@ArneBab Thank you for being so delicate during this exchange. Know that I wouldn’t have spoken (semi)publicly about this if I hadn’t come to terms with it, so the spoiler tags aren’t for me. They’re for unsuspecting forum readers who might live with triggers. I can’t tell if you did it right, so I’d still err on the side of caution and add tags to the quote.
As for the endslides, I’m not going to go point by point, mainly because my beer supply is getting low, but you raise fair points, namely: this presentation is about romance specifically, not plot as a whole; making a branching narrative requires ticking boxes, thereby dulling thematic resonance.
To the first point, you may entirely be correct. It’s been gnawing at me, “Hey Flooter, you’re no stranger to emotional outbursts, are you sure you’re reading this right?” But it’s not even subtext. It’s just text:
Originally Posted by litteral Larian employee
it is making a feature predominantly for the fanfiction audience
Not just any Larian employee, mind you. Beaudelaire Welch is described as both Romance Feature Lead and Senior Narrative Designer for Larian Studios.
Keep in mind, Welch was hired after early access started and she had written her share of Halsin fanfic. This suggests two things: 1. Romance wasn’t part of the initial vision for BG3. 2. Larian’s Romance Feature Lead had the fanfic community’s interests in mind when making BG3.
The presentation’s topic is clear: what romance means to some players, why it means so much to them and how to make romance better for them. I added the part in italics, but it doesn’t feel unfair in light of the topics brought up. According to Welch, the way to improve romance is to implement the fanfic wishlist.
2a. Make the romances last. 2b. Have cool systemics. 2c. Have challenging relationships. 2d. Don’t make the stories too happy. 2e. Don’t be like that Dragon Age meme we’re all super familiar with. 2f. Make room for unconventionally attractive characters.
That sounds fantastic for a game centered around romance, and the game Welch plugs during the presentation (I assume as a proof of concept) does sound sweet, but aside from 2b the advice doesn’t seem to care what game it fits into.
Why is the first endslide’s title “Why does romance matter beyond fanservice?” Doesn’t that betray a point of view? Going by your definition of fanservice, it sounds like a frustrated fan finally able to enact their dreams. Why is fanservice even a consideration in a work of art?
“Art” may seem like a lofty standard, but it’s the standard Larian claim to meet, so let’s hold them to it. I don’t believe that standard can be met when those are the stated priorities for romance while the game misses its own thematic implications.
Which brings us to the second point: can a branching game have its paths be meaningfully different while staying cohesive?
I think Disco Elysium pulled it off by having a gazillion themes to latch onto and the wherewithall to follow through on those threads. It helped that “making your hapless way through a clusterfuck” runs through pretty much the entire game. Also it’s much smaller than BG3.
So there should be Larian’s cues. Make smaller games, in both size and scope. Make the story dense, convoluted and reactive. There are a bunch of unexplored topics in RPGs. Larian should follow their own advice, pick a topic and write their whole game around it.
