Opinion - Swen Vincke's Brave Presentation

GamePressure took a look at Swen Vincke's presentation of Baldur's Gate 3 and admired his honesty.

And yes: you can argue that the presentation may have taken place too early, that pre-alpha games are not suitable for live shows, that so many bugs and glitches just made it look bad. But check it out: So what? Swen boldly took a piece of unfinished code to an event addressed to gamers rather than the people of the industry. He took it knowing fully well that the game would probably crash at some point, that he would be standing alone on the stage, completely vulnerable. He showed us a substantial fragment of something that, although still stumbling, is very much alive, molding and evolving. And for that, I'm incredibly grateful - for the courage, for reaching out to us, the fans and gamers - without the boring glare of big screens, E3 conferences, and unnecessary marketing babble about what a special and amazing community we are.

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These guys should attend CitizenCon sometime

I'm a fan of this guy. I know that there must be dark sides to him too, but he brings life to the scene and it's very amazing and welcome. Imagine if BG3 would have been in charge of some other big company and all you get is "we'll show stuff when it's ready" and every question about the game was met with PR "soon" and complete radio silence.

AT times I wish games just appeared out of nowhere without previous announcements or hype, but when done properly, announcements and hype go a long way, and I honestly think Swen Vincke does it the right way.

Videogames need to be fun. Alpha and beta builds need to be fun too, but not because of bugs. Bugs are not fun. Unless actual/fantasy bugs.



Swen nailed it.

Compared to what companies usually do by showing scripted sequences that run incredibly smoothly, I consider this to be a very brave move. They have a game that is far from being ready but they are not afraid to show where it currently is and are confident enough that most, if not all issues will be sorted by release.

Here's hoping for a true BG sequel with a BG feel when it releases.

Originally Posted by joxer
Videogames need to be fun. Alpha and beta builds need to be fun too, but not because of bugs. Bugs are not fun. Unless actual/fantasy bugs.

Not intentionally at least. But I've seen a few quite hilarious bugs over the years.

The Baldur's Gate name will be completely flayed, gutted its blood splattered about, until only a disgusting pile of gore remains, which demented Larian will proudly call their greatest creation.

Originally Posted by mercy
The Baldur's Gate name will be completely flayed, gutted its blood splattered about, until only a disgusting pile of gore remains, which demented Larian will proudly call their greatest creation.

You're just too optimistic for your own good.

Have mercy?

In another age I think Sven would have been a swashbuckler.

He's certainly a hard guy not to like. I wonder what he's really like, though.

In any case, I think they have enough goodwill to do something like this without risking much at all.

It comes down to credibility. Swen hasn't really stood up in front of us and lied about game features, what to expect, etc. He's not Todd Howard.

Yes I don't get the hate towards Swen. I may not like their direction with BG3 but they have not lied to us about anything like ChaosTheory said.

Originally Posted by lostforever
Yes I don't get the hate towards Swen.

Who's hating Swen?

Originally Posted by Winterfart
Who's hating Swen?

There is some indirect hate here (see above and other threads) but more direct hate in other BG circles outside of this forums. Him and Larian are being portrayed as those they have murdered some child.

Originally Posted by Winterfart
Who's hating Swen?

*cough* Codex *cough*

No worries, it's not Covid-19.

Originally Posted by lostforever
There is some indirect hate here (see above and other threads) but more direct hate in other BG circles outside of this forums. Him and Larian are being portrayed as those they have murdered some child.

Well, he certainly seems to get much more love than anything else on this site. I'm certainly a fan as well. Even if they totally mess up BG3 I'll still like him. And I don't actually think they will mess up.

Originally Posted by lostforever
There is some indirect hate here (see above and other threads) but more direct hate in other BG circles outside of this forums. Him and Larian are being portrayed as those they have murdered some child.

BG circles are people that have been stuck with BG 1&2 for 20 years, their opinions about a 2020 (2021?) game isn't that relevant, methink.
Better ignoring them.

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
*cough* Codex *cough*

Most of the comment there made me think that they're very excited about the game but are not allowed to show any enthusiasm (sign of weakness over there).

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
No worries, it's not Covid-19.

If I die from this crap I will haunt you

Originally Posted by Winterfart
Most of the comment there made me think that they're very excited about the game but are not allowed to show any enthusiasm (sign of weakness over there).

Yeah, it's not that bad. But there's a separate thread, inconspicuously named "Baldur's Gate III hate thread".

Originally Posted by Winterfart
If I die from this crap I will haunt you

Originally Posted by Cacheperl
Yeah, it's not that bad. But there's a separate thread, inconspicuously named "Baldur's Gate III hate thread".

I have to check that.