralexandermichelsen6592]

If its good and just there, without beeing promoted/lauded as a thing, no one gives a shit. Problem is most "diversity and inclusivity" products suck donkey balls.

[@PDVism]

More think it's due to the fact that this isn't the kind of game that those snowflake anti-woke rightwing christians would play.

[@schrodingerscat3741]

Honestly that's surprising given people threw bitch fits about Starfield just having a pronoun selector

[@vojnov9885]

Some AAA devs know they can't make these games because publishers push deadlines and force features into games and devs have no say at all. There is no time for love/care/passion among the suits. But maybe some will realise that passionate projects without any nonsense actually do pay off - there have been a few examples this year alone.

[@AegixDrakan]

The execs REALLY need to learn that. But they never will. Because they're insulated from the consequences of their decisions. :(

[@abadenoughdude300]

Still that's an issue with the shortsighted greedy publishers, not with "standards being set too high".

[@MeonLights]

I mean it's sad but seeing a big pricey game be released that is good and well made and a full product with no microtransactions.... is truly newsworthy :/

[@HAFBeast91]

It's a great game. But even at launch it has it's bugs. But everything else really makes it worth it.

[@soyborne.bornmadeandundone1342]

Remember 1998? Had like nothing but these high level ground breaking games at that time that didn't have wallet r--3 or unfinished bs... But since that's rare now it's news worthy lololol

[@blackmanwithcomputer]

Is it newsworthy? This isn't the first AAA game this year to be good and not have MTX. It's like the 6th or 7th, if you count SF6 at launch.

[@OctEddie]

@@HAFBeast91 But are we talking sometimes the unexpected bugs that are mildly inconvenient, or Bathesda level of broken?

[@pseudonayme7717]

@@blackmanwithcomputerYeah man. The fightback has truly begun, I'm looking fwd to the next 10 years for gaming 👍

[@Dreikoo]

BG3 isn't an anomaly nor a new standard, it's an ideal to strive for. The issue isn't that too many studios are closing for trying too hard but that not enough even deign to try to achieve the ideal to whatever capacity they can.

[@challe535]

The issue is profit seeking in the economy that drives the decisions of the games industry. If it was just as profitable to do what Larian did then we wouldn't have this issue. But as the games industry is maturing and games companies grow bigger and more influential they are able to throw their weight around to push through anti-consumer practices that everybody has to swallow if they want to play that game they like. Larian will eventually fall into the same pattern or it won't be as profitable as other games companies and be outcompeted. This is a broader issue of profitability not aligning and being unable to align with what humanity as a whole actually wants.

[@Dreikoo]

@@challe535 But that's false though. Have you seen how much this game is selling? Clearly it is very profitable. They're just risk-averse. They stand to make a ton of money if they make games like BG3, they just see it as too-great a risk and choose the safe bet where you take a big IP and sell microtransactions every year with the new sequel. So it's less profit-seeking and more loss-minimization.

[@challe535]

@@Dreikoo But that's exactly it, if you take big risks repeatedly and you on average loose out in the long run then its not profitable. Hits like BG3 are few and far between, even before companies started with their shit business models. It's not something they can rely on I think. And even if they made a hit I think it would still be more profitable to add things like microtransactions than it would be to not do that.

[@xBINARYGODx]

@@Dreikoo cool, it sold well, will the next one do that, and the next? It easy to be the "good guy" when you happen to have a hit right now.

[@Dreikoo]

@@xBINARYGODx Divinity OS 1 and 2, which were developed with the same methods also sold really well, so sure it will.

[@Beowulf_DW]

“Getting a bard-on” is now my new favorite dnd phrase. Thank you!

[@chungusbooper]

Astarion? More like Ass...er...hard...ion. ...*sigh*. 😞

[@M_M_ODonnell]

@@chungusbooper There's another riqué play on Asterion's name right there, but I'm not sure if it's SFYT...

[@Beowulf_DW]

@@chungusbooper It was a damn good try, friend. I giggled, at least.

[@Demo5]

I remember as a child I asked why our local soccer team was not as good as the ones in the biggest leagues in Europe the adults explained to me it was because of backing, infrastructure,trainers ,scouts prestige and the massive resources ($$$) made available to them, when I when to the arcade the gamer kids told me it's because the local team were just lazy .......

[@spase667]

You're lucky you got someone who knew what they were talking about! It would have been all to easy to just say something along the lines of "well, the local team is just the players who weren't good enough to make it to the big leagues."

[@hazukichanx408]

Sports is a despicable meat grinder, a modern-day gladiatorial arena that eats time and effort, in return for which it provides injuries, concussions, permanent and accumulating brain damage, and distraction for people who think it seems really cool and fun to watch people run around kicking a ball for two solid hours, with a bunch of arbitrary rules about when and where you can kick it just to keep things less interesting. It's like religion without the genocide... mostly. Until you learn how they build the big stadiums...

[@Demo5]

@@spase667well that would fall into the Resources ($$$) but I would have been better for the gamer kids to atleast say that.

