I'd prefer a good story over gameplay, but I would prefer real time. Real time makes everything seem more at stake if that makes sense. Turn based is more true to d&d but turn based really just comes across like a mobile game, or something like chess.
When Bioware made the original BG an RTWP title, one of their reasons was that it made for more cinematic and immersive experience.
There were undoubtedly a number of reasons for their decision, but one was probably just hardware progression. As the average PC became more capable, new features could be added that were otherwise impossible. Real time and 3D have now become standard capabilities, but they were not always easy, or even possible, to implement with PC hardware, even at low resolution.
Yes, and as I clearly mention in the quote you take of me, cinematic and immersive combat was just ONE of their reasons.
I am trying to find a really good article on gamasutra about the origins of the first BG, but internet cookies are making it difficult. I had it on the steam forums, but a bunch of angry forum users ganged up to get me banned and all my posts deleted because I kept posting links to real articles about Bioware. They said I was "spamming" and "trolling"
"It was the company's next game, however, that set the stage for what BioWare would be known for: 1998's Baldur's Gate, a story-driven role-playing game based in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, was praised for its intricately crafted narrative and its mature themes."
The entire impetus behind Bioware (pre EA) was interactive storytelling. not multiplayer, that came later as internet capabilities improved and coop was gaining popularity.
