Dragon Age writer David Gaider has said Baldur's Gate 3's romances feel "like the work I was doing 10 years ago," but that this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
BioWare Lays Off Original Baldur's Gate Lead Writer
26.08.2023 - 14:25 / thegamer.com / David Gaider / Lays Off
BioWare writer Lukas Kristjanson, who has worked at the studio for more than 25 years, has been laid off. This comes as 50 developers lose their jobs at BioWare, despite having at least two huge games in development: Dragon Age: Dreadwolf and Mass Effect 5.
While any layoff is devastating, Kristjanson's job loss is downright baffling. Over his more than two-decade career, Kristjanson wrote for both Baldur's Gate games and even wrote one of the series' most popular characters, Minsc. Now, his layoff comes as the long-awaited sequel, Baldur's Gate 3, is a critical and commercial success - and even features Minsc as a returning companion.
Related: In Defence Of Baldur's Gate's Worst Boyfriend: Anomen
"Stunned to learn BioWare also let go of Lukas Kristjanson," says David Gaider, a former BioWare writer who left in 2016. "We used to call him Old Man Luke and Writer Alpha - there since BG1, the writer behind Minsc and [Mass Effect's] Joker and so many more."
BioWare developed the first two Baldur's Gate games before moving on to its own IPs, Mass Effect and Dragon Age. Put simply, we wouldn't have the groundbreaking success of Baldur's Gate 3 right now without the work of these BioWare writers.
Then there's the inspiration that Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian Studios seems to have taken from BioWare's later work. With parties of up to four, huge romance subplots, and a party camp to chill in, many players have compared Baldur's Gate 3 to Dragon Age: Origins. And since Baldur's Gate 3 launched with no microtransactions, live service elements, or even DLC, it has proven that there's still a huge demand for these single-player experiences that BioWare was pushed away from after Dragon Age: Inquisition. Frankly, many feel that Baldur's Gate 3 simply filled the void that BioWare left behind while it worked on Anthem, and cancelled two different versions of Dragon Age 4.
Even if we ignore the success of Baldur's Gate 3, the layoffs seem nonsensical and contradictory to BioWare's goals. The studio has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to the Dragon Age series, but now, it's laid off not only longtime writer Kristjanson, but also Mary Kirby, who has been at BioWare since 2006. She too wrote for all three Dragon Age games, even creating the unofficial series mascot, Varric. The dwarven rogue even seems to be one of the central characters in Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, as he was in Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition. It's hard to see where the series can go from here without the likes of Kirby and Kristjanson at the helm.
Next: Every New Thing I Learn About PlayStation Portal Makes Me More Confused
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wccftech.com
01.09.2023 / 18:45
Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age Vet Praises Larian’s BG3, Says BG2 Had a Ton of Cut Content Too
Baldur's Gate 3 was released around a month ago to massive critical and commercial acclaim. In case that wasn't enough, Larian Studios got the approval of cRPG veteran David Gaider, who worked on Baldur's Gate II, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and all of the Dragon Age games. Gaider said on Twitter that Baldur's Gate 3 managed to resurrect the feeling of the first two installments in every way, proving to be a worthy successor.
rockpapershotgun.com
31.08.2023 / 12:31
Developers rally to defend Larian against Baldur’s Gate 3 "cut content" fallout
Over the past week, dataminers have been rifling through Baldur's Gate 3's code and have discovered a dragon's hoard of alleged "cut content". It's hard to specify what they've unearthed without accidentally sounding the Major Spoilers trumpet and initiating Armageddon, but the supposed buried offerings include additional areas, swathes of dialogue, storylines, cutscenes, characters, romance opportunities and even deities. Given just how much Larian's gargantuan RPG gives you to play with, I am kind of thankful for a generous amount of stuff being "left out" - certainly, I don't need any more romanceable NPCs, I'm already fending them off with a broomhandle. But the news has gone down badly with a few players, and especially those who feel the game's overall quality takes a dive in acts 2 and 3.
gamingbolt.com
31.08.2023 / 02:59
Homeworld 3 Developer Lays Off 41 Employees
Developer Blackbird Interactive has announced that it has laid off more than 40 employees. The layoffs come in light of several of the studio’s upcoming projects getting cancelled. The layoffs came to light thanks to a post on LinkedIn by former technical artist at Blackbird Interactive James Marshall, who revealed that more than 40 people were laid off from the studio. A spokesperson for the studio released a statement, according to IGN, confirming that 41 employees were let go.
gamesradar.com
30.08.2023 / 12:43
Dragon Age creator and CRPG vet says he's "not surprised" at how much was cut from Baldur's Gate 3
Baldur's Gate veteran and Dragon Age creator David Gaider has outlined their experience with cut content, after Baldur's Gate 3 developer Larian addressed the issue in a recent update.
gamesradar.com
28.08.2023 / 14:49
Baldur's Gate 3 gets high praise from Dragon Age writer and Baldur's Gate 2 dev: "A worthy successor" and "monumental achievement"
Dragon Age writer and Baldur's Gate 2 dev David Gaider has finally finished Baldur's Gate 3, and like countless other fans, he reckons it's "a worthy successor" to BioWare's CRPGs.
pcgamer.com
28.08.2023 / 12:01
David Gaider says Baldur’s Gate 3 is a 'monumental achievement'
Dragon Age's lead writer has taken to Twitter (sorry, X) to sing the praises of Baldur’s Gate 3. Having completed the game, David Gaider has made clear to the world his appreciation for the writing skill, and the love and care the devs at Larian Studios have put into the vast branching narratives of this true Game Of The Year contender.
gamingbolt.com
27.08.2023 / 16:21
BioWare’s Layoffs Include Veteran Writers Lukas Kristjanson and Mary Kirby
BioWare recently announced that it will be letting go of around 50 employees in a fresh round of layoffs, as it looks to become a more “agile” studio, and as it turns out, the list of people who’ll be departing the company as a result includes quite a few notable ones.
eurogamer.net
26.08.2023 / 19:15
BioWare lays off senior writing staff as part of its recent job cuts
As part of its recently publicised cutbacks, BioWare has «let go of» Lukas Kristjanson, the lead writer behind Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, and the writer of the first three Dragon Age games, Mary Kirby.
gamesradar.com
25.08.2023 / 12:07
Dragon Age creator somehow surprised to find the OG Baldur's Gate character they helped create in Baldur's Gate 3
A writer on the original Baldur's Gate has shared their surprise at stumbling upon a character they helped create as they explored Baldur's Gate 3.
pcgamer.com
24.08.2023 / 18:15
The BioWare layoffs include the writer responsible for Dragon Age's best character
BioWare is laying off 50 employees, studio manager Gary McKay announced yesterday. No mention of what roles were being made redundant was made at the time, only that the studio's «commitment remains steadfast» when it comes to the upcoming Dragon Age: Dreadwolf. That's hard to believe now, in light of the fact that writer Mary Kirby, who gave the world the hairy-chested Varric, is among those looking for new employment.
rockpapershotgun.com
24.08.2023 / 12:05
BioWare lays off around 50 employees as work on Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Dreadwolf continues
Dragon Age and Mass Effect’s storied developer BioWare have laid off around 50 employees, including veteran devs who had been with the company for 20 years, in what they call a “shift towards a more agile and more focused studio.” The reasoning behind the job cuts has a now-rote focus on efficiency that sadly echoes other redundancy announcements from this year - including ones from other widely admired studios like Firaxis and CD Projekt Red.