[@zotaninoron3548]

I don't think I've seen anyone expects Indie devs or studios to make products like BG3. But I think there's very valid case to say this is the new measuring stick to judge any production from the likes of Ubisoft, Activision, or EA.

[@RaptieFeathers]

Yeah. That part feels patronizing to me-we don't want the same game over and over

[@Azaketh]

Ah yes, the 7/10. The highest form of praise from camp Sterling. Glad to see such prestigious honors awarded!

[@MyNameIsBucket]

that's pretty much 100% if anyone from metacritic is listening

[@theschafer5367]

7/10, Game of the Year!

[@TostonDePana]

(Breath of the Wild)/10

[@SandyCheeks1896]

He gave it a 7? What a fucking blow hard. I always expect the worst take from this channel lmao.

[@dateris]

They evidently grade on a curve.

[@voidmaster45]

BG3 is like a game from an alternate timeline where aaa gaming took the path of artistic integrity instead of hollow corporate cynicism

[@martinperry5072]

I believe that Larian Studios is the perfect size of a company to make a large game. With 480 employees, even the lowest dev can talk to the execs quite easily in order to talk about problems. WIth companies like Activision-Blizzard with their 1000's of employees, how can a game development be managed, much less have problems raised by low level devs addressed.

[@IamHat]

Just remember Larian remembers what it was like to be dead broke, how big of an opportunity it was to get to use a WotC license, and how much time and effort both DOS 2 was. There is a hell of a lot of things that just give me anxiety just thinking about how this was even going to be developed and if Larian could afford to survive if this was only just as good as DOS 1 which is a high bar already.

[@luketfer]

I mean they nearly didn't...they almost went bankrupt TWICE whilst making BG3

[@KristianKumpula]

@@luketfer I've never heard of that. What's your source?

[@gavin-1237]

Wait I thought you didn't need a liscense for dnd games

[@KristianKumpula]

@@gavin-1237 But you apparently do need a licence when making a Baldur's Gate sequel

[@tudoroltean3183]

@@gavin-1237 You dont need a license in order to create supplemental content based on the OGL(Open Game License), which lays out effectively the core game engine rules. Specific terms like Tiefling(a humanoid race), Beholder, Mind Flayer, location names(like Baldurs's Gate), etc... in the context of a fantasy setting are trademarked and you require a comercial license from Wizards of the Coast.

[@mirrorocean]

I'm glad you have a positive but still nuanced take on this. It's a fantastic game, but pushing for all games to be made like this in terms of scale is going to lead to AAA publishers forcing crunch even more than they already do. I definitely agree about the creativity thing - this SHOULD be the new standard for creativity in games, and I hope that's the part that sticks from this frenzy.

[@jadedheartsz]

yeah I personally enjoy Ubisoft games and don't mind clearing out bandit camps and i'm glad their devs aren't trying to make their games like BG3

[@astroneer013]

It's not about the scale of BG3. It's about the fact that it's a full experience, no micro transactions, with very little bugs, and the actual listen to the community

[@timedforpress]

Anyone worried about the success of Baldur’s Gate is completely missing the point (or being intentionally obtuse) - the games industry has such a disdain for their customers, and then along comes a game made with polish and sold with a level respect.

[@Szobiz]

i swear this dorsn't make much sense for me. devs are already crunched by other publishers and they don't release anything even close to bg3. so that quality and the crunch are not quite related. but i get what is the point. still believe any big publisher would be able to do a game like bg3 years ago. they have the resourses, they lack something else.

[@AMD2600]

It's pretty awesome to dive into a new game where you understand the rules from another medium and can successfully apply strategy from it.

[@tennesseeheckler3014]

The issue isn't that BG3 raises the bar too high for all devs. It is good that it raises the bar for big AAA companies that have all the same advantages Larian had in that list, but instead focus solely on how much more money they can fleece their customers out of after the full game price tag.

[@rallis3937]

That "anyway, baldurs gate 7/10" fucking got me lmfao Thank god for you, Sterling!

[@dark_side_cookies]

It's that kind of gold that will ensure Sterling hits that oh so sought after 700k subscriber mark!

[@lui1115]

thats all games for jim 7/10 i guess. its a cop out for actual real criticism. 7 is so safe. either pick 6 or commit to 8

[@lui1115]

oh yea i really respect his rating system now...throwing 7 for all games...sure.

[@greysnake2903]

lol

[@nebraskajones7593]

​@@lui1115you're a literal idiot, but know that you are loved regardless

[@iamthecircle]

I'll be honest, this video is exactly why I love Steph. I had been uncritically believing that the sole reason any developer criticized BG3 was fear that they'd need to raise their standards, no considering the human cost of raising standards. There needs to be regulation in the industry, along with raised standards, that forces studios to go for the longer development cycle rather than trying to make a quick buck. Very thought-provoking stuff, thanks.

[@RaptieFeathers]

Why criticize BG3 and not the companies that would abuse their employees?

