Baldur's Gate 3 Was A Wake Up Call

#baldursgate3 #bg3 #larianstudios
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On this channel, I discuss topics like RPGs, CRPGs, JRPGs, FFXIV, Baldur's Gate 3, Diablo 4, Path of Exile, Elden Ring, MMOs, World of Warcraft, and gaming industry news.

[Sir_Him]

That article is right. AAA studios can't be expected to be held to the same standards as smaller studios like Larian. They should be held to much, MUCH, higher standards.

[jgn]

You hit the nail on the head. Consumers want value. Games just don't provide it anymore and when a game comes along that does, it impresses everyone.

[MrCovi]

I used to be a software developer. Not a game developer (that was a side hobby, not my job) but I can 100% agree and back this up. Not just in games, but in all tech, deadlines are determined by the Sales Team, which has no idea how long it takes to actually make something, and are willing to sell sh*t in a bag as long as they can blame the devs for it being "unpolished" on release. It drove me crazy.

[blablubb]

I‘m actually very grateful towards all the AAA developers coming out of the woodwork and declaring themselves inadequate in comparison to Larian Studios. Really helps me avoid greedy and lackluster companies in the future. I‘m keeping a list. Just in case.

[Heirborn]

I am grateful that so many AAA devs have come forward to remind us us to avoid any projects they're involved in.

[karathrace]

I am a gave dev and I was pretty lucky to realize early on in my career that I don't want to work in an AAA studio. I've heard a lot of first-hand experiences from people who did work in AAA studios and to me such condition were unacceptable. Basically it's like working on conveyor belt, with a degree in astrophysics, while your boss is an accountant. I chose indie road and the first studio I got in was a brand new studio at the time, only 5-6 of us there. The studio is much larger now. Because of all the freedom I had there and I still do, respect from my coworkers and the boss, after 4 years of development we made a game which turned out to be a success beyond anything we could ever imagine. Some say it's one of the best in it's genre, better than some AAA games.

[sethstorm]

"AAA studios can't be held to the same standards as an independent studio" that is 100% correct, they shouldn't be held to that standard.
They should be held to higher standards, because they have more money and people to throw into their games.

[leebs]

Imagine a world were everyone just stopped buying games from greed-driven companies. Sounds crazy I know.

[razrvlc]

This has to be game of the year. Not just because it’s deserving but because the message needs to be sent to these AAA devs that they can’t get by doing less than the bare minimum anymore.

[CaseyYam]

I remember a time when game journalism focused on consumer protection... sad that it has devolved to being lazy reprints of PR releases or misguided attempts to cover for the mistakes of greedy CEOs. Great video Legendary! You've gained yourself one more sub!

[wombatillo]

It's unbelievable how much sheer entertainment BG3 has so far offered me. There is so much content and it's so well done. 50 hours in to the first gameplay and I can already see doing another even deeper gameplay.

[cherch]

One thing you don’t mention that I think should be brought up is that BG3 was in early access for about 3 years before it was officially released. Early access ended at some point in act 1 and the slowly added in classes and characters over the years. That’s why act 1 is damn near flawless.

[youhavetoguessit]

After playing 50 hours, i upgraded my version of the game. Larian impressed me so much i had to express my thanks. Haven't had this much fun in a game in years.

[kohiek]

Act 1 alone was worth the cost of the game. That is how far ahead of the rest of the industry BG3 is. Also a shout-out to Tears of the Kingdom

[mandy.smith]

It took me over 100 hours to beat baldur's gate and i missed a complete section by accident. This game is stunning, the companions are all unique and interesting, the gameplay is so much fun! It's a throwback to what games used to be and it makes me sad that there is not more games as well put together out there anymore. Volition dying while well deserved was sad, i loved saints row. I hope this shift happens fast and we go back to getting good games regularly.

[jazzyj]

The funniest thing about this entire BG3 firestorm is that it was literally a dev trying to say that we shouldn't expect this kind of quality from them preemptively. Nobody was comparing anyone else to Larian studios when this dev posted his tweet. He started the firestorm that would eventually surround him. Then the bandwagon of other devs jumping in to add onto that only brought more attention to the original post. They dug their own hole, by putting it into the minds of the average consumer that this game was high quality, and the bulk of this argument is basically them playing victim and getting defensive against things that they weren't being targeted over until they brought light to themselves and we all started going... "hey wait a minute, that's a good point. why aren't you like this?"
Basically, had none of these other devs said a word and kept quiet, most people would just go on with the status quo. This dev is literally the catalyst for the fiasco he was trying to defend himself from before anyone pointed fingers at him.

[southpaw]

Don't forget, nobody forces these studios to go public and become beholden to the business cycle that gets dictated by quarterly reporting.

There's a reason why Valve is still private.

[Hamburglar]

Standing ovation, man. I very much agree with you on this and as another comment says:
“AAA studios can’t be expected to be held to the same standards as smaller studios like Larian. They should be held to much MUCH higher standards.”

[Rine.]

While I understand the constraints AAA studios experience, I fail to see how that becomes my problem as a customer. I never forced them to become a publicly traded company that now forgoes creative decision freedom in exchange for more profits. I don’t hate AAA studios, but I feel BG3 was a wake up call to them that gamers are tired of the direction they’re taking games with being rushed, while asking for more and more of our money.

[carlosforma]

As someone who tried a game developing course, I can say that the Game Development Theory is based around the state of "flow", where you are either having so much fun, so much challenge or so much focus that you lose track of time. Then it also underlines the importance of player agency, as that is what defines the game medium.



Both of these core aspects seem to be blatantly ignored or resisted by so many games, to the point I rarely buy games anymore despite being a gamer. The ones I do buy are usually either indie, RPG Survival, or titles well received and recognized by other gamers.


Why? Because there's no trust anymore. Not in reviewers, not in journalists, not in the developers' descriptions of their own games, and not on the online stores that sell the games. They simply broke the single most important aspect of long-time trading: preserving and increasing trust.