Larian Studio’s newest Baldur’s Gate 3 Community Update video, released today, breaks down the game’s cinematic ambitions for early access, which begins on September 30. It also introduces more interactivity through Stadia Crowd Choice and Twitch integration. A huge leap from Divinity: Original Sin’s rock-paper-scissors multiplayer interactions, Baldur’s Gate 3 features 1.5 million words, with fully cinematic dialogues.
Using a mix of performance capture and bespoke adaptive cameras, the game is able to react to whoever you are and whatever you do, both in multiplayer and single-player. With the addition of streaming integration, even viewers who may not own the game now have a say in the player’s journey.
Larian’s Cinematic Director, Jason Latino, explains, “You’re telling your story, and we’re shooting it for you. We’re taking that camera down from being above the players and down into the drama, right into the action.
“I can’t think of another early access game that’s done cinematics on this level,” he added. “There’s a lot of games where the moment you add cinematics, they have to get smaller. We didn’t want to do that.”
Community Update #6 – Multiplayer & Cinematics goes into detail about how Larian is combining a cinematic, player-driven narrative through early access, with multiplayer interactions both within and outside of the game session. It shows how far the team has come since Divinity: Original Sin, back in 2014.
When enabled by a streamer, Crowd Choice brings the journey to YouTube viewers, where Stadia viewers can vote. The streamer is seamlessly presented with the results in percentages, and can then choose to follow the players, or go their own way.
Twitch integration works by numbering each dialogue option, which corresponds to viewer choices. This feedback is seamlessly integrated into the game, where both streamer and viewer will see each percentage vote next to each dialogue option. What’s more, players will be able to interact with the Twitch overlay to access the player’s inventory, character sheet, skills, and spells.
Both of these features are launching day one of early access, respectively, on PC and Stadia. This not only brings the community closer to the player, but also, due to the amount of permutations in dialogues, enables streamers to “DM” their own adventure for viewers, letting viewers partake in the story regardless of whether they own the game. Players will be able to become a part of their favorite streamer’s own private canon. Or, as a streamer or viewer, hide the feature entirely. It’s up to them. As always, the game reacts appropriately.
Early access is rapidly approaching, and Larian is happy to launch with nearly everything needed to give players a sense of the ambition behind Baldur’s Gate 3. Dialogues have more permutations than ever before, and so too does the game. Not only does the game retain the narration previous Larian titles are so well known for, you’ll often see that action on screen — whether it’s a vampiric bite in the night, or a slip of the tongue on a goblin’s foot. Of course, there are many more for players to discover on their own.
Whether in solo, with friends — or streaming with an audience — no matter how you choose to experience Baldur’s Gate 3, the tools and systems that allow the game to adapt to the story forged by players are ready for early access on September 30.
For more information, turn to Community Update #6 – Multiplayer & Cinematics, which also features a lengthy community Q&A.
