Baldur’s Gate 3 is the talk of the town, in turn spawning debates about whether Larian’s project will set a new standard for RPG games, and with the Baldur’s Gate 3 release date closing in director Swen Vincke has addressed these discussions in an interview. Whatever your feelings towards Baldur’s Gate 3, we’re within touching distance right now, and that’s exciting.
With the impending Baldur’s Gate 3 PC release time, the entire videogame industry is aflame with a discussion about Larian’s D&D RPG adventure. This goes for developers as much as players, with recent online discussions about whether or not Baldur’s Gate 3 will actually set a whole new standard for RPGs, even with its comprehensive Baldur’s Gate 3 classes. Now BG3 director Swen Vincke has responded to the discussions.
“When I started out Ubisoft launched Assassin’s Creed, and everybody was saying ‘everything’s going to be like Assassin’s Creed, you’re all doomed, no one’s going to be able to make this game anymore’” Vincke says during an interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, which you can watch below.
“Here we are many years later, and plenty of games exist, Assassin’s Creed still exists. If you’re going to make something exactly like us [at Larian], you’re going to need a large team, but you don’t have to make something exactly like us, there’s so much stuff that you can do.”
While there is some truth to Assassin’s Creed’s overall impact on triple-A game design since its inception in 2007, what Vincke is saying is that not literally every single game became Assassin’s Creed. Ubisoft did fall into a rhythm of designing very similar open-world games due to AC’s success, but the actual standard for open-world games continued to shift, which is something Vincke was also asked about with Baldur’s Gate 3.
“When it comes to standards, standards change continuously, so I don’t think that is something people should be worried about [with Baldur’s Gate 3],” Vinke adds. “When it comes to resources if you talk about the likes of Microsoft or Activision Blizzard, they are large companies that have resources and can do whatever they want.”
“Games like ours are very specific, it’s what we wanted to make and what we specialize in so it’s logical that we have a certain pedigree in creating it. Because we’ve been building these games for 20 years already.
“I don’t think there’s such a thing as a game that says ‘Oh this is the standard, and everyone has to hold themselves to it,’ because tomorrow somebody else will come up with something new and cool,” Vincke continues. “Standards change so rapidly that there are no standards.”
Vincke’s words really do ring true, especially considering how diverse videogame genres in themselves can be today. Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity Original Sin are a very specific type of RPG, and while Larian may set the standard for that type of game, there are still plenty of other RPGs out there that will have different goals and ideas. It automatically means teams can’t just look to a game like BG3 and expect it to have already solved all their own problems.
If you just can’t wait for BG3 this week, we’ve got everything you need to know about Baldur’s Gate 3 companions, how the Baldur’s Gate 3 camp works, and even the best Baldur’s Gate 3 classes for your preferred playstyle.
