Not going woke. Not going broke...

[Shinimaru]

Back in the late 90s I was on my late teens and as far as video games went, I liked action games, platformers, fighting games and stuff like that... I was like most gamers back then. We wanted fast twitched skill based stuff that was like the arcade games we grew up on on the 80s and early nineties.

So one thing none of us would be checking for, nor getting hyped for, was a freaking turn based crpg!

Even the baldurs gate franchise didn't dare try to release a turn based game even though bg1 and bg2 were based on Dungeons and Dragons which is a turn based ttrpg.

No matter how good the mechanics of the game was, nobody would check for it if it was turned based. That's what it was back then...

Then out of nowhere... Final Fantasy 7!

This game blew ALL THE WAY UP. And took a dump on every other game of every other genre.

But it was turned based. How the hell did this happen?

Answer: Smart Marketing.

Instead of making commercials showcasing the moment to moment gameplay, and let's be honest, as good as the FF7 gameplay turned out to be, most of it wasn't exactly fun to watch someone else play... So instead of showing gameplay footage like most other games at the time did, FF7 showed nothing but it's over the top cutscenes.

Now the cutscenes were very nice and high quality for that time period, but they only actually represented like one to two percent of what a player would experience when they actually played the game.

This seems like a deceptive tactic, and it was. But not in a negative way. It got people to try a game they wouldn't normally try, and most people found out that they actually enjoyed the other 98% of the game to the point where the cutscenes became an afterthought to them.

What does all that have to do with Baldurs gate 3?

Answer: EVERYTHING!

We all know how good and indepth the gameplay of bg3 is, but "we", crpg fans and DND fans, are simply not the majority of video game fans.

There is a reason why there are endless FPS games and Action rpg games flooding the market these days. It's because those genres are most popular and therefore easier to market to a mass audience.

So to market BG3 to an audience it doesn't already have (who probably already bought the game anyway), the devs had to do something besides just say "hey check out our new turn based game that's based on DND", because people outside of those smaller fanbases simply would not care.

But they can't just do exactly what FF7 did back in the day, because high end cutscenes have become common, and people have become more wise to the tactic of wowing people with cutscene visuals to cover up gameplay that isn't nearly as amazing just to look at.

I'm sure the bg3 ads are cutscene heavy still, but that will not be enough to stand out these days.

So what can the devs do?

Answer: Woke, outrage, meme, culture.

Similar to ff7, the bg3 devs took features of the game that take up less than 1% of the total gameplay experience, catered it to "modern audiences" and pushed it to the forefront of their social media marketing campaign!

Superficial Gender fluid Identity options, LGBTQ romance scenes and even that bear "thing" are included in the game, but they are a miniscule part of the game and they are even optional so a player could play the game without even dealing with any of it.

But an online fuss, both positive and negative is still being made about that stuff now, and for the devs, that just equals more buzz than the game would have otherwise had.

It's a chess move. A smart one at that... For every person who now thinks this game is the LGBTQ game and attempts to take ownership of it as some type of tent pole, and for every person who now thinks this is some woke joke game and says they won't touch it...

There are going to be many many others who only noticed the game because of this buzz and may try it out, or look into it, and see what it really is,

which is a top notch rpg that focuses on a deep non-agenda driven, non-political, non-sexuality focused, dark fantasy story with deep fleshed out characters, insane dialogue depth, dopamine laced dice roll mechanics, ridiculously in depth, strategic build customization, and quality tactical turn based combat.

This isn't a case of the bg3 devs foolishly going woke then going broke... Nonono

This is a case of the "woke agenda" getting played so the bg3 devs get paid!

[Rando]

Yeah, it's marketing. It's also really not something I would have paid for if it had been advertised back when the early access was first released.

[Knives]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Thadeus:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Knives:

wonder if we could get an estimates of the amount in funding they got for all this ESG woke bs ...

ESG is an American thing. Larian is a European company.

no its global, at least in all western countries. all the diversity and inclusion stuff is directly related to the ESG crap, the Social and Governance parts. there is a ♥♥♥♥ ton money flowing behind this ...

