As reported by Eurogamer at GDC (Game Developer's Conference), during the Game Developers Choice Awards where Baldur’s Gate 3 won Game of the Year, Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke had some strong words to say about the games industry.
Here's what Vincke said:
"Greed has been fucking this whole thing up for so long, since I started," Vincke said, while collecting the GDCA Best Narrative award for Baldur's Gate 3. "I've been fighting publishers my entire life and I keep on seeing the same, same, same mistakes over, and over and over.
"It's always the quarterly profits," he continued, "the only thing that matters are the numbers, and then you fire everybody and then next year you say 'shit I'm out of developers' and then you start hiring people again, and then you do acquisitions, and then you put them in the same loop again, and it's just broken...
"You don't have to," Vincke went on. "You can make reserves. Just slow down a bit. Slow down on the greed. Be resilient, take care of the people, don't lose the institutional knowledge that's been built up in the people you lose every single time, so you have to go through the same cycle over and over and over. It really pisses me off."
Vincke continued on X to also add:
"For the avoidance of doubt - there are plenty of people in publishing I met who have their hearts in the right place. This message was for those who try to double their revenue year after year. You don't have to do that. Build more slowly and make your aim improving the state of the art, not squeezing out the last drop. And respect the people making the games. You'll find it brings you more joy."
It's clear that Larian Studios are a great game developer worth supporting. Larian also confirmed that no DLC expansion is coming for Baldur's Gate 3, it's a complete game and they will be moving onto their next game although Baldur's Gate 3 will still get patches to fix issues.
With the amount of layoffs this year, which have been ridiculous, it's nice to see some speak out like this at events. Just look at the chart PC Gamer put up showing the layoffs in early February (and there's been more since)…
You can buy Baldur's Gate 3 from:
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Quoting: nenoro*flips the table* i got fooledTurns out they just opened a new branch in Poland so I guess they fooled us all?
They seem to be doing very well. Branches in six different countries now plus the HQ in Belgium.
Quoting: whizseSo it's transnational horniness.Quoting: nenoro*flips the table* i got fooledTurns out they just opened a new branch in Poland so I guess they fooled us all?
They seem to be doing very well. Branches in six different countries now plus the HQ in Belgium.
Quoting: pbMuch, much earlier there were "data disks" that gave you a set of new levels for the game.The one that comes to mind are the various add-ons to Test Drive II (new cars, new tracks). That must have been around '89 or '90.
The first game expansion I remember was The Forge of Virtue, for Ultima VII, '92.
Quoting: JarmerI do find it interesting that Larian themselves have a history of doing expansions and then "definitive editions" or whatever they call it.I'd expect at least a definitive edition for BG3, as they are still working on fixes and patches. Though maybe the changes won't be as radical as supposedly with D:OS or D:OS2. (Hard to judge what changed in those games, as I only played one version of each. Initial one for the former, final one for latter.)
Quoting: ArehandoroI'm tempted to get a second copy of BG3 to support Larian just for these comments...I pre-ordered the Deluxe Edition to get a physical box to accompany BG1 and BG2. Given the amount of time I spent with the game, and the apparently nice behavior of Larian, that are 100€ well spent!
Quoting: whizseQuoting: nenoroBG3 aka Horny game made by horny polish devs.Belgian actually.
No idea about the state of arousal in that country.
Their national dishes is Mussel & Chips. The country is stuck between Netherland (Amsterdam Red light district) and France (self-explanatory). I would say, quite horny
.
Quoting: williamjcmHit F10 to remove UI?QuoteLarian also confirmed that no DLC expansion is coming for Baldur's Gate 3, it's a complete game and they will be moving onto their next game although Baldur's Gate 3 will still get patches to fix issues.All I need from BG3 at this point is a photo mode, to be honest. There are too few opportunities to take good close up shots of a character without the UI getting in the way.
junibegood Mar 24
Quoting: kaimanThe one that comes to mind are the various add-ons to Test Drive II (new cars, new tracks). That must have been around '89 or '90.