[@iamthecircle]

Because they wanted to continue to coast, doing nothing at all

[@bosneb]

I bought this game at full price and 2 copies for my friends, lovin every minute of it, and I don't even usually play this kind of game. Kudos to Larian.

[@Lucisev_]

I think I saw an article title that the Larian boss said "These are video games. Standards just die everyday." Among my favorite western games were Fallout2, Baldur's Gate 2, Planescape Torment, Vampires Bloodlines. So yeah, I rather agree with what he said. I'm used to games being like Baldur's Gate 3.

[@jadedheartsz]

thing is most publishers won't allow that.

[@haroldshea3282]

Well, let's not pretend what VtM:B on release wasn't a bugged mess with tons of content cut, against dev's will pushed out of the door by corpo ghouls to compete with Half fokken Life 2, effectively killing any chance of success it could have made as well as its developer company. Let's not, okay.

[@OvenFreshBread]

I certainly don't want every game to be as massive as BG3 (who has the time to play more than one or two of these 100+ hours games a year anyway) but the amount of polish and pure creativity this game has is what I'd like from other games, especially big studio games. But it's as you said, with how many AAA publishers are running things these days that would probably just mean more crunch and terrible treatment of the employees.

[@modelmajorpita]

Doing the same sorts of games and stories for years made Larian's devs experts able to accomplish what AAA companies can't. The same thing with Fromsoft and Elden Ring, which people said was the new industry standard for open world games ignoring that it was the result of years spent perfecting a certain type of game and then building off that foundation. Crunch culture leads to a revolving door of staff and chasing trends means even the people who stay never get a chance to become experts at one specific type of thing. The new industry standard should be recognizing the importance of worker expertise.

[@NukkuiskoHyvinVaiPois]

I'd rather play a 5 hour game 20 times, noticing all the details and plot points, than a 100 hour game once of which I'm gonna remember maybe 5%. It's like a short animation vs. a 3 hour spectacle. Part of why I'm drawn to indie games is *because* they're often simpler and shorter. I hope that games don't feel the pressure to be as complicated and full of everything as Larian Studios's games.

[@Jamesserx10]

I'm a longtime Larian fan, dating back to the 1st D:OS in 2013. Watching this company absolutely crush it again and again in has been one of the few shining moments in this crappy industry's history in the last 15 years or so. To see them finally get their big chance with something the size of D&D and then knock it completely out of the park is a dream. As someone who also plays traditional D&D (and has DM'd for years) not only do I truly appreciate the overwhelming breadth of possibilities they've jammed into this monolith but I also love that this offers the opportunity for others to get into D&D in a less daunting fashion than being handed a 300 page rulebook. There are a lot of people out there who are interested in D&D but just have such difficulty wrapping their heads around the whole "theatre of the mind" aspect and BG3 offers a wonderful introduction for them.

[@CarletonSaw]

I remember playing divine divinity over 20 years ago. It was often a bit more diabloish but had a lot of promise and abilities to get. It was solid but I never finished. Divinity 2 dragon night saga.. felt lacking in polish I was about 25 hours in. Things really turned around when original sin got them Kickstarter budget money. It's a studio constantly working on themselves to be better at that they do.

[@simonorourke4465]

I personally loved Divine Divinity and I'm so pleased for Larien they have come so far and both original sin games were great aswell. I look forward to seeing whatever Larien do next.

[@shadowscribe]

Baldur's Gate 3 is the piller of what AAA used to mean. An event that stood out because there aren't games like it around because the realities of game development meant there couldn't be. It reminded us AAA didn't just mean big, it meant worthwhile.

[@shanepedersen883]

Except, it's a digital only game, so even when you pay fill price for it, you don't actually own it. These devs are taking advantage of gamers and laughing at everyone who is making out like they're pro consumer.

[@ScottishVagabond]

​@@shanepedersen883uh, you try getting 100gb on a DVD, mate... 😅

[@Oneiroclast]

A physical copy would either be a blank disc with a digital code or 15 DVDs. Could do 3 Blu-Rays but for whatever reason PC Blu-ray drives never really took off.

[@shanepedersen883]

@@Oneiroclast even on console it's digital only.

[@shanepedersen883]

@@ScottishVagabond Why would they try to get the game on a DVD? DVD'S were invented in the 90's lol. There's much better ways to store data these days.

[@RobotsWithKnivesCartoons]

I want the standard for RPGs to be something like Citizen Sleeper, make a small well written story crafted in a way that makes you really feel like you have agency, I love the fact that Larian has made such masterpieces, but I don't think we can call it a new standard when even getting a good small scale RPG isn't that common.

[@Blue_Lunacy]

I find Baldur's Gate 3 success is kinda similar to Hades' success. The game that utilized Early Access period correctly and was successful enough to keep the development going until full launch.

[@rochellerodriguez6431]

This is the comparison I make as well. Supergiant and Larian have also set a standard for project managers in the industry. Both companies were great about keeping development on task and within the scope of their team's skill sets. This is the lesson I want indie devs to learn, to choose an achievable gameplay system and art style. In other words, look at what current Bioware is doing and do the opposite of that.