[The Emperor Of Milfgaard]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Thadeus:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von radubradu:

the game conveniently went woke after I had already bought it in early access; shame on me I guess

What is the woke part?

Larian shamed people who dared to use their default character with minimal customization...because it happened to be a white male. they then made a video mocking people who didn't care about customization options. they then changed the default character as they realized it was their own fault. they then used "diversity and inclusion" in every panel from hell. they then added pronouns to the game (which are absolutely unnecessary). they then added furry sex. they then added genitals that you can put on any "body type", as the weak minded like to say. I am sorry but yes they went "woke". One for marketing reasons and also probably because of ESG scores. So either they are in for the money, or they are indoctrinated oikophobes. Doesn't really matter.

Does it mean their game is bad? Hmm no. Most people have the hope, the story is untainted. But even if it is not, the gameplay is still great. So I will be playing this game even if I disagree. But I will certainly no longer pre-order anything Larian makes, I rather take a thorough look first before I decide.

[The Emperor Of Milfgaard]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Knives:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Emperor Of Milfgaard:

Don't forget ESG scores.

wonder if we could get an estimates of the amount in funding they got for all this ESG woke bs ...

True, who knows but my guess is: it was enough to them to do it.

[DerFritz]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Emperor Of Milfgaard:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Knives:

wonder if we could get an estimates of the amount in funding they got for all this ESG woke bs ...

True, who knows but my guess is: it was enough to them to do it.

funny your steam name

for someone so deep in the far right agenda taking Milfgaard as name lol....nice meme about NIlfgaard

(btw Nilfgaard is absolute non Racist...they are very liberal as long you obey the rules. They dont hate for race sexuality etc like you)

[N00bishN00b]

shiiii man! who is really wining about these things? im sure most ppl from europe dont care. oh u can be gay? omg! oh there is a bear scene.....wow i dont care and i think the bear thing is just an joke and an pr stunt....which the game dont need cause the quality seems overall very good

[bdng09]

Fantasy is for everyone - not just straight white cis dudes - the world is changing.

[Fraktal]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Emperor Of Milfgaard:

Don't forget ESG scores.

Larian is private, this doesn’t apply here.

[Fraktal]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von bdng09:

Fantasy is for everyone - not just straight white cis dudes - the world is changing.

Straight white cis dudes, like me, are actually a minority.

Work on that hatred, it will consume you.

[The Emperor Of Milfgaard]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Orange and Blue Ninja:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Emperor Of Milfgaard:

Don't forget ESG scores.

Larian is private, this doesn’t apply here.

Any organization can profit from it.

[Lans]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von DerFritz:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von The Emperor Of Milfgaard:

True, who knows but my guess is: it was enough to them to do it.

funny your steam name

for someone so deep in the far right agenda taking Milfgaard as name lol....nice meme about NIlfgaard

(btw Nilfgaard is absolute non Racist...they are very liberal as long you obey the rules. They dont hate for race sexuality etc like you)

This is your brain on intersectionality.

"I identify you as a straight toxic white male far right MAGA insurrectionist who hates the gays. Also I see you like something that is clearly liberal and I'm going to rub your face in it like a bad puppy that peed on the floor."

It's ok for people to disagree with your flavor of the month political agenda and live on the same planet as you. One day you might grow up and understand that.

[Cpt_Weisemann]

I don't understand why this lgbt stuff is more important than actual gameplay, story, etc.
I don't like lgbt stuff and won't try it. People who are into it can do whatever they want to do including bear sex.
I solely play this game for combat. I have played both Divinity games (still playing original sin ee) and the tactical battles are really fun.

[Sunsetter]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Thadeus:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Knives:

wonder if we could get an estimates of the amount in funding they got for all this ESG woke bs ...

ESG is an American thing. Larian is a European company.

ESG has long since metastasized beyond US.

[Barqs Soda]

in the 90s i was a baby

[flowercow]

why people make posts about 'omg woke!!1' stop being so fragile you're a grown ass man. There's literally no one forcing you to buy this game