Dragon Age creator and CRPG veteran defends Baldur’s Gate 3’s cut content: “BG2 had a mountain of stuff cut”
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Dragon Age creator and CRPG veteran defends Baldur’s Gate 3’s cut content: “BG2 had a mountain of stuff cut”

Baldur's Gate 3



(Image credit: Larian)

Baldur’s Gate veteran and Dragon Age creator David Gaider has outlined their experience with cut content, after Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian addressed the issue in a recent update. 

In a blog post yesterday, the Baldur’s Gate 3 studio addressed community concerns around evidence of ‘cut content’ in the game’s third act. The developer said that some of what’s being labeled as having been cut from the game is actually scenes and voice lines that didn’t trigger, rather than having been outright removed. Some of that is set to be fixed, but much of the rest has been cut “because we didn’t think it worked.”

Not surprised to hear of the amount of stuff apparently cut from BG3. 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.August 30, 2023

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That particular aspect was noted by Gaider, who, as well as helping create Dragon Age during his time at BioWare, was also a writer on Baldur’s Gate. In a tweet last night, Gaider said that he was “not surprised to hear of the amount of stuff apparently cut from BG3,” not least because Baldur’s Gate 2 “had a mountain of stuff cut over its development.”

Some of that content was cut early in the development process, but other parts were removed “even after lots of work had gone into it.” That’s not unique to the Baldur’s Gate games, or even CRPGs – Gaider goes on to say that “almost every game” sees work cut even after substantial development time, noting his own experiences with the entire Dragon Age trilogy, as well as his recently-released RPG, Stray Gods.

Gaider also offers some advice for players thinking about content that’s been “cut” from their favourite games, pointing out that ‘late’ cuts were probably just not working for the game, whether technically or conceptually, and that most cuts come so early that the ideas were never really in the game. Most interestingly, he claims that “most cuts can’t be resurrected. It’d be easier to start over.”

Whether that strikes true for Baldur’s Gate 3 remains to be seen – Larian’s commitment to reconsidering character epilogues suggests that there might be content that could be scraped up from the cutting room floor, but it might be some time before we get to find out how that will look.

Larian also teased two highly-requested features in yesterday’s Baldur’s Gate 3 blog.

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I’m GamesRadar’s news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I’ve run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam’s latest indie hit.

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James Aiden, a 24-year-old wordsmith and dedicated gamer, brings a unique blend of storytelling and gaming expertise to the table. When he's not diving into the world of pixels and quests, you can find him crafting engaging narratives and exploring his love for RnB and fast cars. Join James on his journey of literary and gaming adventures. 📚🎮

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