Perhaps, though it's also likely the thread will be eclipsed by yet another thread on the same subject within a few weeks/months, perhaps one with Viconia or Sarevok in the title so peeps know what the conversation is really about before clicking into it? Lol

What also happens is that it becomes particularly hard to follow longer threads, since it's common for people to break into separate direct conversations or sorta talk past one another. The second person frame is tough on forums too when it's used in disagreements I mean. Someone types the word "You" and it instantly invites argumentation and puts peeps on their heels. That then becomes similar to watching an argument or a car crash unfold in public. Like it's interesting for a while and everyone rubbernecks, but it's also short lived, until the next car crash draws the attention.

These boards also lack passive engagement features, which many have grown accustomed too these days, so when those don't exist it also prompts more repetition and re-duplication. I think Larian could, for example, enable upvotes (while keeping downvotes disabled) and it would immediately smooth out their boards traffic into something much more manageable and more pleasant and insightful to read generally. Those are asides though, and have to do with the way this spot is structured.

The article I linked on the previous page will get lost in the shuffle I'm sure. It has already spawned a dozen other articles and as many reddit threads heheh.

The reason it's topical is because the Characters we ended up getting in BG3 are mostly Ohlen's renditions. Like that's almost certainly who Larian is defering to here, not some WotC canon committee hehe. Whether they succeeded in harmonizing, that's harder to say. These takes on the Characters are coming from his more recent supplementals and sourcebooks, and later TT campaigns, remembrances of earlier TT campaigns etc. more than the characters as they presented in BG1/BG2. Even though the author is definitely The Author, it's a bit like expanded universe/legends stuff in my view. I have great respect for Ohlen, for innovating these characters, but I still prefer my own sacred cows based on the games/characters we got in the actual cRPGs, when they actually first released, to spectacular acclaim and near universal love!

"Heroes of Baldur's Gate (5e)" is ok for what it is, sure. It's also a 55 dollar Table Top print-to-order tome in hardcover, or a 20 pdf, which is a little steep, though it does have nice artwork and some interesting character sketches. He surely has some Authority on this score, and for interpreting or re-interpreting the draft sketches, privileging origin, but it's not enough for me when compared to the characters in the actual games. You know the characters as I experienced them originally, which are different. Those are still the characters I hold dear and the one's I'd wish to revisit here, if they're going to be kicking around still hehe.

Ps. What's particularly wild here, given the parallels/analogy to SW, is that this is also the Kotor dude! And of course I love Kotor! You can almost imagine how it happens, like a bunch of old timers call each other on the phone (cause that's how it used to be done hehe) and they say ok let's do it again, with some more characters from the big binder and even more deets. I'm fine with that generally, I like directors' cuts and VH1 behind the musics, as much as anyone, but then you get into issues of provenance and who really authored a collective work vs the reception the completed work received in it's particular moment. It works somewhat better when there is a shift in medium, so - the novelization/comic book/animated series or video game, tie ins - 'based' on the movie. When the medium is the same (in this case cRPG to cRPG sequel) the spotlight burns brighter and much hotter. We fixate on everything there and make fewer allowances for liberties taken, even when the person at the helm has all the bone fides. It's just scrutinized in a more exacting way. Also, now we have a whole vocabulary to describe this stuff, the 'Requel' or 'soft reboot' all that diction, cause we've seen it play out elsewhere.

How much obeisance is shown to the thing that actually blockbusted vs the notebooks that it came from? Fraught issues to be sure, but it's like one can definitely chart some of these courses in advance and see how it's played out with other similarly popular art-works and popular characters over the years. Thoughtful omission only works when something is actually omitted. Having once gone there, and including the thing, the dynamic changes. Like painting over a famous painting 20 years later, or re-recording an old song (but also misplacing the master and pulling it from the radio) where no-one can get at it anymore, the first thing that got the big first response and the broader cultural impact. I think I can sorta see where it goes, I just miss Viconia! I think she could have been a great companion in BG3! heheh

Last edited by Black_Elk; 12/10/23 08:19 AM.