[@CatHasOpinions734]

​@@rochellerodriguez6431To steal from a meme I saw in a BG2 forum, "I have tried to remember loving Bioware, to recreate it, to spark it anew in my memory. But it is gone... a hollow, dead thing." (If this quote doesn't ring a bell, DON'T Google it unless you want spoilers for BG2, which you should absolutely play if you haven't yet.)

[@MetAlexTHVK]

"I mean, its no Shadow [Over] Mystara, but its easily the second closest after that" JSS, truly a person of exceptional taste. 👌

[@SouthernMenace]

As someone working in the gaming industry and hopelessly in love with BG3, the anxiety regarding clueless publishers demanding a repetition of this success and using human lives as kindling to do so it's quite justified and even mildly assured to eventually happen. Good take.

[@EnByDee]

Two points that I think are worth acknowledging synergize is the depth of the customization and the incredible breadth of voice acting. This game has what seems to be more dialog than any game I've played in my life, and I could hardly have dreamed that a game of this scale would record distinct lines with they/them pronouns. With us being such a small portion of the population and this choice adding so much work for them, I really can't stop thinking about it. They could have been recording dialog as soon as 2017, when the awareness of enbys was next to zero. They either are the most forward-thinking, progressive devs on the planet, or they more recently spent time bringing back voice actors specifically to re-record lines with they/them pronouns. I've been using they/them pronouns for over 2.5 years, and my D&D group (that has been running weekly for over a decade) still struggles with using my pronouns. In BG3, I don't have reminders that people see me as anything other than how I see myself. I get to be unquestioningly and fully seen/understood as an enby. I didn't realize how much this would mean to me until I felt it in the game. This game is special

[@devforfun5618]

im not even trans and i made a non binary character that is a cthulhu worshiper named only cultist, many species don't even have gender in fantasy settings

[@hazukichanx408]

I do wish we had a specific pronoun for non-binary people, and not just repurposed plurals. Yes, "its use in this context is proven" and all that, but I just prefer there to be a dedicated word, something that means exactly what you need it to. Perhaps in time a term will emerge and gain public approval (particularly, of course, among non-binary people themselves). In the meantime, doing one's best to address people the way they prefer is a lot better than doing nothing, yes? Respectful. I endeavor to do the same.

[@EnByDee]

@@hazukichanx408 I'm also looking forward to the day that we have a mainstream, exclusively-singular, gender-neutral pronoun, but it is what it is for now If you want you can also check with whoever you're referring to if they are alright with Ey/em pronouns. I know a lot of people have visceral reactions to neopronouns, but ey/em is literally just they/them w/o the "th" so it's not as hard to adapt to as it could be.

[@Nemzal]

I for one agree that every game as a standard should have bear sex I assume that's what this is about

[@PancakemonsterFO4]

Agree

[@SaiyanHeretic]

You're right and you should say it.

[@StephySon]

100% bear fucking Druid sex in every game

[@khango6138]

Has anyone made Lifts-Her-Tail a reality with BG3? Asking for myself.

[@StephySon]

@@khango6138 god I hope so

[@CreepingTerror]

Really appreciated the perspective on calling it the new standard! I’d been thinking that way about it, without really thinking about the ramifications of what terrible AAA companies would do to uphold that standard. Also I totally felt the same way about Larian’s previous games.

[@BeatPeet]

So what is the solution? Let AAA publishers release subpar games with predatory monetization and a boatload of bugs because they would treat their employees like sh*t? Problem being, that they're already treated that way. No, Baldur's Gate 3 should become the industry standard not only because of the state of the game the released, but also because of the way they developed that game. According to interviews and reviews of employees, they treat their staff well and kept crunch to a minimum, hiring more developers and recognizing the overtime during the last two months of development as a flaw.

[@maximeteppe7627]

It's complicated right? The amount of content advertised is daunting enough that I'm not sure I'll buy it unless I find a couple friends to go though the game with me in coop. (also bounced of original sin 2) But it's not the amount of dialogue that makes it a success, not on its own, it's that enough of it is well written and memorable, and it makes you feel like you're making interesting choices. But it's obvious video game suits will see that game and its I don't know how many thousands of lines of dialogue and hours upon hours of cutscenes, and then they'll just ask their studios to top that. rather than the narrative content emerging organically from emulating tabletop RPGs, with graphical concessions made to allocate the budget and employee hours as smartly as possible, you'll have lengthy paint by numbers dialogue for no reason in games that would be better off as short linear experiences. And you'll have overworked devs being blamed for failing to meet unreasonable standards while under pressure from insensate management.

[@Quintessence4444]

The same as they already do.. abuse people as much as they can legally get away with. You wouldn't notice a difference other than better games or more cancelled games.

[@jacobbalensiefer3846]

Side note I really like the new layered editing style. Seeing the little characters pop up over gameplay adds some visual variety.

