Baldur's Gate 2: EE - Q&A @ Kotaku

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Kotaku has a new Q&A with Trent Oster about Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition.

Schreier: How are sales so far, for both games? Out of curiosity, do they sell better on PC or iOS?

Oster: Sales are great; we recently made it into the top 10 on iPad with a $14.99 game. There was only on other title over $0.99 in that group and it was Minecraft. We're ecstatic about the success and jazzed at the number of people who are coming out to play one of the greatest western RPGs of all time. As the PC version has been out longer and Baldur's Gate comes from a PC base, we've seen more success so far on that platform, but the Apple sales are building quickly, so it could be a tight race. From our side, we are in this for the long haul; we're working with a great franchise and a strong fan community, so we're looking at this from a long-term viewpoint and we're confident sales will still be strong years down the road.

Schreier: Last we spoke, you expressed interest in working on a Baldur's Gate 3 if everything worked out with 1 and 2. Is that still possible? What sort of legal hurdles would be involved there?

Oster: We're definitely interested in working on Baldur's Gate 3. We've put a ton of work into the franchise and I think the reviews of our new content speak to how well we understand the games. Most reviews say how seamlessly our content fits into the original games. From a legal-hurdles standpoint, we need to get all the right people together in one spot and hammer out an agreement we can all succeed in. We're very happy with our working relationship with Wizards of the Coast and we want to keep that relationship going for a long time into the future.
More information.
 
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I'm glad they're interested in Baldur's Gate 3. However, making a completely new game will be quite a big step from the work they've done on the enhanced editions. For one thing, they'll need to develop a whole new engine , which is going to cost some serious money. Maybe they could do a Kickstarter, which I'm sure could be pretty successful, but they'd have to get all the right people to agree to that which may prove tricky.

And the prospect of BG3 raises all sorts of questions... What D&D edition would the game use? Then there's the story. The Bhaalspawn saga seems pretty well wrapped up in BG1 &2, so what would the plot of BG3 even be about? I suppose they could do a story that takes place around the city and just alludes to the events of the first two games. But then I think the game runs the risk of feeling like a mere side story rather than a sequel. It'd be tough to live up to the high expectations fans of the first two games would have.
 
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For one thing, they'll need to develop a whole new engine , which is going to cost some serious money.
Have they mentioned somewhere that they would develop a new engine and not just use Infinity?
 
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They could use Unity or the engine that Obsidian is using for Pillars of Eternity so they don't need to make an engine and probably would be easier then using the Infinity Engine.
 
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I am not sure how I feel about BG3. The story is wrapped up, leave it at that. Now a whole other story, in the same setting, that is something else.

But then I think the game runs the risk of feeling like a mere side story rather than a sequel. It'd be tough to live up to the high expectations fans of the first two games would have.

Indeed.
 
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Well you could play as a descendent of the previous Bhaalspawn. I remember the official sequel had nothing to do with them. Here is the description of the cancelled game.


Setting

The game was set to take place in the fictional Forgotten Realms continent of Faerûn. It would have taken in the Dalelands and allowed players to travel mostly in the area of Archendale. Players would have also been able to travel to key areas in Archendale such as the White Ford, the Church of Lathander and bases of the Red Wizards of Thay. Other areas in the Dalelands featured would have been Battledale, Deepingdale as well as an area of North Sembia. Though it is possible that Baldur's Gate would have appeared in the game as well in a cameo appearance, this remains unconfirmed and highly unlikely.

Characters

None of the characters from the previous Baldur's Gate games would have returned, the cast would have been completely original as well as the story, although characters from the Icewind Dale series would have returned. The reason for this is Icewind Dale was released after Interplay lost the initial D&D license. An original NPC would have been Stellaga Brightstar, a priestess in the Church of Lathander. The game would have revolved around the hunt for May Farrow, the evil cleric who killed a black hound. The Black Hound was the representation of the selfish acts of the game's main antagonist and would appear to the player through circumstance and remind him of his actions throughout the game.

The main faction in the game would have been the Archenriders, who are also the first faction encountered by the player, the Church of Lathander would have been a faction at the same importance. The Red Wizards of Thay, the Sembian Silver Ravens, the Malarite People of Black Blood and the Elves of Deepingdale would have been other major factions in the game that the player would have been allowed to side with. The characters from Icewind Dale that would have come would have been the gnome, Maralie Fiddlebender and the Druid, Iselore who would have appeared in a cameo. The Harpers and the Zhentarim would have also appeared. The Zhentarim would have been seen for part of the game as the Black Network.

