Larian Studios Forums Baldur's Gate III Baldur's Gate III - Suggestions & Feedback Children setting

Unless you are a Larian developer working on BG3, your remarks are pure guesswork and appear to be closing down debate every bit as much, more so in fact, as Deventh's post.

Adding additional features is obviously going to take time and resources. The game is rated 'M' and Larian have confirmed that they are happy with that rating. Why spend time and money developing a feature to reduce that rating when that is the rating the game has been marketed and will be released under? What kind of financial madness is it to increase your development costs for something that will not affect the final sales?

Unless the feature to turn the game into a child-friendly one is locked in place, the 'M' rating will stay. If it is M-rated then people know not to sell it to children, and that is not going to be changed by some toggle to turn it into a PG. As an example, look at the game Senran Kagura Burst Re:Newal. It had a toggle to allow an 'intimacy mode' but was still banned in Japan because the option was there to show the intimacy. Censors are not stupid, they do not let games through on lower ratings because of an option to tone things down voluntarily.

Yes, if such a 'child friendly' toggle has been developed then I will look silly. But, you know what? I'll take that chance.

Is it going to be another "I guess english is not your first language"?
My point is - even if developers implemented things that OP suggested, it still will not be a game suitable for kids. Therefore OP should look at other games or wait for DM mode.

Kids of what age.

The sex scenes can easily be avoided in dialogue. Look for the blood textures, set their color to white and alpha to fully transparent. Nudity gone, gore reduced.

So you restricting development knowledge to Larian developers does mean they can't ever hire someone who isn't already a Larian developer right? You do realize thats the logic you just used? Cant drive a honda if you drive a toyota? That is a logically contradictory claim you made to say that my decades of development can't be leveraged because I am not in Sri Lanka mopping up water right now in between cake bites.

Dragon Age. Rating M. Gore Option. 3.2 million copies sold
Gears of War. Rating M. Gore Option. 22 million copies sold

Im not going to make a huge list, but I guess what Im trying to understand is why youre trying to hand-wave a legitimate personal AND business concern with the gen-x and millennial populations that consume this stuff being in their mid 30s+. Your reasoning to date: "Its rated M". Did you think if you said that everyone would say "Oh, well. Nevermind then! I never thought about it like that! Guess I won't spend time with my kids doing something I love!"

Was that what you thought would happen? I dont have kids, its just intellectually offensive watching arguments get made that claiming these a priori truths. There is no reason. Youre making up new reasons as you speak further. Same message, consistent message - it isn't hard, people would use it, it would increase sales, it doesnt take anything away from you. Where is the down side? What downside are you protecting?

OP hasn't specified the age of their kids, so I don't know. I was talking about their kids, if anything.

In hopes people are thicker skinned in this thread.

he never stated to keep anything else out other then gore, and nudity. Even with those gone this game would still be M rated for the language, and violence that is in it, as well as certain part tadpole included. Also that tadpole part can be skipped along with the rest of intro scene. So tadpole/intro arguements invalidated.

Language, curse words, etc oh my. the amount of 'bad' words that come out of childrens mouths these days, more so in denser populations is truelly astonishing especially when it can and does come out of a 4 years old mouth. Again OP said nothing about this being taken out of the game, after all his kids could hear it at any part of the day, either at school, walking down the sidewalk, on tv, you name it it's out there. So again language arguements invalidated.

Nudity/gore = Mortal Kombat had a setting to turn off gore, which locked any attempts to use fatalities, and other gory moves, as well as turn off blood. As do many games, they all for the most part have that option to turn off blood. Still they are rated M. Nudity depending on what culture your in, us Americans are for some reason in large part afraid of seeing naked people. It's why we do it with the lights off, we are scared of nakedness. I'm only partially joking for you out there that miss it. And scenes in game can be (unless I'm wrong) skipped I've skipped many conversations and cutscenes aren't really that much different.

So what OP has suggested is widely done with M rated games. What why, how is this. Fuck if I know oh wait.

Violence tends to get your game M rated, adult themes, such as oh lets say slavery, demons, devils. Tends to get your game M rated. There is alot more to M rating then just sex, and gore. If it and this game does involve alot of swinging sharp objects, and stabby with pointy things, and swinging with blunt things your likely to get an M rating just for the violence. If you have people cussing like Clavis again an M rating. If you have a cutscene anywhere like the opening of BG3 you'll get an M rating for that alone. Which I think was well done btw, but supposedly I'm a condescending arse, with no right to make a point, blah, blah, blah. Oh wait I tend to be.

I don't understand why you keep saying that it's not hard. Yes, turning off blood and nudity is pretty easy, but what about dialogues and cutscenes like the one with "Us"? That's not so easy and quick to change. And we will go to Avernus later in the game. I'm sure there will be a lot of gore there, like decorations and cutscenes.

Well, you said the conversations are also mature therefore the visual reduction in gore will not fulfill a purpose, and they should move onto another game. I'd like to say this goes away with age, but visual comprehension and written comprehension are very different things.

A child watching a sex scene versus reading this dialog from Firefly:

Mal : Whoa, hey. Flesh. Um... Saffron... i-it-it ain't a question of pleasing me. It's more a question of what's... um... of what's morally right.

Saffron : I do know my Bible sir. "On the night of their betrothal, the wife shall open to the man as the furrow to the plow and he shall work in her, in and again, 'til she bring him to his fall and rest him then upon the sweat of her breast."

Mal : Whoa, good Bible.

---

Im guessing the sex scene would be a lot more consumable. The number of games I have thought of as Ive gotten older where I went "oh, man I had no idea what that meant when I played that as a kid, thats hilarious" is, well, most of them. Adults are making these things and kids don't have a narrative for it. You don't, however, have to be very old to know what a naked body or someone's head being forcibly removed from their body is.