[@KjcKiesh]

What is needed for these big projects is the time for them to be completed, the bigger the creative project the longer it takes to be completed. It took Michaelangelo 4 years to finish painting the sistine chapel. The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona has been under construction for *140 years* and still needs another 10 years to complete. Gaming projects have been getting bigger and more ambitious, but the time and resources given to work on them have not increased proportionally. If a game requires crunch to be finished "on time" then it is not being given the time needed. Of course to the publishers, time is money. And they want their money sooner rather than later, which sadly comes at the cost of the people working on the game and typically leads to a shallower product on release. What I hope comes from Baldur's Gate 3 is the trust in studios from investors to make something great when given adequate time to make it great. Bring back the art and craftsmanship to games that has been lacking in the past decade or more.

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

Michaelangelo was a turtle and we know how lethargic they are, and Barcelona is in Spain and they are notoriously lazy.

[@roycrownguard]

Your character looks so cute with their hat!! I have always been a fan of character creation in games and back then as a kid I wondered just how amazing they'll get with future technology. Can't wait to get a PC good enough some day so I can try BG3 myself *w*

[@Deathlygunn]

Can we just take a moment to acknowledge that whilst Larian Studio have just put out a game of Baldur's Gate 3's scale/quality for $60 and have no plans of introducing Microtransactions/DLC, Rockstar are desperately trying to justify asking gamers to spend $50 on a souless port of a thirteen year old game (that actually cost $40 on release) that you can pick up for $5 on any other platform.

[@hazukichanx408]

Rockstar just don't seem to have any humility at all. The name was probably a clue, in retrospect...

[@emzetkin1100]

Can we agree that DLC≠Expansions?

[@necroguy11]

This is a little misleading as if you didn’t own the early access version you need to pay $10 for a bundle that has unique skins and items; the PS5 version of the game is also at a baseline higher price with no change in content.

[@thecthuloser876]

There's absolutely going to be DLC for the game, even if Larian says there's no plans. Larian's other games had it and Baldur's Gate I and II both had the 90s equivalent.

[@Ziko577]

It's nuts to me that these companies think they can pull a fast one on us and yet, people will be suckered anyway. What in the hell was that RDR port? I could download that thing for free on my PS3 as it's jailbroken if I wanted to play it and other than the time to download and install it, that's it. No money goes to them period that's for sure.

[@Deliriumend]

Absolutely agreed. Small, indie studios shouldn't feel threatened by BG3. But the AAA studios should feel absolutely ashamed. Larian did that with a team they grew up to 400 people over several years. And the key thing is: their goal was to make a game they wanted to play - which included not treating their players like shills to be fleeced for every nickel.

[@jadedheartsz]

problem there is they are a privately company that does not have to answer to shareholders, while other AAA studios have big publishers demanding returns so they don't have the luxury of taking 7 years to make a game.

[@1inchPunchBowl]

@@jadedheartsz Then the solution is not to be tempted when a big publisher offers to buy your studio. They get no free passes from me.

[@MattMG84]

@@jadedheartsz I'd be very curious to read the contract between Larian and WotC...

[@Phlebas]

I've yet to buy this, partly because I'm planning to upgrade my PC soon and want BG3 to be its inaugural game, but I'm very, very pleased that BG3 was so successful.

[@jrm78]

One takeaway from BG3 that I hope AAA studios learn from is that putting games in early access in order to squash bugs and listen to player feedback really can help in a game's development cycle. And also the length of the development cycle probably reduced the amount of crunch required on Larian's part, not to mention they didn't assign a release date for the longest time which again likely reduced crunch.

[@ashleywilliams4896]

As amazing as Baldurs Gate 3 is, it's good to consider the wider implications it could have on the industry too.

[@desmondbrown5508]

Hell, despite it's long dev cycle and lack of crunch, even Baldur's Gate 3 is still full of bugs. One such example that I've seen a TON of people experience for YEARS on the forums (and I had happen to me as well this past week) is a quest progression bug with the Emerald Grove. You save an NPC named Haslin, then he either gets stuck in one of 3 places based on if you "interrupt" his sequencing by doing something else. He can be stuck in his cage and make no progress, or he can get stuck at your camp if you party with the Tieflings before following up his story, or he can be stuck inside the Grove for reasons unknown. That's a lot of problems that can easily occur and block you from ever finishing that questline. And that's just at the first Act of the game and STILL exists in the finalized release. Not to mention the game is still missing tons of accessibility features and still needs fixes (and more optional tweak-ability , imo) to it's karmic dice and the easiest difficulty (which can bizarrely be harder than "normal" mode half the time). So the fact that some devs are worried about being crunched into doing what Larian did and the fact that most of said devs often have even more polished/finished products (perhaps not as complex nor as long, but without massive progression breaking bugs) is a very valid concern. None of this is to take away from the ambition of Larian's vision. But hell, even Larian probably needs another few months of development to truly say the game is done. The only thing I think needs to be standardized based on BG3's production cycle is the fact that they actually gave the devs more time and didn't attempt to crunch them (to my knowledge). I don't care if games take 2+ more years to make. I'd rather they be good, finished and mostly bug free and the developers feel happy and safe during the entire dev process. We can do both, and we should've been doing both for a very long time.

