Baldur's Gate: Difference between revisions
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* [https://www.scribd.com/document/164827683/The-making-of-Baldur-s-Gate-PC-Gamer The Making of Baldur's Gate] — article by Dan Griliopoulos for PC Gamer, based on interview with Ray Muzyka (2012) | * [https://www.scribd.com/document/164827683/The-making-of-Baldur-s-Gate-PC-Gamer The Making of Baldur's Gate] — article by Dan Griliopoulos for PC Gamer, based on interview with Ray Muzyka (2012) | ||
* [https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/21/video-games/baldurs-gate-bioware-1998-video-games] — article by Ben Lindbergh for The Ringer, based on interviews with team members Trent Oster, Scott Grieg and Lukas Kristjanson (2018) | * [https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/21/video-games/baldurs-gate-bioware-1998-video-games How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG] — article by Ben Lindbergh for The Ringer, based on interviews with team members Trent Oster, Scott Grieg and Lukas Kristjanson (2018) | ||
* [https://www.eurogamer.net/how-bioware-revolutionised-the-rpg How BioWare revolutionised the RPG] — article by Graham Mason for Eurogamer, based on interviews with ''Baldur's Gate'' lead designer James Ohlen, writer Lukas Kristjanson, and designer/artist Dean Andersen (2019) | * [https://www.eurogamer.net/how-bioware-revolutionised-the-rpg How BioWare revolutionised the RPG] — article by Graham Mason for Eurogamer, based on interviews with ''Baldur's Gate'' lead designer James Ohlen, writer Lukas Kristjanson, and designer/artist Dean Andersen (2019) | ||
* [https://mcvuk.com/development-news/when-we-made-baldurs-gate/ When We Made... Baldur's Gate] — interview with ''Baldur's Gate'' 3D artist Trent Oster from MCV Online (2019) | * [https://mcvuk.com/development-news/when-we-made-baldurs-gate/ When We Made... Baldur's Gate] — interview with ''Baldur's Gate'' 3D artist Trent Oster from MCV Online (2019) | ||
Latest revision as of 11:35, 13 January 2026
Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game set in the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. It was the first released game to employ BioWare's Infinity Engine. It was both critically and commercially successful, and is credited for reviving the CRPG genre from a fallow period.
An expansion pack, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, followed a few months later. A sequel, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, followed in 2000.
An Enhanced Edition of Baldur's Gate was released by Beamdog in 2012. This version included the expansion, some new original content, and many quality of life improvements.
Resources
Interviews
- The Making of Baldur's Gate — article by Dan Griliopoulos for PC Gamer, based on interview with Ray Muzyka (2012)
- How ‘Baldur’s Gate’ Saved the Computer RPG — article by Ben Lindbergh for The Ringer, based on interviews with team members Trent Oster, Scott Grieg and Lukas Kristjanson (2018)
- How BioWare revolutionised the RPG — article by Graham Mason for Eurogamer, based on interviews with Baldur's Gate lead designer James Ohlen, writer Lukas Kristjanson, and designer/artist Dean Andersen (2019)
- When We Made... Baldur's Gate — interview with Baldur's Gate 3D artist Trent Oster from MCV Online (2019)
- Baldur’s Gate interview: BioWare’s Cameron Tofer on the classic game — interview with Baldur's Gate programmer Cameron Tofer from Den of Geek (2019)
- ‘Baldur’s Gate’ at 21: How a Small Team Made a “Smoking Pile” Into a Gaming Classic – oral history from The Hollywood Reporter, quoting Oster, Tofer, Mark Meer and R. A. Salvatore (2019)
- The making of Baldur's Gate – the game that "single-handedly reinvigorated the western RPG" — by Craig Richie for GamesRadar, based on interviews with Trent Oster, James Ohlen and producer Chris Parker (2019)
- DGC Ep 255: Bonus Interview with James Ohlen – conversation with lead designer James Ohlen on the Dev Game Club podcast (2021)
Developer Commentary
- GDC Europe 2010: Baldur's Gate: A 10 Year Retrospective — GDC presentation by BioWare founders Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk (2010)
- Baldur's Gate - Memories and Lessons — Baldur's Gate programmer Mark Darrah's own video about the making of the game (2023)
Histories
- The CRPG Renaissance, Part 5: Fallout 2 and Baldur’s Gate by Jimmy Maher (2025)
- Baldur's Gate — episode 233 of They Create Worlds podcast, by Alex Smith & Jeffrey Daum (2025)
Previews
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Reviews
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Reactions
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Ads
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Charts
US (PC Data)[1]
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| January 1999 | 1 |
| February 1999 | 3 |
| March 1999 | 7 |
| April 1999 | — |
| May 1999 | 8 |
UK (Chart Track/ELSPA)[2]
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| January 1999 | – |
| February 1999 | 1 |
| March 1999 | 4 |
| April 1999 | 6 |
| May 1999 | – |
| June 1999 | – |
| July 1999 | – |
| August 1999 | – |
UK (Virgin)[3]
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| January 1999 | – |
| February 1999 | 1 |
| March 1999 | 4 |
| April 1999 | 10 |
| May 1999 | – |
| June 1999 | – |
| July 1999 | 8 |
| August 1999 | – |
Australia[4]
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| February 1999 | – |
| March 1999 | 2 |
| April 1999 | 1 |
| May 1999 | 4 |
| June 1999 | 7 |
| July 1999 | 1 |
| August 1999 | – |
| September 1999 | – |
| October 1999 | – |
| November 1999 | 7 |
| December 1999 | (chart no longer printed) |
Awards
- 1999 GDC Spotlight Awards: Best Adventure Game/RPG
Dreamcast (cancelled)
A Sega Dreamcast version was announced, planned for release in May 2000. Sega themselves were handling porting duties, and online multiplayer was supported. It was cancelled around August 2000.
According to user pcwzrd13 on the dreamcast-talk.com forums, the state of the game at cancellation was described by a developer as: "It was rendering at a good frame rate but no ai or gameplay. Also the controls weren’t remotely figured out."[5]
No prototype has surfaced.
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PlayStation (cancelled)
Though never officially announced, a PS1 version was in development. Interplay chose Runecraft, based in Yorkshire, UK, to develop the port.
An incomplete but fully playable build, dated 4th October 2000, was released by Hidden Palace in 2009.
- Baldur's Gate (Oct 4, 2000 prototype) — Hidden Palace
- Announcement of the prototype release — Hidden Palace
- Discussion of the release on the Lost Levels forums
- Footage of the PS1 version — uploaded by PtoPOnline
- Discussion on NeoGAF forums, 2009
- Discussion on Resetera forums, 2019
References
- ↑ Charts by PC Data (Reston, Virginia) from Computer Gaming World and Computer Games Strategy Plus. Positions lower than 10 not listed.
- ↑ Chart Track/ELSPA Top 10 from PC Zone. Positions lower than 10 not listed.
- ↑ Virgin Megastore Top 10 from PC Zone. Positions lower than 10 not listed.
- ↑ Hitech World PC Top 10 from Hyper. Positions lower than 10 not listed. Months listed are the cover dates of the magazine that carried the chart.
- ↑ https://www.dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15595
