Bioware on NOT making Baldur's Gate 3: "We have no regr

[Andhaira]

http://www.videogamer.com/news/bioware_ ... grets.html

BioWare has “no regrets” over it’s much-loved Baldur’s Gate games, but admits it’s “frustrating” not to be able to continue to develop the characters it created for the RPG series.

Baldur’s Gate, released in 1998 for the PC and published by Interplay, was a high fantasy role-playing game based on the Dungeons & Dragons rule set. Its success spawned a sequel and a spin-off series. The final game, 2001’s expansion pack Throne of Bhaal, closed the story arc.

In August 2008, Interplay and Atari settled a long-standing dispute, giving Atari all of Interplay's previous D&D game rights, including the Baldur's Gate license.

Speaking to VideoGamer.com, vice president of entertainment and miscellaneous at BioWare, and vice president of Electronic Arts, Greg Zeschuk, said that the development of the upcoming Dragon Age: Origins, described by the company as “the spiritual successor to Baldur’s Gate” (head over to our game page for more), was in part due to BioWare’s inability to create Baldur’s Gate 3.

“The Baldur's Gate and Dungeons and Dragons property is of course controlled by Atari, and owned originally by Hasbro, so it's a complicated, convoluted way of getting there. For us it's more a function of... because we weren't in a position to do Baldur's Gate... hey well let's create our own! That's effectively what this [Dragon Age: Origins] is. It's funny, we took a page from Fallout, not Fallout 3 but Fallout 1. Fallout 1 was basically a game called Wasteland - that was the spiritual successor to Wasteland.”

When asked if BioWare would have liked to have made Baldur's 3 if it had had the opportunity, Zeschuk replied: “Maybe. The things we miss more than anything else are some of the characters we created. It's frustrating – like Minsc and some of the other characters we built over the years – not being able to continue to stem that is a bit frustrating. Though, to be fair, we feel like we closed the series.

“There are a lot of video games that – like the original Wasteland - never had a sequel, but there are a lot of games that never actually end. Whatever happens, they're left hanging and fans are like, ah I wish I'd finished it. But because we were able to finish the sequence of games in Baldur's Gate: Throne of Bhaal... it's funny, we were satisfied that we were able to deliver that entire arc. Go 'there it is and that's the story of Baldur's Gate'. We feel like we finished our work at that time.”

So no regrets then?

“No, we don't have regrets.”

In December last year then Infogrames president Phil Harrison said that Atari plans to revisit the likes of Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons and Neverwinter Nights (originally a BioWare game), but not in the next 12 months. No mention has since been made of those games.

Discuss!!

 

[Luzur]

but isnt there a Baldurs Gate 3 in the planning?

 

[hoverdog]

Is there?

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Atari has no funds for a real BG3. Instead we get that OMG game.

 

[Ancient]

ofc not they want to make their own fantasy world (DA) that is on level with Tolkien

 

[markec]

I smell another mmo.

 

[Erebus]

I still don't get what BG3 could have been about (aside from name recognition).

 

[pero]

Why would they have "regrets" about something they had no choice in?

As for them not making a 3, good. The series was over.

 

[Jaesun]

I wonder what Obsidian is working on in secret......

 

[Black]

What a shame, it'd be an instant classic.

 

[Hobo Elf]

And nothing of value is lost

 

[Silellak]

I wonder what Obsidian is working on in secret......

Baldur's Protocol.

 

[Stereotypical Villain]

Ballsack Gate.

 

[Jaesun]

I wonder what Obsidian is working on in secret......

Baldur's Protocol.

 

[racofer]

Why should I care, I have DA:O

 

[KalosKagathos]

Re: Bioware on NOT making Baldur's Gate 3: "We have no

BioWare has “no regrets” over it’s much-loved Baldur’s Gate games, but admits it’s “frustrating” not to be able to continue to develop the characters it created for the RPG series.

Is that why they keep recycling BG characters in their other games?

 

[Volourn]

No, no, they don't.

And, there are tons of things that could be done with a BG3 story wise. Use your fuckin' imaginations, dumbfuckz.

 

[Jaesun]

Bullshit.

 

[serch]

I'm pretty sure Wizards would love to have a 4ed D&D game by now, but all the fight with Atari is making the matter complicated. Pity that Atari didn't lose the license in the end and manage to secure the rights for that OMG. I also think that Baldur's Gate 3 will be announced relatively soon, given that at the end of 2008 they spoke of this: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/atari-to-revisit-baldurs-test-drive

Atari plans to revisit the likes of Baldur's Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, Neverwinter Nights and Test Drive Unlimited, but not in the next 12 months.

"You will hear more from these but not today, because we're focused on 2009," Infogrames president Phil Harrison told hacks assembled at a press event this afternoon

So the next announcement could be Baldur's Gate or Test Drive.

 

[Sceptic]

Bad exemple. Sky is nothing like Anomen and Kaidan is far less annoying than Carth, despite sharing the same VA.

A much better one would be Imoen/Mission/Dawn Sky/Liara/Leliana.

 

[Volourn]

"A much better one would be Imoen/Mission/Dawn Sky/Liara/Leliana."

Outside of beyond you female 'rogue' types, they are no more similiar than other young females. *shrug*

Their similarities are superficial.

 

[mondblut]

Re: Bioware on NOT making Baldur's Gate 3: "We have no

Is that why they keep recycling BG characters in their other games?

They keep developing them, hey!

 

[Suchy]

They could just refactor some character names, places, and part of the world lore from upcoming DA2 and rename the game to BG3.

 

[Lockkaliber]

Their similarities are superficial.

Bios characters are so superficial that often, those superficial characteristics they share are the only characteristics they have.

 

[waywardOne]

baldur's gate was finished. the MC was either a god, dead, or forgotten.

i'm glad they lost the license and were forced to fuck up an entirely new IP.