[@natebookout811]

I do love this. But what I really need is a Jimquisition about the monopoly Wizards of the Coast has and abuses with impunity on TTRPGs as a whole.

[@tortoiseoflegends4466]

Do they have a monopoly? Most of the biggest D&D competitors are still doing pretty well, like Pathfinder, World Of Darkness or GURPS. they've had shitty business practices but TTRPG's are thriving like never before.

[@diamondmx3076]

A quick Google says that d&d 5e alone is over 50% of the market with the next nearest competitor at 13%. It's not a monopoly strictly, but that's a market dominating percentage where what they do moves everyone else.

[@tortoiseoflegends4466]

@@diamondmx3076 Sure, but blaming Wizards Of The Coast for that is a bit weird. It's not like they're buying up or driving out competitors, like Disney. D&D is the only popular TTRPG game they own.

[@natebookout811]

@@tortoiseoflegends4466 You don't have to actively drive out competitors when your brand is established as the only viable version of the product most people even know about. Something new competing against that is virtually impossible. When was the last time you heard of a new IP in the world of table-top games? You don't. D&D is synonymous with TTRPGs in the same way Nintendo was synonymous with videogames as a whole in the 90s, and it's a big problem in both cases.

[@tortoiseoflegends4466]

@@natebookout811 Sure but again, why is that the fault of Wizards Of The Coast? I don't disagree that they have a dominating hold on TTRPG's, but I don't see how they've done anything bad themselves. They made D&D very beginner friendly and have expanded into popular movies and games. Pearl clutching controversies like the satanic panic in the 80's also helped spread their name too, along with things like Critical Roll and other D&D play shows. They've garnered their popularity off of word of mouth and being a good/accessible system, rather than scumminess and underhanded practices. IMO their approach to Magic The Gathering is more worthy of criticism, they've had some bullshit there.

[@aeloswindrunner]

This is tragic and ridiculous. A damning indictment of the game industry is the only way to think about it. A game releasing and being complete and lacking microtransations being staggeringly newsworthy is just depressing as all hell

[@peyotecowboy3199]

Lol. I made the same comment before seeing yours.

[@aeloswindrunner]

@@peyotecowboy3199 glad it's not just me thinking that then :)

[@abadenoughdude300]

It's absolutely newsworthy because it's so outside what is now considered "the norm" that it's unfathomable that it could've been made and have been as successful. It's absolutely depressing that this industry has devolved into the eldritch monstrosity that it has but at least current technology allows for actual gems to be found outside of the easily accessible roads of triple AYYY, at least for those that dare to venture off the beaten path.

[@billhicks8]

It's a shame, but I don't think despairing even when a great game comes out is a particularly great way to look at it. Enjoy the game, acknowledge the concerns, and look after your mental health.

[@aeloswindrunner]

@@billhicks8 less despair at a good game, more the state of the industry as a whole which makes up my primary hobby

[@Silverhawk100]

What the standard it should set is thought and care applied to its setting and narrative. It's brought what most consider to be a niche genre title (BG2) and made it appealing and loved by mostly everyone I know who plays it. It did that through the aforementioned, thought and care.

[@BotchFrivarg]

Baldur's Gate 3 had some many advantages, experienced studio that used the money they made on successful b-tier games to fund their triple a product, with the tech ready, using an amazing popular license (for all the missteps WotC/Hasbro has made in the last few years dungeons and dragons is still immensely popular), working on a type/genre that is currently under presented (expansive turn based single player RPGs are pretty rare nowadays). Adding that all together and is no wonder that Baldur's Gate 3 is so successful! Could other studios replicate this, if not fully then at least to an extend? Theoretically yes, but in practice most of their corporate overlords won't give them the time to build experience (and tech) with b-tier games, nor direct the money made to the next game (because that would mean less for the corporate overlords), and lets not even begin about retention of talent. Or to put it differently under our current capitalistic hell scape of a socioeconomic system Baldur's Gate 3 is a f**king miracle

[@LiamBar2010]

100% agree that BG3 should be held as the gold standard, not the lowest bar. Also if the amount of experience and care Larian have shown is any indication, they're looking after their people. It's hard to retain this kind of talent without that and, if true, hopefully that level of employee care can be the new industry standard.

[@Vexxa_]

ive loved larian for a long long time and im so glad they got to make a dungeons and dragons game. they earned it

[@hazukichanx408]

I played Divine Divinity back in the day, and I was frankly not impressed... but seeing how far they've come, you are correct. They've earned it.

