Baldur's Gate III - Community Update Talks Romance and Companionship

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Baldur's Gate III - Community Update Talks Romance and Companionship

After some sad news with the push back of Baldur's Gate III to the first week of October, some much better news was released in the form of a community update. The update revolves around romance and companionship with those you may find along your journey.

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coleman11b

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

xpsync

Not played many isometric type games, played the og BG, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, some diablo, and few others.

Romance or not this looks bad ass.

My son hounded me to play DOS2 and from what i can tell from BG3 i should have, on the wish-list.

I'm not in the know of these games but from what i can tell this looks like a quadruple A game.

I'm probably going to give this a go, and you know pre-patch will drop at this time, gotta love a gamers dilemma, might just have to play both.

Tokken

can do without the romance aspects.

Raagnarz

coleman11b said:

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

Thats pretty much exactly why it was designed and included. Target original audience it gave them something they were missing out on in real life.

LamiaCritter

Can... we please get an RPG where "romance mechanics" aren't a thing? Why are so many people (from what I've seen) obsessed with romance gameplay in everything?

Iselin

I like the very simple way they did companion relationships in Fallout 4. if a companion became your loyal friend you got specific perks to your game like +10% damage against robots, +20% sneak damage, etc.

That's a system with game play purpose for developing a relationship with companions without all the cringy soap opera romance crap.

bobbymcswanson

Lonesols said:

Haha great another one of these abominations.



EARLY ACCESS BEGINS OCTOBER 6, they made it sound like it was releasing. Early dumpster fire doesn't mean it's released.

Larian did EA for DOS2 too and and they have never lied and said it was going to be a full release in September or October. You are going to be able to do the whole first act at EA release which will include something like 80 potential fights...more than most of DOS2 first and second act combined with many more dialogue and chat options....

If you don't want to do EA you don't have to but don't act like Larian is pumping out scam EA trash like a bunch of other studios are doing...They do solid work.....maybe just stop typing stupid shit unless you know what you are talking about.

xpsync

Lonesols said:

Are you guys shitting me, the reason you role played your charter relationships was because u lacked it real life. At no time ever do I remeber doing that, I found it amusing. You can't even have relationship like the ones in games. Especially the ones in modded bg, and dragon age original. This hate for relationships in games is ridiculous. My only guess is, is you have a jealous crazy wife and she saw u play a game with a girl in it and hit u with a frying pan or some shit. Then that nonsense about u don't want your friends to know? Are you sure you are a adult? I honestly can't believe you go around and care what other people think of what you do in your spare time, I thought that was just little girls not grown men.

Guilty people always state that they are not like whatever and others are in fear of people finding out the truth about themselves.

For me, it's been in games forever mass effect, even gta san andreas, i'm pretty neutral on the matter, if it's there it's there and has no bearing on whether i'd buy it or not.

Overall i could get by fine without, but don't care that it's a thing, and honestly why is it even a thing lmao, this ain't nothing new to games.

Raagnarz

Lonesols said:

Raagnarz said:

coleman11b said:

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

Thats pretty much exactly why it was designed and included. Target original audience it gave them something they were missing out on in real life.

Are you guys shitting me, the reason you role played your charter relationships was because u lacked it real life. At no time ever do I remeber doing that, I found it amusing. You can't even have relationship like the ones in games. Especially the ones in modded bg, and dragon age original. This hate for relationships in games is ridiculous. My only guess is, is you have a jealous crazy wife and she saw u play a game with a girl in it and hit u with a frying pan or some shit.

Then that nonsense about u don't want your friends to know? Are you sure you are a adult? I honestly can't believe you go around and care what other people think of what you do in your spare time, I thought that was just little girls not grown men.

You're missing the point entirely in that we're saying they put in game relationships in RPG games because of what the target audience stereotypically was and what they lacked. No I didn't care or talk about it in general as it made no impact on my life. I just found "relationships" in video games with companions sad and pathetic in general. I'm 40+ and I didn't really play a a lot of games until my mid 20's when I left the USA and lived abroad in various countries for close to 15 years. I started playing games to keep in touch and do thinning with friends back int he states while gone. That being said my home town and high school were fairly diverse and everyone got along. "Nerds" weren't popular but they weren't totally ostracized either. Yes stereotypes become stereotypes because they are true enough often enough. Being friends with some while I played football they would frequently talk about either games or ask about girls. Even after high school when I first started playing games before I left the country, whenever I'd be in my local EB it would be like a hangout because that and a comic book/baseball card shop were next door to each other. The crowd there wasn't high school or younger kids, it was typically 20's and 30's people with some money, but literally nothing to spend it on except games and comics. The conversations I'd hear at times discussing games or girl comic characters would be off-putting to say the least. Not in a ultra woke way of "how dare you say that about a woman" but more like a good god thats not a real woman, you don't know her, and thats not even how any of this works lol. But they would often talk about their fantasies like they were real. But then again the target audience at the time (late 90's early 2000's) when it came to online gaming was every bit the stereotype in all ways.

foxgirl

coleman11b said:

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

No, relationship in video games came about because people like roleplaying. We did it for decades before video games became a thing. They are telling a story, and people tend to fall in love and fuck, especially in dire circumstances.

