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This is Baldur's Gate - Let's Play

Lumpy

Arcane
Joined
Sep 11, 2005
Messages
8,525
Hello. My name is Lumpy. I’m a forum member. I make a lot of posts. That little thread that made fun of the poll frenzy? That was mine. In 1998, I went down to Greenwich Village, New York City to a game store called GameCenter. Don’t look for it, it’s not there anymore. But that day I bought a game that for me redefined the word "role playing game". I remember being knocked out by its immersiveness… its raw role playing potential — and its extraordinarity. That game was Bioware’s now-legendary Baldur's Gate.
Ten years later, Baldur's Gate is still going strong, and they’ve earned a distinguished place in gaming history as one of Bioware’s deepest RPGs. So in the early winter of 2007, when everyone was making Let's Plays for great games, well, needless to say I jumped at the chance to make the Let's Play, the, if you will, Let's Role Play that you’re about to read. I wanted to capture the magic, the immersiveness, the
dialogue of a hard-core RPG. And I got that. But I got more, a lot more. But hey — enough of my yakkin’. Whaddaya say? Let’s boogie!

Baldr001.jpg

I click on the large, pixelated "New Game" button on the main screen as the anticipation rises. First choice I'm faced with, is sexuality:
Baldr002.jpg

The line which sadly didn't fit on the screen was "Females in the Forgotten Yet Politically Correct Realms."
Faced with a choice of classes, I pondered for a moment - do I was a powerful, mystical wizard? Perhaps a strong warrior? Or a pious cleric? But hey - why should I limit myself to such boring archetypes, when Baldur's Gate allows many more personalities? I decided to play a character who lives independently, a character whose sharp wit can win more battles than the greatest of fireballs or the heaviest mace. He is a free spirit, caring not for others but neither willing to hurt them, living freely, without law, without authority, without gods to hold back his will. And I promise you, Baldur's Gate will allow me to express all that.
So, I'd like you all to meet Kanyel, the Chaotic Neutral Bard:
Baldr003.jpg
 

thesheeep

Arcane
Patron
Joined
Mar 16, 2007
Messages
9,939
Location
Tampere, Finland
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Kingston said:
If you make a Let's Play you play it proper style, no mods to make the graphics better or change the mechanics.

Sorry, then, I was just wondering why anyone would play BG1 without Tutu ;)
But I guess that makes sense.
 

caliban

Scholar
Joined
Jan 16, 2007
Messages
476
Location
Krakow
I don't think BG is a good candidate for a LP thread. It's long, consists mostly of walking around and killing stuff and doesn't have enough clear-cut story choices to make (the best thing in every LP - we can always vote for the shittiest option :) )

But if you can make it interesting, power to you.

I think Witcher would make one hell of a great LP thread. I'd make one, if only I had the time.
 

Cthulhugoat

Arbiter
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
1,214
Location
Land of big butts
caliban said:
I don't think BG is a good candidate for a LP thread. It's long, consists mostly of walking around and killing stuff and doesn't have enough clear-cut story choices to make (the best thing in every LP - we can always vote for the shittiest option :) )

Who needs that when you have Minsc. RANGERS AND HAMSTERS EVERYWHERE, REJOICE!

Baldur's Gate is truly a prime exemple of sandbox gameplay.
 

Sovy Kurosei

Erudite
Joined
Dec 29, 2004
Messages
1,535
If you can make this interesting, especially with a chaotic neutral character, it should be alright. I don't really care if you use tutu or not.
 

Keldorn

Scholar
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
867
BG simply...

1) Is an excercise in generic high-fantasy massivity.

2) Has waaaaaay to much loot.

3) Has waaaayyyy too much combat,

4) Has not enough C&C.

5) Has many elements, characters and features which are over-the-top AND/OR dumbed down.

6) Has rote D&D combat unconditionally applied, inducing extreme combative polarity.


That being said, it is still loved by so many, including me. There is something appealing about the entire package, mood, setting, story, music, dialogue, character class diversity, NPC's and party based play, which makes it appealing.

Points 1-6 are probably intentional, including point 4 (due to the deliberate inclusion of a strong protagonist vs. antagonist linear storyline).

Thanks for the thread, Lumpy. Seeing my old stomping grounds makes me a tad retro-quasi-melancholic, yet jubilantly inspired.


*Success*.



keldorn.gif



I approve heartily of the path we have taken.

The good has been upheld.
 

denizsi

Arcane
Joined
Nov 24, 2005
Messages
9,927
Location
bosphorus
There were some interesting but still insignificant moments of party C&C in the game. I've discovered most of these in my 2nd or 3rd play, and compared to the overall dullness of the experience, they had felt refreshing and surprising at the time.
 