[@RaptieFeathers]

Literally earned it! They made D:OS2 to convince WotC to let them make BG3

[@Gingrnut]

Hard agree with you on this one Steph. Been very frustrating, as someone who’s been on the BG3 train for a couple years now, to see game devs I follow on Twitter offering interesting, useful analyses of the conditions that allowed BG3 to be what it is, and then be martyred by a toxic community too excited by the great new game they’re playing to actually read the words game devs are saying.

[@CanadianWolverine]

Heh, you basically said what she said with less words in the back half of the video but find it hard to agree with her.

[@tylerchristian3557]

​@CanadianWolverine They said "hard agree", not "hard to agree". As in, they agree very much.

[@Gingrnut]

@@CanadianWolverine hard disagree there champ.

[@Raptor3698]

As a person who couldn’t get into the DND table top RPG, this has managed to literally become one of my favorite games of this year and possibly this decade.

[@custardberrytart651]

Larian studios are an incredible developer, one of the best out there for rpg games,they knocked it out the park just like divinity 2

[@SnarkyLesbian]

True, Divinity 2 is also badly written and fell apart after act 1 when the game was released.

[@ApogeeSol]

Larian Studio run by caring individuals, that much I feel certain of. I wish them nothing but success in the future. I hope that their next projects are something their teams can be excited about and happy to work on.

[@TransoceanicOutreach]

The main thing Larian have going for them is that their aim was to make the best game they possibly could, rather than make the most money they possibly could. You can only have one of those things as your main aim.

[@Boumhaar]

You're the best , hearing you talk with such passion is why i always wait eagerly for monday , thank god for stéphanie sterling :)

[@piusdoe8984]

Great video. Love the love for Baldurs and love the take on "industry standard" vs just highest standard

[@E8144EOE]

I watched through the video long enough to see if you discussed crunch, and yeah, I completely agree. Big studios aren't going to let games take longer to make, they're just going to crunch harder. Always thought a lot of the discourse surrounding Baldur's Gate 3 was weirdly smug. Also, 'no views, 0 comments, 20 seconds ago' early gang rise up.

[@flossimoth]

Yeah, if AAA Companies do decide to make games like these, they absolutely will crack the metaphorical whip to get it done in a stupidly short amount of time. And there will still be microtransations or some other kind of predatory monetisation system. Because AAA Companies cannot help themselves. Also there will likely be even more bugs, because there will be less QA time and less bugfixing time in addition to less development time.

[@bugcatcherharold5315]

I think part of the "new standard" narrative should also include stuff like the 400 worker team spending 4 years with a lot of the world building and RPG mechanics foundations already set, as in putting /time/ and /money/ into a large game like this, instead of crunching (which I *hope* is what happened in this case). Either do a big one every five years or do a medium one every two years or a small one every year - not trying to do a big one every year.

[@0Gumpy0]

Great video. People did really jump on the idea it was AAA devs who were scared of having to make finished games, but the story and criticism was always more nuanced. Can't have nuance on the internet though

[@criwall]

Yeah, there where a few really bad takes from some AAA devs (or just very bad phrasing in their tweets that made it look like a bad take taken out of context) but If anything I feel that most of them where outright saying "Yeah we wish we had the freedom to make a game like BG3 on our own terms but suits and shareholders and the buisiness side of AAA makes it almost impossible" without actually calling out their bosses. Thats why it won't be a new industry standard and why it's an "Anomily", the entire buisiness side of AAA games makes it one. I think pretty much all devs would like to make a game like BG 3 if they had the freedom to polish it until it's done without being forced to implement means of perpetual monetization and beeing worked to death in eternal crunch...

[@TheHatwolf]

I don't every game to be made like Baldur's Gate 3, but I want every single tripple A studio to make games with the same amount of love to the craft and respect to the players and their audience, like Baldur's Game 3. I get the sense that Larian just loves their games and loves making them. And that's something I do not feel from many games anymore. Most games lack the aura of excitement that BG3 just has.

[@ruggedlemmings9163]

Loving the game so far. Truly all the choice and freedom it offers is impressive (saw a video of someone building a stack of barrels to climb over a wall, that's just nuts), but here's the thing that absolutely blew my mind: Got in a fight in a goblin fortress. Had my barbarian pick up a gobbo and chuck it into an abyss. Fast forward a good 5 hours and I'm exploring the Underdark, and what's this I see on the ground? The corpse of the gobbo my barbarian chucked.

[@jacquesdemaille8653]

I hope the game is a canvas for additional adventures in the game itself. I would love adventure packs like D&D pen/paper. Imagine playing Pool of Radiance, or Temple of Elemental Evil in this beautiful game.

[@Jane-oz7pp]

FUCK NO DO NOT WISH FOR THE ONE COMPANY THAT DOESN'T FOIST A MILLION MICROTRANSACTIONS EVERY GAME TO DO SO

[@Rystefn]

@@Jane-oz7pp Dropping an expansion that was the full Pool of Radiance or Temple of Elemental Evil wouldn't be a micro transaction, though.

[@Immudzen]

I think that Larian could make other roleplaying games based on D&D and have them be successful. They need to still do their own IP and they need serious time between releases to prevent burnout. I don't think any other studio could do that though because they don't have the mature tech designed just to make this kind of game.