The first game expansion I remember was The Forge of Virtue, for Ultima VII, '92.
Wikipedia mentions "Xanadu scenario II", new content released in 1986 for "Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu". It was almost standalone content, but still required the original game for character creation. So I guess that qualifies as an expansion.
There may be even earlier examples.
EDIT : there are earlier examples. It goes back to at least 1981 !
EDIT 2 : actually, it even goes back to Pong in 1976 ! It's more a tutorial to hack new content into your arcade game than a properly released expansion. But that's still new content that requires the original game, so...
Last edited by junibegood on 24 March 2024 at 11:21 am UTC
For crying out loud, Larian, you guys are the last people eligible to lecture people on greed. What, are we supposed to think that you calling your D&D licensed Original Sin game 'Baldur's Gate 3' was anything but money-obsessed nostalgia bait to try and squeeze every last cent out of the poor fools dumb enough to trust you had even an iota of respectability? I'm sure that when Black Isle was finishing up Throne of Bhaal they were expecting, no, hoping that some jackass would come around 20 years later to shit out a steaming pile to ruin the masterpiece they spent so much time building up and refining into one of the greatest trilogies in video gaming history.
The nerve some people have, the gall, the temerity, it's unimaginable. What's next, is Jeff Bezos gonna go and lecture people on treating employees humanely and making sure they have decent working conditions? Don't get me wrong, I agree with the core message, but the hypocrisy is staggering.
williamjcm Mar 25
Quoting: 14I already know about that, but cutscenes/dialogues don't always have good camera angles, normal gameplay doesn't allow for good close-ups, and screens like chargen/level-up are locked to a basic pose and idle animations.Quoting: williamjcmHit F10 to remove UI?QuoteLarian also confirmed that no DLC expansion is coming for Baldur's Gate 3, it's a complete game and they will be moving onto their next game although Baldur's Gate 3 will still get patches to fix issues.All I need from BG3 at this point is a photo mode, to be honest. There are too few opportunities to take good close up shots of a character without the UI getting in the way.
TheRiddick Mar 26
Quoting: devlandAfter the whole Dragon's Dogma 2 fast travel dlc
Look again, the DLC for DD2 has MUCH more SinglePlayer game items for sale, ripe to exploit new comers to the series.
It's BAD practice and very bad optics IMO. But not everyone agrees.
"Slow down on the greed" - Late stage capitalism does not allow for this!
Last edited by TheRiddick on 26 March 2024 at 10:13 am UTC
slaapliedje Mar 27
Quoting: pbYeah, these weren't 'DLC' because you couldn't download them. :P That's why the concept of 'pay for new stuff to expand the game and download it only' concept mostly started with Neverwinter Nights.Quoting: Marlockthose "good uses" were called "Expansions" and the wider catch-all name "DLC" was coined to put "bad uses" under the same umbrella and slap extra DRM-control on them
the oldest expansion i'm aware of... probably "Hellfire", for "Diablo 1"
Much, much earlier there were "data disks" that gave you a set of new levels for the game. ;-)
Earlier examples of expanding the root game would be like CivII Test of Time (though I can't remember if that could be used standalone, maybe). Powermonger had a WWII expansion, etc.
I think even Gauntlet on the Atari 8bit had an extra data disk for 'deeper dungeons'. Ha, Boulder Dash had tons and tons of custom maps made that were released through PD magazines, or on BBSs, etc. I guess those would be closest to 'Downloadable Content.' But they were all free, so I still maintain NWN was the first with all the markers of 'pay for, download only, and being worth while usage.' before DLC became a bad word, like sound tracks, and short story addons they try to get an extra 5-10 bucks out of everyone who isn't paying attention. I mean, some sound tracks are quite excellent, but back when CD ROM based games first came about... the hybrid CDs would let you already listen to the soundtrack!
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