Many of the Baldur’s Gate series fans who played the first Baldur’s Gate III act from Larian Studios, describing their impressions of the game, mention that they were disappointed. Larian game does not have much in common with the original dilogy. And this is a certain irony.
In the mid -2000, a small part of Black Isle Studios, the role unit of InterPlay, began to develop a project under the working name "Jefferson". It was a role -based game based on D&D: InterPlay then had a license to use this role system. However, subsequently this license received certain restrictions: due to the lawsuit with BioWare and Atari, the developers could use the role system D&D only under the condition that the words “Icewind Dale” or “Baldur’s Gate” will be present in the name of the game. Therefore, the Jefferson project received another working name: “Baldur’s Gate III: The Black Hound”.
I tried to figure out how Baldur’s Gate III was created in its first iteration, what it was and why it never got to the release.
The article is also available in the video version:
A completely different game
By the two thousandth year, Interplay did not go the best. However, in the development of InterPlay there were several large projects at once, including Jefferson. Its development began simultaneously with the development of Hearts of Winter, a major addition to Icewind Dale.
… at that time a very small team worked on The Black Hound. In truth, The Black Hound did not have a full -fledged developer team until Icewind Dale 2.
Josh Soyer, The Black Hound game designer
Despite the name, Baldur’s Gate III had little to do with the original dilogy. As well as in the previous games of the series, its action took place in the Forgotten Realms setting. It was also based on the D&D Rules system, and also was a party CRPG. But the slightest intersection with the events of the original dilogy in Baldur’s Gate III: The Black Hound was not.
Even the main character of the game was by no means a descendant of the ancient god. The player had to take under his control of an ordinary character.
I was worried about the discretion of the game from the point of view of the plot, antagonist, prerequisites, companions, gameplay and even priorities. All this was different from the same Baldur’s Gate. And I was afraid that this would push the players who are waiting for the return to their favorite series.
Chris Abellon
Black hound
At the beginning of the game, the hero falls under the rain, and in order to hide from him, he runs under a tree growing near the windmill. He is trying to breed a fire to warm up. But his vacation is interrupted by a pursuit of a pursuit: a crazy woman, along with her minions, pursues a strange black dog. One of the arrows kills the dog, and her corpse falls right on the knees of the protagonist.
Seeing this, a woman accuses the hero of a conspiracy with a dog and threatens to kill him. The defenders of Archendale, a group of riders from the valleys, save from the reprisals of the hero. It was on their territory that the events of the game should have occurred – thousands of miles from the gates of Baldur and Atkatla.
They drive a woman, but the hero’s problems on this, as it turns out, is just beginning. They take the hero for interrogation, and after a short conversation, local judges let go of the hero – warning him that he should not go too far, since they may have new questions. A sort of non -departure subscription.
The Black Hound itself was supposed to become an important element of the game. Due to the fact that the dog died on the knees of the hero, he acquired a spiritual connection with her, and this connection would remain until the very end of the game and would affect the actions of the player. She was the personification of evil, which was caused by the antagonist – a woman named Mai Ferrow.
May was the leader of the bandits who raid on trade routes through the southern valleys. It was traveled through the defenders of Archendale and the elves of the valleys, but she was hiding in the damned elven ruins, where she could not pursue.
From this brief synopsis, of course, magic-win-casino.net it is difficult to draw certain conclusions, and even more so you can not extrapolate them for the whole game. It was rumored that Josh Soyer, when working on Baldur’s Gate III, was inspired, among other things, the film "Brazil" Terry Gilliam. Given that the film itself is a satirical anti -utopia in the style of Dieselpank, it is difficult to imagine what the result could be.
I know that Josh was a fan of Brazil, and I know that he borrowed some ideas from there, but the story of Baldur’s Gate III was original.
Damien Foletto, developer Black Isle Studios
Red Wizards Taeus and all-all-all
Unlike the games of the original dilogy, in Baldur’s Gate III: Black Hound there was a fractions system. It can be assumed that it should have been working in about the same way as in Planescape: TorMent – the notorious CRPG, created by the same gaps shortly before the start of work on the Black Hound.
There are about eight different fractions playing an important role in the game. Some of them are tightly connected with the main plot, others are only indirectly. Two fractions that the player will meet the fastest – these are the silver crows of Sembia and the red wizards of Tae.
Josh Soyer, The Black Hound game designer
These two fractions were supposed to resist each other. The Red Wizards interested in May Farrow decided to settle in the city of Archengdge, the trading capital of the Dolin. Silver crows, persecuting their own interests, had to prevent this. At the same time, both fractions were divided. And if for silver ravens this is a traditionally normal state, then in the case of red wizards, the player would face the plot confrontation of fractions inside the fraction.
Inside the group of red wizards who arrived in Archenbridge, a conflict arose – the young leader of the group, the sorceress Kaed Marr entered into confrontation with the old, experienced caster Feulu asshole. Unfortunately, there is no information about how the player could interact with them, but the exposition itself was a very promising.
The old evil wizard who strokes the beard and giggles, shooting chain lightning in the townspeople, usually does not cause sympathy. But suppose that he was a veteran of red wizards and over the years of his service observed how his old combat comrades give way to young magicians who prefer the path of diplomacy. Now they conclude trade transactions with former enemies.
He has to endure insults of local residents, hear them mock his pronunciation, his clothes, his skin, his culture. And when he shares disappointment with the new, young authorities, he is perceived as an anachronism. As if an old artillery gun left and rot on the field of the former battle.
This guy can still shoot with a chain lightning in the townspeople, but if we create an exciting story around him, the player must feel that there is something else inside this character.