Story

May Farrow and her gang of raiders have spent weeks tracking down the black hound, the essence of May's guilt for unleashing a great evil. The player character is resting by the firelight in an old barn to hide from the storm outside when a black hound arrives and after being shot twice by an arrow, it cries one last time before it dies on the player lap. May almost kills the player, accusing him of being in league with the dog (meaning she thinks the player character is another essence of her guilt) and almost kills the player character (PC) before the Riders of Archendale save the PC. They question the PC, take the PC to the magistrate, who question the PC further and inform the PC not to leave the areas of North Sembia, Archendale, Battledale and Deepingdale. Whenever the player then approaches somebody with great guilt, the black hound appears to him and eventually the players actions make the player the essence of guilt throughout the four areas mentioned above. As the player unravels more secrets, he learns that he can't kill guilt, thus he cannot kill the black hound or what he has become (the player can physically die, but people won't forget about what the player did). Eventually, he learns the tale of a widowed farmer's wife, taking great guilt in her husband's death as for some reason she believes its her fault, she tries to resurrect him. She succeeds but finds him to be an abomination and cannot stop him, despite him being very weak at the time. Through the course of the game, the farmer is growing stronger and stronger off the guilt absorbed by the black hound through the player. The player learns of this wife being May Farrow, who believes killing the hound would be a way to stop the farmer, the hound however latched its soul onto the player and uses him as a tunnel to channel guilt to the farmer and as a guide to the world.

The game would not have been a sequel to Baldur's Gate II in terms of story but rather gameplay, however, it did continue part of story of Icewind Dale II through joinable NPC's, specifically Maralie Fiddlebender, who would have been an adult in the story. There was a hound featured in the storybook of Icewind Dale II of which Maralie narrated, according to the developers, the game would have revolved around this hound. The game was also revealed to have a connection to another one of Black Isle Studios games, Project Jackson. Project Jackson was then revealed to be Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II. This connection was unknown and as of current, there is only one connection known: a Forgotten Realms setting. It is possible that there could be a story connection due to both the Harpers and the Zhentarim being in the game, but this was never revealed by any developer on the project. It was only stated that the projects were related once in the entire history of the project.

As guenthar said above it they do make the game Unity would be a good choice. Maybe they can obtain a license to use Obsidian's tech.
 
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Well you could play as a descendent of the previous Bhaalspawn. I remember the official sequel had nothing to do with them. Here is the description of the cancelled game.

That's interesting. I was not aware of any such cancelled game.
 
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That's interesting. I was not aware of any such cancelled game.
I almost forgot about it myself. J.E. Sawyer was going to make it as a module for NWN 2 bit unfortunately he cancelled the project.
 
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The plot seems a little convoluted though. The player is the essence of someone's guilt? :thinking:
 
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The plot seems a little convoluted though. The player is the essence of someone's guilt? :thinking:
J.E. Sawyer had an interview on Gamebanshee back in 2007. If you dig deeper it had nothing to do with the first two games. Just the Name.:thinking:

GB: It is largely believed that "Jefferson" and "FR6" were codenames used by Black Isle Studios to represent Baldur's Gate III: The Black Hound. Now that BIS is no longer in existence, are you able to confirm that BG3 was officially in development and that "The Black Hound" was going to be its subtitle?

Josh: The Black Hound was its working title when we stopped, with the "BG3" added on at the front because Interplay could only make PC D&D games with the names Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale in the title. It actually had nothing to do with the Baldur's Gate series.

GB: When did development of The Black Hound actually begin at Black Isle Studios and how large was the team working on it?

Josh: It's hard to remember exactly when it started, but I believe it was around late 2000 to early 2001. Development was concurrent with Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter, though only a very small team was working on The Black Hound during that period. In truth, TBH did not have a full development team until after the end of Icewind Dale 2.


GB: Why did Interplay ultimately decide to shut down The Black Hound? How much development time was left on the game at the time it was cancelled?

Josh: I'm not sure how much I can say definitively about why they shut down the project, but "coincidentally" Interplay lost the rights to use the Baldur's Gate brand name on PC immediately prior to canceling the project.

GB: Was the third installment going to continue the Child of Bhaal storyline in some manner? How did it pick up after the destruction (or absorption) of Bhaal's essence at the end of Throne of Bhaal?

Josh: For a while, TBH (which was internally called FR6 and externally called Jefferson) was a Baldur's Gate title, though the only things the project had in common with BG titles were a) a D&D ruleset b) the Forgotten Realms setting and c) a party of companions. The Baldur's Gate storyline and characters were never referenced.

GB: You've recently decided to develop a Neverwinter Nights 2 module called The Black Hound. Does this new module represent some of the work you had done on Baldur's Gate III? What similarities and differences does it share with Jefferson?

Josh: It bears a lot of similarities in the plot, setting, main characters and overall design goals. Looking back, I don't think all of the decisions I/we were making on TBH were good ones. I have changed some aspects for personal taste and scope issues, but the core of the game should feel very similar. Some of the more significant changes are a reduction of the game area (which was larger than BG2 during core development on TBH), a revision of the story to be less convoluted, and the shifting of some character roles in the story.

GB: Just how ambitious is The Black Hound in terms of length and depth? Could it potentially become a premium module for Neverwinter Nights 2 or would you prefer to see it free for any NWN2 fan interested in it?

Josh: It's pretty ambitious because of its sheer size and the scope of some of the character interaction mechanics. That said, I think most of the things I'm trying to do are pretty straightforward from a technical perspective. To be blunt, there's just a lot of stuff to do.

