However, players are not designers. If a subset of players doesn’t like or agree with Larian’s approach/ideals it’s irrelevant. They can’t and shouldn’t change the game based on the whims of the audience. On part, because audience most likely doesn’t know what they want, and because the audience will have different and conflicting ideas. In addition he audience has a very fragmented view of the game - just the unfinished content in the beta, and they most likely don’t know how to properly analyse said content in the context of game being developed (I remember Josh Sawyer saying how giving final sound effect to a gun, stopped people from complaining that it’s underpowered etc.).
Customers are also not a board of directors nor owners. Larian doesn’t work for us. What BG3 is, is decided by WotC and Larian. EA players are just willing, paying guinea pigs. And they pay close attention to what those guinea pigs do, say and how they react. But they won’t put them in charge of anything. Oink, oink.
I would like to politely disagree with the part where the audience doesn't know what they want, I studied Game Design in uni and one of the first principles is to
never be narrow minded or too jealous with your idea, because everyone plays the game differently and expects different things from the game. Some enjoy social aspects, others seek for escapism, others need expression, others competitivity. If you aren't flexible with your original idea then your game may end up satisfying only the gamers that think exactly like you, and disappointing the rest.
Plus usually things you thought would work well in the phase of game design may end up not working after being developed, sometimes things seemed fun the first hours you tested and then it just doesn't hold up well for a 70 hour campaign...
See No Man's Sky case for example. The game they had envisioned was a completely different game from what it actually is now, Sean Murray even said so during an interview. They had a more "single player oriented" game in mind where meeting with another human was a complete rarity, it was more focused on exploration etc. During these years and the many updates the game become something completely different from the original idea and it was all fueled by the community's request and ideas.
