Digital Media Strategy
Digital Media Strategy
This is yet another blog post about a video game, but I happen to just love video games. Today, I’d like to talk about Baldur’s Gate 3, a game released this year that has seemingly taken everyone by storm. What’s so important about it? Why do people like it so much? Well, I can’t speak for everyone, but I can talk about what makes Baldur’s Gate 3 THE game of 2023 in my humble opinion.
Okay, let’s just get this out of the way. This game is GORGEOUS. Of course, depending on your specs and just how much you want to commit to fully immersing yourself in the world of Faerun, graphics can differ. I, however, don’t give it too much thought. I haven’t yet downloaded any shaders, and the game still looks amazing. Even in the midst of Act I, where most of what you’ll see is decrepit ruins, disgusting goblin camps, stinking bogs, burning buildings, and the deepest, darkest parts of the Underdark, the game looks great doing so. I personally love the Underdark (my love for Drow aside), because of the contrast between the gloomy, dank atmosphere and the various (and dangerous) glowing mushrooms, crystals, and even trees. In Act II, players get even more of a taste for how pretty the game is, especially when taking the Mountain Road. The expansive mountain ranges illuminated by the sun’s warm glow is, in my opinion, one of the best shots in the game. There’s also the Shadow-Cursed Lands, which like the Underdark, are gloomy and mystical, but also captivating and beautiful.
I love the characters in Baldur’s Gate 3; I even wrote a whole section on Astarion in a previous blog. While I love him dearly, I have to give credit to every single one of the main party, as well as important side characters that you can drag along the road- as well as the main villains. Each one of these characters, especially those within the party, are very well developed. They all have distinct fears, needs, wants and dreams.
Astarion wishes to be free of his master, Cazador, and get ultimate revenge and power.
Shadowheart wants to become a Dark Justicier in service of her goddess, Shar, and if you run her good storyline, to find and free her parents.
Lae’zel wants nothing more than to rid herself of the Mindflayer tadpole burrowed in her brain (like everyone else), but her priorities change when she learns her goddess has been lying to her; she now wishes to free the Githyanki people of Vlaakith, the Lich Queen.
Wyll sacrificed it all to save Baldur’s Gate when he signed a pact with Mizora, a devil from the Hells. He now wishes to be free from his pact, and to save himself, his father, and Baldur’s Gate.
Gale needs to find a way to rid himself of the huge magical orb inside his body that if set off will explode and kill himself and everyone in a massive radius, a byproduct of his impatience for greatness as a wizard. He wants to find a magical artifact of extreme power and obtain godhood himself, but if you set him right, he will wish to return this artifact to his goddess, Mystra, for redemption for his hubris.
Karlach’s infernal engine heart is burning her to a quick death, and fixing it is her main priority. When she sees one of the main villains, Gortash, in Act III, his death and her revenge becomes a priority as well.
All of these characters have a storied past, a struggling present, and diverging storylines that allow the player to choose what happens to them, whether it be “good” or “bad”, “lawful” or “evil”.
Speaking of villains (See final image above), the villains in this game RULE! Quite literally! They all have joint control over a Mindflayer Elder Brain which they are using to infect as many people as possible and control in a cult-like manner. These villains, Ketheric Thorm, Gortash, and Orin, are actually the Chosen of their respective gods. The Dead Three, composed of Myrkul, lord of the dead, Bane, lord of tyranny, and Bhaal, lord of murder, wanted total domination of Faerun. Being bested before, both separately and together, the gods realized they only stood a chance if they banded together and took control of an Elder Brain, using Mindflayer technology to their advantage. Each villain is unique in their own ways, as well, and have plenty of personality. Ketheric Thorm, once a follower of Selune, then a follower of her much eviler sister, Shar, is now the Chosen of Myrkul- something he does only for the sake of his daughter, Isobel, who had died. In order to bring her back to life, he became a Chosen. Gortash, on the other hand, is just a menace. He wants to be the Arch-Duke of Baldur’s Gate, so he uses Bane’s power to be a fitting tyrant. He enslaves minorities, builds huge murder robots that explode, and is all around just a horrible fellow. The last of the three is Orin, who follows Bhaal. Orin is all about pleasing Bhaal, and so she runs rampant with murder, killing many in awful shows of devotion to earn his favor. She is dagger-happy and safe to say, insane. All three of these villains are interesting and well put-together characters, and when they are working with one another, they become a force to be reckoned with.
I love love LOVE the dialogue in this game. There are so many options to choose from, and you can even get special dialogue depending on race, class, and background. Of course, just like actual tabletop DnD, your choices matter, and winning/losing rolls on specific dialogue influences your gameplay and especially when you have to help your party members make important decisions. The dialogue is just straight up funny at times, which I really enjoy. Of course, the game has its awesome lines just as much as its funny ones, so it all balances out.
And, of course, I can’t mention the dialogue without mentioning the amazing voice actors that did their best on this project- their work is incredible. Without their amazing performances, the characters and dialogue would not nearly be as interesting. I love all of them and think they are genuinely amazing and talented folks!