Now I am reading a lot of people, fans of larian but not necessarily of Baldur's Gate wanting to change Baldur's Gate to their tastes. Would that still be Baldur's gate?. It would be a different game, one that I might like or not, but certainly not the game that made me come here ...
So, TLDR; if Larian uses the brand of Baldur's Gate they should stick to it's roots and keep the core game design as the fans loved it. Else, they should just create any other brand, even if it's based in the forgotten realms universe, as Black Isle did with Neverwinter Nights. But please, don't split the fanbase.
That's the rub, BGIII *will* be a different game. It's been 20 years since the last game and everything has changed. The developer, the technology, the computers we use them on and importantly there is a new generation of players. And don't think that the Original Sin fanbase isn't playing a part here - probably the biggest reason Wizards chose Larian is because they're bringing a whole new fanbase with them over to BGIII.
It'll be a different game in so many ways by necessity and definition, I predict that no matter what they do people will freak out. I'm a developer and have seen this too many times, with a legacy it seems impossible to keep people happy, no matter how hard you try. You know what amazes me? Is how much players demand development, evolution and improvement in games, and how obstinate they insist on stuff from the past. Like turn based versus real time. Who really cares? A lot of people I guess, surprises me (or doesn't rather) the vitriol over this. I've played both in BG and most of the Original Sins, personally have a preference, but whatever. I'll take whatever they do because I'm confident they'll do a great game. Otherwise I appreciate the difficulty they have and am a little glad I don't have to sweat over it personally.