[@Steventrafford]

I put in over 180 hours into early access. Every update they released I played extensively, I knew this was going to be the best game I ever play, BG1/2 and expansions gave me hours of fun as a kid. When I heard Larian got the go ahead for BG3 I was already like “take my money”😂😆 dos 1/2 are also games I’ve adored since BG3, only studio I trust as much as Larian is Owlcat games and it’s pathfinder games. They are doing a Rogue trader 40K game and I’m almost as excited for that🤣. I think I’ll still be playing BG3 in ten years time. I really don’t buy many games anymore, I just play old games I like, most recent purchases are Warhammer 3 total war and Monster hunter for ps5 and to my utter dissatisfaction D4😢. Mostly because my gaming friends all got it. Played for a week and have no interest in playing it more, which sucks. Another franchise fucked by greed.

[@Elwaves2925]

Not just mtx free but apparently it's completely DRM free as well. I've heard you can simply run the exe and avoid using even the Steam launcher.

[@elvingearmasterirma7241]

!!!!!!

[@vesperiadragon3221]

Can confirm

[@Elwaves2925]

@@vesperiadragon3221Thanks. I heard it another video, so couldn't be 100% sure.

[@alroth1035]

My understanding is that you still have to open the Larian launcher, but I may be wrong.

[@CatHasOpinions734]

​@@alroth1035I know you can edit the steam properties to bypass the Larian launcher, haven't tested it just clicking the exe but I would assume it can be done.

[@tessa8484]

I used to think dialogue was easy and there was no excuse to not have a lot of it until I tried to write my own for a lowly mod. It's truly maddening. As for Xavier's comments, nobody really took issue with him saying that. The conversation shifted when AAA devs, many who work at places with far more people and resources than Larian, started chiming in. That's when backlash began in earnest because it was like "Why are you talking? What's your excuse?" Not to mention most of the conversation is now about unfinished games rife with microtransactions, piecemeal dlc and in-game shops that look more polished than the games they're in.

[@wafflingmean4477]

Every now and then me and my friend play our solo campaigns at the same time in discord and we're repeatedly stunned by how different my playthrough has been to his. I'm like 70 hours in and I've only just finished the second act of the game. So depending on how long the final act is, I'm looking at 100+ hours and at least one more full campaign of another 100+ hours by making radically different choices than my first time.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

I really appreciate that in response to the whining about "raising the bar" that the Larian devs keep pointing out that theyre just meeting the bar set by Disco Elysium, a game made by an enormously smaller company.

[@mastermarkus5307]

I still don't understand the praise for Disco Elysium story-wise, especially considering the ending. It really feels like an "illusion of choice" game.

[@SamuraiMujuru]

​@@mastermarkus5307umm, okay?

[@domanskikid]

@ mastermarkus5307 Good for you. Your opinion is not the same as millions of others. 🙄

[@Katy133]

@@mastermarkus5307 Keep in mind that Disco Elysium's recorded total word count was over 1 million, considerably larger than for example The Witcher 3. Disco Elysium is around the length of 2 War and Peace books placed together. That is a considerable amount of text and with it Disco Elysium had the added production challenges of making sure all that text was free of typos, felt like it was spoken with a consistent narrative voice, and was fully-voiced.

[@Avrysatos]

@@Katy133 don't forget that it wasn't fully voiced on release but they DID manage to make that happen once they could afford to.

[@wiseguy0083]

As gamers, we're not expecting every single game to be this level of quality. What we want are complete games that aren't rushed cash grabs or monetize to hell and back.

[@mattandrews2594]

Literally every video about BG3 recently has been people saying they want all future games to be like it, so you're wrong on that one chief.

[@wiseguy0083]

@mattandrews2594 and if you expect that to be the case every time, then you're setting yourself up for disappointment every time.

[@js2188]

@@mattandrews2594 I certainly wouldn't use the word "literally" , go with predominantly if you want to be accurate

[@ForbiddenSlurp]

@@mattandrews2594 just do what i do, go in their comment sections and explain that the only reason BG3 was able to be so good was the dedication of Larian to both taking care of and listening to their staff and putting the game over profits. And if simply those two notions became standard more games like it would naturally follow. As is the nature of social networking that's all we really can do. If it clicks with them it does, if it doesn't it doesn't.

[@hypersloth8139]

@@mattandrews2594 please learn to extrapolate what they are actually saying when you hear that. The aspects of BG3 that people are NOT asking for when they just ask for more games "like" it isn't the scope, the genre, the bredth of VA, the amount of replayability, etc. What they want is a complete game, made within the preset scope of the development team that prioritizes the player experience over gouging them for every last dime. If you see people ask for more games like BG3 and you take that literally in every sense of the word, you're an idiot or you're just digging for a reason to be argumenative. We can have shorter, cheaper, more ethically developed games that don't crunch their developers that are also "like BG3" in all the ways that people actually are asking for.