Baldur’s Gate 3 is the culmination of what some of the brightest minds in the video gaming industry can do when they’re left to explore and ideate as much as they want. While we’ve come to know and love the game and its many facets, it wasn’t nearly the same as it was during the conceptualization stage.
And yes, that includes its characters. During BAFTA’s “An Evening with Baldur’s Gate 3” event, Larian CEO Swen Vincke, writing director Adam Smith, and lead writer Chrystal Ding had much to share about all the work that went into creating the studio’s latest hit.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Characters Went Through Many Iterations
Larian won big at the BAFTA’s this year, scoring in the Best Game, Music, Narrative, and EE Player’s Choice categories.
A lot of hard work was put into the game to reach this point of recognition, some of which was shared with the inquisitive audience that attended the special Masterclass event earlier this week.
Before the six companion characters, whose iconic scenes are plastered over the internet, were who they are as we know them today, they were simply “hundreds and hundreds” of vague character concepts.
Vincke, Smith and Ding recall how humongous of a list it was, and narrowing it down was a Herculean task. The team tried to identify those stories that would play well with one another.
The six companions would be spending a lot of time together, so, naturally, you would want stories for each one that aren’t repetitive but gel well.
As Smith recounts:
We’d go through them and we’d say, are they compatible? Do they overlap too much? Are we going to be repeating ourselves in the stories here? And do they fit the themes? That was the most important thing.
With races and classes not solidified yet, even fan-favorite Astarion went through a ton of changes. Can you imagine him as a tiefling? That’s what he nearly became before being set as a vampire.
Not Every Part of Shadowheart Was Changed
You may have heard that Shadowheart used to be a lot sassier during the game’s Early Access days before her personality was dialed down. There was one other aspect of hers that was always set in stone, though.
Essentially, the team had fixed classes for each character much later, based on compatibility with the player. Shadowheart was always intended to be a cleric, for a simple reason that Vincke reveals:
We figured everybody was going to need a healer.
Creating fulfilling stories and roles for each companion was no easy feat. They’re the result of not just a few people’s efforts, but that of the narrative team, the artists, and the game and level designers, among others.
One change would have had a domino effect, and everyone needed to be on the same page.
What is your opinion on how all the companions turned out? Are you satisfied with their class and stories? Let us know in the comments below!
