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Developers rally to defend Larian against Baldur’s Gate 3 “cut content” falloutCEO Sven Vincke rebuts rumours of rushed release
CEO Sven Vincke rebuts rumours of rushed release
Image credit:Larian Studios / Rock Paper Shotgun
Image credit:Larian Studios / Rock Paper Shotgun
Over the past week, dataminers have been rifling throughBaldur’s Gate 3’s code and have discovereda dragon’s hoard of alleged “cut content”. It’s hard to specify what they’ve unearthed without accidentally sounding the Major Spoilers trumpet and initiating Armageddon, but the supposed buried offerings include additional areas, swathes of dialogue, storylines, cutscenes, characters, romance opportunities and even deities. Given just how much Larian’s gargantuanRPGgives you to play with, I am kind of thankful for a generous amount of stuff being “left out” - certainly, I don’t need any more romanceable NPCs, I’m already fending them off with a broomhandle. But the news has gone down badly with a few players, and especially those who feel the game’s overall quality takes a dive in acts 2 and 3.
Developers have come to Larian’s defence, amongst them David Gaider, formerBaldur’s Gate2 andDragon Agewriter, who is nowadays creative director of Summerfall Games, creator of the very earwormySTRAY GODs: The Roleplaying Musical. “Not surprised to hear of the amount of stuff apparently cut from BG3,” Gaiderwrote on Twix. “BG2 had a mountain of stuff cut over its development, some early and some even after lots of work had gone into it… almost every game does. Every DA game did. Heck, even Stray Gods had some considerable cuts.”
Gaider had a few Top Tips for conversations about game cuts. “1. If it was cut late, it probably wasn’t working - technically or conceptually or both. 2. A lot of cuts were early enough it was never “real” to start with. 3. Most cuts can’t be resurrected. It’d be easier to start over, tbh.”
But what if the game materials in question still exist in the game’s files, another Twitter user objected? “Just because there’s some residue remaining in the files doesn’t mean it was anywhere near a state where it was playable,“saidGaider. “Some might be and it’s just bugged, though… but that’s different than a cut, I’d say.”
Gaidermused elsewherethat players often “form this mental image like it was this perfect, functional thing that the devs removed for arbitrary reasons, when the truth is a lot would remain cut even if those devs magically got extra time to work on the game.”
Arenanet narrative design lead Matthew Medina offered his own list of possible reasons for trimming games down, including features being finished too late to undergo proper testing, project scope “ballooning” to the point that it’s no longer economical to continue development, and content being tonally out of synch with other stuff in the game.
“I could build half a dozen games from the amount of content that I’ve cut in my career,” Medinaobserved. “Cut content is usually cut for very legit reasons. Players might think it wasteful & sometimes it may be, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it can be necessary.”
Larian have now joined the conversation, with CEO Sven Vincke tellingIGNthat the alleged cuts were “editorial decisions” to avoid exhausting players and stop certain areas becoming “boring”. Vincke also shot down a rumour that the excisions were carried out to ensure thatBaldur’s Gate 3made release on 3rd August 2023 - it was originally slated to launch today, 31st August, which might haveended badly for everybody.
“We had actually been locked in for quite some time on what was going to be in the game because these games are too large to make big decisions like that and cut things two weeks before release,” Vincke explained to the site’s Kat Bailey. “So you wouldn’t do that. But I mean it’s normal. And I guess it’s also kind of a compliment, people wanting more content.”
It’s “not true that we cut large swaths of it,” Vincke went on. “That’s been our intention all along. There were certain small things that we did cut, but that’s just part of re-scoping as you finish a game.”
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While I can understand why developers fear to broach the subject, I’m generally fascinated to hear about what got left on the cutting room floor, and I enjoy searching game worlds for “residue”, as Gaider put it. For instance: there’s an entire, populated citadel inThe Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaverthat was supposed to play a more significant role in the story, but exists only as an optional side area. It’s a joy to explore, partly for that atmosphere of unfinished business, and while I’m hungry for aSoul Reaverremake, I dread to think of it being “rehabilitated” into the rest of the game. I also enjoy games that simulate chopped material and write stories about it, like Analgesic’sAnodyne 2. Have you come across any memorable conspicuous gaps or scar tissue in a game’s fabric yourself?
Disclosure: Former RPS deputy editor Adam Smith (RPS in peace) now works at Larian and is the lead writer for Baldur’s Gate 3. Former contributor Emily Gera also works on it.
