If you could sit down with James Ohlen to discuss his work on the original Baldur's Gate games, what would you want to ask him?
- Thread starter dmwyvern
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So, here's a few for me. More may come łater.
1. There were some fan theories circulating around original BG fanbase, that there was a bigger plot planned in BG2 around secret illithid invasion on Athkatla, basen on various mind flayer activity we've seen in the game. Were there plans to expand illithid presence in BG2?
2. As we all know, there is an enemy encounter with The Twisted Rune, featuring some canonical characters (like Shangalar or Shyressa), but the whole plot seems undercooked. Was there anything more planned for The Twisted Rune, perhaps in ToB?
3. Were there any plans to add a third, more neutral route, so you could avoid siding with Bodhi or Shadow Thieves? This always felt like picking less evil.
4. I always felt there is an untapped potential in the story of Tamoko, but it wasn't explored the way I was hoping for. Is there anything more to her story that was perhaps scrapped?
1. There were some fan theories circulating around original BG fanbase, that there was a bigger plot planned in BG2 around secret illithid invasion on Athkatla, basen on various mind flayer activity we've seen in the game. Were there plans to expand illithid presence in BG2?
2. As we all know, there is an enemy encounter with The Twisted Rune, featuring some canonical characters (like Shangalar or Shyressa), but the whole plot seems undercooked. Was there anything more planned for The Twisted Rune, perhaps in ToB?
3. Were there any plans to add a third, more neutral route, so you could avoid siding with Bodhi or Shadow Thieves? This always felt like picking less evil.
4. I always felt there is an untapped potential in the story of Tamoko, but it wasn't explored the way I was hoping for. Is there anything more to her story that was perhaps scrapped?
O_Bruce
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Mine would be:
1. Crucial to the story of Jon Irenicus in Shadows of Amn, the curse cast by Seldarine on him and his sister is often considered by community of fans as unfair, contradictory/backwards punishment and questionable judgement, making both Ellessime and elven pantheon look incompetnt, to say the least. What lead to this story decision? Was something cut? And hypothetically, if Baldur's Gate II was to be remade, would you add or alter this part of storyline?
2. Are there examples of cut content/mechanics/storylines that didn't make it to the final game that aren't covered by restoriation mods, such as Unfinished Business? If so, can you please indulge a longtime fan and describe some of said cut content?
3. In Baldur's Gate, there is a character of Albert, a child with a lost pet "dog", and at the end of the quest, it turns out Albert is, in fact, some kind of demon from lower planes. Coincidencally, there is a boy named Albert with a lost dog in Baldur's Gate 3 as well. They are not the same character, but it makes me wonder: were at any point in time plans to inlcude the original Albert in some kind of big role in further installments of the series?
1. Crucial to the story of Jon Irenicus in Shadows of Amn, the curse cast by Seldarine on him and his sister is often considered by community of fans as unfair, contradictory/backwards punishment and questionable judgement, making both Ellessime and elven pantheon look incompetnt, to say the least. What lead to this story decision? Was something cut? And hypothetically, if Baldur's Gate II was to be remade, would you add or alter this part of storyline?
2. Are there examples of cut content/mechanics/storylines that didn't make it to the final game that aren't covered by restoriation mods, such as Unfinished Business? If so, can you please indulge a longtime fan and describe some of said cut content?
3. In Baldur's Gate, there is a character of Albert, a child with a lost pet "dog", and at the end of the quest, it turns out Albert is, in fact, some kind of demon from lower planes. Coincidencally, there is a boy named Albert with a lost dog in Baldur's Gate 3 as well. They are not the same character, but it makes me wonder: were at any point in time plans to inlcude the original Albert in some kind of big role in further installments of the series?
JustKneller
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I want to preface my question to provide context. James Ohlen is no slouch. I think I read that he was a long time DM before even getting into game design. So, he went into BG knowing the system and even setting pretty well (Forgotten Realms was the flagship during that time). On top of that, he's done a lot of other work that was great. KOTOR was really well received. Neverwinter Nights had a pretty solid story, too. He also led on Dragon Age Origins which, even though it was not my cup of tea, it's story held together well enough.
All that being said, my question (with all due respect, and there's a lot of respect due to Ohlen) about BG2, which is far more complex and multi-layered than my brevity would suggest, would just be, 'What the heck happened and why?'
All that being said, my question (with all due respect, and there's a lot of respect due to Ohlen) about BG2, which is far more complex and multi-layered than my brevity would suggest, would just be, 'What the heck happened and why?'