The wonderful world of Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrunning leveled up once again this week with a new fastest time for an all acts completion of the game — and it was made possible thanks to a massive invisible bear.
How a Baldur’s Gate 3 writer created its moving tribute to a father with Alzheimer’s disease
18.01.2024 - 19:07 / polygon.com
Baldur’s Gate 3 was released in early access in October 2020, delighting fans eager to get their hands on the highly anticipated game. For Larian Studios forum user Solfalia, it was exceptionally meaningful: Solfalia wrote that his father got him into gaming, and, in particular, they shared an affinity for Baldur’s Gate 2, Divinity: Original Sin, and Divinity: Original Sin 2.
“My father has always been a geek — he was one of the first journalists to get a computer on Fleet Street — he even sent his computer to the Newseum in Washington,” Solfalia, who asked Polygon to use his username, told Polygon. “This meant I had no chance, he introduced me to computers at an early age. I still remember going to my father’s study and playing Battle Chess with him when I was around 4 years old.”
Eventually, Solfalia’s father got him his own computer, and the two played games like Baldur’s Gate 2 together over a local area network (LAN) connection. His father even built a third computer for Solfalia’s friends to use so they could all play together at their house.
“We played a lot of it, and I do mean a lot,” Solfalia said. “I think we did three or four full playthroughs on different characters, and when the Throne of Bhaal expansion came out we did that all over again another few times.” When Solfalia moved to another country for work, he kept in touch with his dad through games: “Every Friday night, for years, with nearly no exception, we would get together online. Him in France, me in the UK, and we would play a video game together for the entire evening, sometimes even until the late hours of the morning.”
But when his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Solfalia wasn’t sure if his father would be able to play Baldur’s Gate 3 before the disease progressed too far. Luckily, Baldur’s Gate 3’s early access period was announced, and Solfalia realized he could enjoy the game with his father. “This Early Access means that this Xmas I’ll be able to go on an adventure with him one last time, and I know he’ll enjoy it,” he wrote. “The fact that the big baddies are Mind Flayers is just the icing on the cake.”
When Larian Studios saw the post, one writer on Baldur’s Gate 3 reached out with the intention of adding a tribute to Solfalia’s father to the game. The writer shared messages from the Larian team who were touched by his post. “I won’t hide the fact that I teared up at those messages — they were incredibly heartfelt,” he said.
He continued: “In addition to sharing those messages from the staff, there was an offer to put a tribute for him in the game. I immediately accepted. Having a tribute to my Dad in what would be one of his favourite games if he could play it? Something that I could come across in
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