If we go by ESRB 17+ ratings and children are 16 year olds and below and hold 16 year olds to the same mental ceiling at a 10 year old, that swathe we are now cutting into becomes a hot debated topic. We have Eminem in the early 2000s testifying to congress and them making laws to make it so you can't say whatever you want to in songs. This isn't a new thing, but it isn't an old one either. As gaming continues to evolve and you might be a 50 year old man playing multiplayer watching a sex scene with a 17 year old girl that you dont know the concept of choice and consent come into play. You, a 50 year old man, have no issue watching the sex. You a 17 year old girl, have no issue watchin the sex. You both might find it inappropriate in your playthrough together, however.

The concepts of adolescence, childhood, and maturity shift on situational contexts as well as along just the age & development axis. So, when we realize how much is out there that could influence or drive a decision on how and in what nature someone might want to experience something you have to ask - how much effort are we talking about to do this? If it isn't a lot of effort, then I guess I am still trying to figure out what the opposition is other than "lol, g4m3r lyf old man, dont have kids looser lolol suck my M rating"

OMG condescending/ belligerent, rambly, must be why we get along lol. Kids are made to be either
A. seen not heard when they are close to you.
B. heard but not seen when they aren't.
C. made to be cooked at 250 degrees for 9 and a half months, with a sprinkle of lemon, a dash of pazzaz, a twist of something.... lost train of thought, well back to station.

So... no then. You aren't working on BG3.


You know, I hope that sounded more coherent when you typed it than it does reading it.

You evidently set great store by your opinion, and that's great, but your way is not the One True Way. You seem to be taking this very seriously. Chill out. It's not even a game, it's a discussion about possible options for a game. You aren't going to be publicly humiliated or lose your house because not everyone agrees with your opinion.

You did an excellent job of side stepping every criticism of your logic and making ad hominem counters without defending your position. +1 for dropping out of the conversation.

Well as I said if it's just "turn off blood and nudity" then it's easy and I definitely have nothing against such a thing. I just wanted to tell OP that it's probably will not solve their problem.
I've actually started to play violent games since I was 10, I think. So I see no problem in teenagers playing such games but it's up to parents what to allow their children. I just don't want censorship to go beyond toggle off blood/nudity.

A little off topic but I find it funny how you say that Americans are afraid of nudity. I find american culture full of sex themes personally lol. I felt like such a prude there. Well Utah is probably different but I've never been there.

Oh yeah, if this is about censorship or kid gloves or child-proofing the game then there is no question - this is a mature game with explicit content. Full stop. The main question is: are there certain things that are low effort, high impact, that could lower the age floor for being able to passively consume, if not play, it? The history of games has shown it to be possible, effective, not barring them from being blockbuster successes, and something that has demand. The feasibility of it will be contingent on things like them making design decisions to have storyline dialog and responses done whilst in [explicit situation]. Or, if they hear feedback early, do they decide to separate the two - making it so the disabling of one doesn't disable the other and allows them granular control of two things they are offering: 1. Sex & Violence 2. Story. If they divorce the two it gives them more control, anyway, and might allow them the benefit of extending a different experience than the one they have chosen to offer as their preferred curated experience.

Don't be in a rush

In Europe we get our impression of the USA from the extremes. If a town bans shorts on decency grounds then we hear about it. We don't hear or care about all the other places. At the other end of the scale, we see the clips and photos of 'Walmart people' wearing highly inappropriate clothing and showing bodies that might be better off left decently covered.

Like every other nation on Earth, the USA is viewed through a lens distorted by stereotype, media images and a love of the bizarre and outrageous.

Therefore, all Americans are fat, virulently racist or virulently antifa, afraid of nudity, conservatively religious, and go around singing the Star Spangled Banner at the drop of a hat.

Sexual themes is different it's merely naughty, and at times offensive to some. Nudity is a different thing it's for the large part completely wrong. Even a covered breast as your feeding your little brat is seen as offensive. Yet it is fine to show scantily clad women draped over something in an erotic manner.... Swear I need to move to Europe or something..

It's why Americans are often viewed as they are sexual themes oooooh yeaaaaaah!! Nudity - omg Ethel don't look!! Thats barbaric, distasteful, yadda, yadda yadda, go shower with your clothes on hypocrit.

As for how it is part of the topic. It's a point that instead of using it as a learning experience, or even heaven forbid as a way for a person to grow up comfortable in their own body. (neither a religious or political view just a statement.) we instead try to keep it hidden. Much like the skeletons in my closet. It's the same with gore, video games can be a learning experience for kids. Teach them the difference between what is right or wrong, cause and effect.

For instance with the way I taught my heathens, I actually stupidly, took them to the store (not the stupid part) Held open the door for them, and then brain fart, turned took a step and walked into the door that I was holding. My youngest (the demon) laughed, because it was funny, and stated 'Dad, that was stupid, your not spose to do that.' (she was around 6 or 7) People were offended that she not only laughed, but told me it was stupid for me to do.

Wtelf/wtf with few more words. It was both stupid, and hilarious at the same time. Yet even with all that, if I look at one of my (now not so young) kids to this day. They stop what they are saying/doing because they know it's time to stop.

sorry rant/ramble yada yada, baby yoda over. Just wanted to show if you use things as a learning experience, and not taboo like nudity in a game, or blood/gore/violence etc, it's not a bad thing. and can actually while you still remain the parent, be a good thing.

I don't sterotype like that, nor am I racist.

People are ignorant, stupid sheep. it is only a few of them that try to crawl out of the primordial soup, and attain enlightenment <<<<<------ See not racist, speciest!

Yeah, it's low effort, I'm just personally not sure if it will have high impact. But if you and some others think it will then yeah, why not have that toggle, it will not hurt anyone.


Lol