Keldorn

Scholar
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
867
There was certainly *adequate* C&C for a linear Rpg. I mean, how much more C&C could there be in a linear RPG ?

The minimal C&C was in side quests ("they don't count"), alignment impact ("that doesn't count"), effect of decisions on party members ("nope"), and in the multiple endings ("huh?").

The traditional Codexian OLD-School HARDcore view is that BG (more 1 than 2) is not an RPG at all, but merely an Adventure game with character development. I still remember my newbie run-in with Vault Dweller (and others) on this one. Now, I actually miss those stodgy old bitter-bullies. They're likely all playing roguelikes, busy slaying the letter 'p', and trashing BG fans as clickfestian graphic whores (lol, the tragic irony).
 

Keldorn

Scholar
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
867
Kingston said:
If you make a Let's Play you play it proper style, no mods to make the graphics better or change the mechanics.


Yep, let's see the original artistic vision and intended work of the creators.

Let's appreciate (or mock) it's true, unmodified form.
 

Elwro

Arcane
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
11,746
Location
Krakow, Poland
Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
Pixel hunt ftw! Which of the 20 indistinguishable barrels is a container? Oh my goodness! I accidentally found a gem hidden in a tree hollow by waving my mouse pointer across the screen like an idiot!

That's the reason for which I installed the tutu version when I tried to play BG1 the last time. Didn't help much, though.
 

TrustNo1

Scholar
Joined
Mar 8, 2006
Messages
174
It`s funny, I am playing this at the moment, also with a half elf chaotic neutral bard. I even picked the same portrait. lvl 4 at the moment, looking for bandits and just exploring. Loosing reputation because I just got to help every woman in need I stumble upon :D The combat and exploring became much less tedious after I increased the speed a little in the outofgame options.
 

Stavmixer

Novice
Joined
Nov 21, 2007
Messages
11
Elwro said:
Pixel hunt ftw! Which of the 20 indistinguishable barrels is a container? Oh my goodness! I accidentally found a gem hidden in a tree hollow by waving my mouse pointer across the screen like an idiot!

That's the reason for which I installed the tutu version when I tried to play BG1 the last time. Didn't help much, though.

If you have Throne of Bhaal + Tutu you can press TAB or ALT or something and
every container becomes higlighted.

BG1 have a nice atmosphere that I like, I can´t describe it but it sometimes reminds me
of PnP sessions when I was younger.
 
Joined
Apr 4, 2007
Messages
3,585
Location
Motherfuckerville
flabbyjack said:
Anyone up for Ironman BG 1?

Now there's a good idea for a lot of character deaths and general all around goofiness.

Anyways, the style of overdone sarcasm isn't really cutting it for a let's play style of thread. Maybe make fun of the obviously goofy written or designed aspects and their absurdity. Because I think we all get the point that choices and consequences wasn't the strongest point in the game when compared to say Fallout, Arcanum, Torment, among others. Not to mention a let's play by someone who admittedly hates the game, and admittedly knows little of it isn't going to be very amusing for long with the over-sarcasm. Tone it down a bit however, and I'm sure you can make some pretty hilarious stuff from the basically schizophrenic tone of the writing, the absurd plot holes in a few areas, ridiculous motives of some people, and the lack of development in addition to just making light of the good points. But just keep beating the "OMG THE TYRANNY OF CHOICES [/MASSIVEFUCKINGSARCASM]" and it's going to be very boring and about as innovative and funny as a U.S. President Bush is a massive retard joke, circa now.

Good luck.
 

Keldorn

Scholar
Joined
Jun 28, 2007
Messages
867
The city of BG itself is friggen HUGE though... and getting lost in it is kinda fun, in a whimsical/chaotic kinda way. "I'm gonna arbitrarily walk into *this* house/building, and see what the reaction is".

But still, the megadoses of loot and combat is overbearing. They could have done well by being remindful of the paradoxical saying, "less is more". Or in BG's case, "more is less".
 

Elwro

Arcane
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
11,746
Location
Krakow, Poland
Divinity: Original Sin Wasteland 2
Stavmixer said:
Elwro said:
Pixel hunt ftw! Which of the 20 indistinguishable barrels is a container? Oh my goodness! I accidentally found a gem hidden in a tree hollow by waving my mouse pointer across the screen like an idiot!

That's the reason for which I installed the tutu version when I tried to play BG1 the last time. Didn't help much, though.

If you have Throne of Bhaal + Tutu you can press TAB or ALT or something and
every container becomes higlighted.
That was my point, but thanks for making it clearer :)
 

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