Josh Soyer, The Black Hound game designer
It is curious that such a mini-jet was due not only to the fantasy of the scriptwriters, but also by the changes that took place in D&D itself. During the transition from the second edition of the rules to the third, many fractions of the forgotten kingdoms underwent significant changes. They also included the red wizards of Tae. It was with the translation of the world of forgotten kingdoms to the third edition of the D&D rules, they began to attach importance to trade and diplomacy, and this change should have been reflected in the game.
Baldur’s Gate 3D
The Black Hound itself was also supposed to be based on the third edition of the D&D rules, unlike the original dilogy, which was based on the second edition. In parallel with the development of The Black Hound, there was a development of another CRPG using D&D 3 mechanics.0 – We are talking about Icewind Dale 2. In it, as in several previous projects, Black Isle used Infinity Engine – the engine created by BioWare for the first Baldur’s Gate. However, it was clear that this engine was outdated technologically, and at this time other studios have already begun to switch to a full-fledged 3D schedule, therefore, a new three-dimensional engine was created for Black Hound.
During its development, experience on Icewind Dale was taken into account, in which the developers could not realize some spells and abilities of characters due to software restrictions. In the engine created for Black Hound (it was called "Jefferson Project", hence the first working name of the game) The developers tried to avoid this.
Much attention was paid to the system of static lighting and the graphic component. In particular, the possibility of randomization of ordinary opponents was added. Thanks to this, all the monsters were supposed to differ from each other visually. On one of the locations of the game there were more than 60 goblins, and everyone looked different, while occupying a very small amount of memory. And for spells and special attacks were created "Stunning graphic effects".
Although we do not know exactly how the Black Hound graphics should look, some conclusions can be drawn from another project based on the same engine. The demo version of Van Buren, an incomplete third part of the Fallout series, was published in 2007.
Record of the gameplay of technical demos Fallout 3 (Van Buren)
The gates are closed
Baldur’s Gate III: The Black Hound was supposed to go out at the end of 2003, by Christmas holidays. However, even at the very beginning of its development for most employees of InterPlay, it was clear that something was wrong with their company.
The outcome of employees to other studios, the court with BioWare and the transition to control to Titus Interactive and other events that took place at that time did not improve the overall atmosphere in the studio. I talked about these events in more detail in the video about the history of the creation of Neverwinter Nights – read it if you are interested.
Closer to the release date among employees began to walk rumors: they said that due to financial problems Baldur`s Gate 3 will be canceled. Colossal efforts were invested in the development of the game, but the resources that were available were clearly not enough to develop both Baldur’s Gate 3 and Fallout 3.
The premonitions did not deceive the developers: in mid-2003 they were informed that, allegedly, due to error in the accounting reports, Interplay lost the rights to use the name Baldur’s Gate in computer games.
However, soon more reliable information was received that there was no mistake. This was not an annoying misunderstanding, it was a deal. Interplay Guide refuse to create Baldur’s Gate Games on a PC to save and extend the contract for consoles. Priority was given to the Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 project.
Parts of the developers working on Baldur’s Gate 3 were offered to join the team working on this game. Others – join the team of developers Fallout 3. More than two years of work and an almost ready -made game was not needed by anyone.
Some of the developers did not agree with such an attitude to myself and their work. From Interplay, the mass exodus of employees began. Josh Soyer, Fergus Urkhart, Chris Abellon and many other employees left the company.
It was especially difficult to resign, since the rejection of Baldur’s Gate 3 meant that we could switch and, finally, have a command working on Fallout: Van Buren. But I felt that what happened to Baldur’s Gate 3 would happen to Fallout: Van Buren.
Chris Abellon
Chris talked about this much later. But if in the mid -2003 he really thought so, then he looked into the water. Instead of the promised strengthening of the Van Buren team, many artists, programmers and designers were withdrawn from the project team – they were transferred to the same Baldur`s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 and to the console Fallout: Brotherhouse of Steel. The developers said that this was a temporary measure, and that the company is interested in the release of Fallout 3 as never before. These words were regularly pronounced until the moment the Black Isle Studios is completely closed.
Damien Foletto is one of the developers who believed in the company and remained working on Fallout 3, shortly after that wrote a post that looked more like a dying note:
I don’t know what I will finish, but people should know that we were all avid gamers and wanted to make computer games that we would like not only ourselves, but also fans.
However, time heals, and judging by the list of companies in which Foleto worked since then, he found the strength to survive this blow.
Epilogue
A few years later, Josh Soyer, who became the leading designer Neverwinter Nights 2, tried to realize the plot of Black Hound in the form of a separate module for this game, which he developed on his own.
When the module was announced, it was expected that it would be released shortly after the release of Mask of Betrayer, an official addition to Neverwinter Nights 2. However, over time, new information about the project did not appear, and later the module website ceased to exist.
I could not find reliable information about why it was Josh Soyer who abandoned the creation of the Black Hound module. However, this is no longer important: perhaps the most logical point in this story was the post of Josh Soyer on the blog in which he wrote literally the following:
I am sorry that the team could not complete the "black hound". And the point is not only in time and passion that we invested in it. Some of my best memories of desktop RPG (and CRPG) come from forgotten kingdoms. Of the huge, crazy people who do not fit into the countless leaders of the, forgotten kingdoms ..
… we had the opportunity to do something for high fantasy, but we did not obey genre conventions. I look back, and from many of my design decisions I am shaking now. But I do not regret the time that I spent on it. When you like the creation process itself, time cannot be called the spent. While we did this, we had fun.