I'd rather not make it a premium module. I'm going to make a significant number of rule changes for the campaign and the tone I'm taking with many of the characters pushes the boundaries of what's acceptable for a T-rated product. I don't want to compromise on either of those things, even if it means the perceived quality of the campaign suffers.

GB: Have you hammered down any of the module's specifics, such as which NWN2 classes/prestige classes will be allowed, the introduction of any new items or spells, a potential level cap, or the number of companions available to join the player's party?

Josh: All standard base classes will be allowed (which excludes the warlock) and no prestige classes will be allowed. Characters will be allowed to reach 8th level, though 1st level characters will start out with a boost to their starting hit points. Many spells will probably be cut to sharpen the focus of the game, though I will almost certainly add a few personal favorites. There will also be a large number of unique items, including art objects and other items with purely monetary value.

There are currently eight companions on the list, though a few float on and off of that list as my opinion changes on their roles in the story.


GB: How much of a factor does good and evil play into the module? Will the player be free to play exactly what type of character he wants, regardless of how law-abiding or ruthless he wishes to be?


Josh: I doubt I can imagine exactly what type of character everyone wants to play, but there should be a pretty broad range between the saintliest of the goody two-shoes and the blood-soaked town murderer. If you want to lay low the population of Archenbridge, you will be allowed to do it and continue on with the main story. There are very few plot critical characters and none of the companions are required. Of course, many people will hate you if you're a scumbag, so be prepared.
 
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They could use Unity or the engine that Obsidian is using for Pillars of Eternity so they don't need to make an engine and probably would be easier then using the Infinity Engine.
The problem is the DnD ruleset.
Of course if they wanted to use 3rd or 4th ed, they could use a modern engine as it would be as difficult to implement it in Infinity.
 
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For one thing, they'll need to develop a whole new engine , which is going to cost some serious money.

If they just used an engine as nice as Dragon Age, I would be in heaven
 
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I have no doubt that a potential BG3 will be IE based. I believe that their ultimate goal with the Enhanced Editions was to shown that there still is an interest in these kinds of RPGs and at the same time modernize the infrastructure of IE. (KS has verified the former countless of times by now) To me it makes no sense if they were to use another engine at this point. Overhaul is not a huge studio so I can't see them being able to scratch all the work they have done with IE. The only major issue as I see it is that they probably have to upgrade the rule set. I would imagine that WotC would never allow a new D&D game to be released today based on AD&D 2nd editon.
 
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The problem is the DnD ruleset.
Of course if they wanted to use 3rd or 4th ed, they could use a modern engine as it would be as difficult to implement it in Infinity.

Yeah, I wonder what edition they would want to use. I'm sure there's some fans that would actually want them to stick with the 2.5 ruleset. I personally really like the 3rd edition (at least as it was implemented in NWN 1&2). But I have a feeling WotC might require them to use 4th edition anyway.

Regarding the story / characters, I was thinking that if they did closely tie it BG2 and bring back some of the characters, then they would have to come up with a canon version of BG2 similar to how there was a canon party for BG1 (Jaheira, Khalid, Imoen, Minsc, Dynaheir). That was rather limiting and problematic if they died in BG1. In that sense it would actually be better to have an entirely new cast of characters.
 
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It might be better not to use BG3 as that implies a direct sequel. Instead, they could use the T:ToN naming model and provide some linkages. Baldur's Gate: The Next Generation… or some such. If they want to do a direct tie-in, then they could make it about the champions of the new deity and give it a strategic aspect.

Licensing the PoE or T:ToN technology on top of Unity seems like a good option, if the price is right. Implementing the 3rd or 4th edition D&D rules set would be more costly in terms of development.
 
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Call me a cynic but, I've seen nothing from them that gives me the impression they can do their own game on the scale and level of quality as the BG series. Fixing code and adding a couple NPCs is nothing like making an actual game.

Much rather see them do their own game, unrelated to BG so they don't need to worry about the insane expectations a BG 3 would get from fans.
 
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Well it's not like they (Wizards of the Coast) are asking for much to continue with Baldur's Gate 3 development.
Just 3 years of remastering BG1 and BG2 and 30-40$ from the fans to purchase the enhanced editions and then they MIGHT consider it.
Give us a break WOTC,will ya?
Thank god ,the RPG- Tactical RPG genre seems to be picking back up nowadays.
 
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Call me a cynic but, I've seen nothing from them that gives me the impression they can do their own game on the scale and level of quality as the BG series. Fixing code and adding a couple NPCs is nothing like making an actual game.

Yes, that's more like maintenance work than original project development. All it takes is a certain level of technical proficiency. I'd love to see a BG3 but not if it's going to be an insult to the franchise.
 
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So I take it they're rulling out work on the rest of the IE games? I'm playing IWD1 straight after the EEs and must admit that it feels fairly primitive in comparison.
 
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Well the 5th edition of D&D is due later this year so they could easily use that, it's meant to be much closer to 2nd ed.

Daniel.
 
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