Remali

Relationships aside one thing i noticed in the Q&A is tat you cant change companions after act1 or am i mistaken?
If thats true its a big letdown for me as i like to try different chars do everyones story etc

Emeraq

I'm okay with Romance and relationship building, or degrading, when there are definite consequences and rewards. I suppose "hooking" up could be a reward in itself, but I'm talking more along the lines of someone is going to have my back when times are rough, or if I've neglected them and pissed them off abandon me when times or rough, or maybe turn on me altogether.

Gorwe

xpsync said:

Not played many isometric type games, played the og BG, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, some diablo, and few others.

Romance or not this looks bad ass.

My son hounded me to play DOS2 and from what i can tell from BG3 i should have, on the wish-list.

I'm not in the know of these games but from what i can tell this looks like a quadruple A game.

I'm probably going to give this a go, and you know pre-patch will drop at this time, gotta love a gamers dilemma, might just have to play both.

Be warned though. Larian has a VERY SPECIFIC style which not everyone likes(I don't like it at all for one). When you add most likely tokenism...

Just be warned.

jbombard

Without relationships in the game the world feels hollow. You might as well just be playing a fantasy FPS.

It is a role playing game, and just smashing your face against the keyboard isn't a very exciting role to play. Something Bioware used to be very good at is getting you invested in the world, making you care about the people in it. The party banter, the relationships you have with people in your party and the npcs in the world, are all important. Romance while not essential, having both characters you love and hate makes things seem more real.

If you aren't interested in a romance you don't have to pursue one, just like you don't have to put a really strong character in your party if you don't like them. If you make choices so you can simply max out your party or so you can get to see a PG13 sex scene, it isn't surprising if you don't enjoy the game.

Sovrath

coleman11b said:

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

But with that mentality then all the killing is because some frustrated nerd wants to get out his/her frustrations at the world? Maybe do some revenge violence for being picked on in the locker room?

My thought is that a more well adjusted person will just pay it no mind instead of getting "oh so uncomfortable."

cheyane

I absolutely loved the idea of romancing Garrus Vakarian and enjoyed that arc. I don't mind either way.

alkarionlog

Raagnarz said:

coleman11b said:

I feel like relationships in gaming came about because 30 year old virgins were the primary target of video games. Now games are mainstream with kids, moms, dads, grandads...literally everyone playing them. Do we need pretend relationships in games anymore? It just seems at best cringy... at worst a weird dating sim you don't want your normal friends to know about.

Thats pretty much exactly why it was designed and included. Target original audience it gave them something they were missing out on in real life.

hope you are not one of these guys who play the sims or second life then

Scot

cheyane said:

I absolutely loved the idea of romancing Garrus Vakarian and enjoyed that arc. I don't mind either way.

This is where I am, don't mind either way, only put it in if done well.

Scot

"Can I play it without knowing anything about the franchise?"

Who asks this sort of question? Players who have zero interest in RPG's, that's who. Go back to your Candy Crush if having to read the equivalent of four pages of a novel to understand the world is too much for you.

azarhal

Remali said:

Relationships aside one thing i noticed in the Q&A is tat you cant change companions after act1 or am i mistaken?

If thats true its a big letdown for me as i like to try different chars do everyones story etc

You'll have to commit after about 20 hours of playing, you should have a fixed party by then.

As for "do" everyone's story, that's what replay are for. Or youtube.

Larian already mentioned there will be conflict among the party. Like companions who wants to get ride of the tadpole and those who might want to keep it. And Lae'zel is going to attack anyone who want to keep it.

This isn't a BioWare game where the PC basically controls the whims of his party. DOS2 had some controversial companion actions you had no control over (dammit Sebille!).

xpsync

Instead of quoting several people above whom are pro and or neutral, all i can say is how is this even a topic?

It's in witcher, mass effect, even gts SA ffs, so f'ing what! wow! and speaking of wow even in shadowlands.

Basically those claiming it's for virgins are calling yourself one and every single person whom ever played an rpg is one, i mean it's gotta be the most r'tard thing i've ever heard.

I played og BG and was married and a year'ish later first child when Icewind Dale hit and by the time Neverwinter hit (didn't play - played nn) i had a 3 year old and 1 year old, but f me right that can't be cause only virgins play them, i mean do you even remotely f'ing understand the gibberish your spewing.

tbh i've never given this topic much thought, if any at all, i mean it's normal, and to deep thought it, kinda be f'ed up if it was missing.

Thanks Gorwe for the heads up, i'll look into that, cause i've no idea what that is, but it's probably what is making me so interested.

I mean it looks so bad ass, and like this whole new type of game, like something brand new.

So yeah i'll research it, haven't bought it just yet, part of the issue for me is pre-patch is about to drop and i know that'll suck me back into wow hard, cause atm i've no drive knowing we are on the doorstep of pre-patch and SL, i knock out a couple levels then hammer classic and swg:l

Amathe

This sounds like some interesting game mechanics I would like to try.

Eldrach

I love relationships done well in games..it becomes it’s own minigame..and is even more fun if the person you’re trying to romance starts out disliking you.
Pointless to complain about a feature that is entirely optional

saker

Immersion is good. hack & slash is boring.

Sovrath

Eldrach said:

I love relationships done well in games..it becomes it’s own minigame..and is even more fun if the person you’re trying to romance starts out disliking you.
Pointless to complain about a feature that is entirely optional

To me, it's just part of the story. And one that the player can follow or not.

I mean, even the "lord of the Rings" had minor romance. 

Part of it being a role playing game is the story and it's not unrealistic for people who go through hell and back together to also develop other types of interactions.