Baldur's Gate
Encyclopedia
Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) developed by BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...

 and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment
Interplay Entertainment Corporation is an American video game developer and publisher, founded in 1983 as Interplay Productions by Brian Fargo. The company had been a quality developer until they started publishing their own games in 1988, like Neuromancer and Battle Chess. The company was renamed...

. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

, a high fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...

 campaign setting
Dungeons & Dragons campaign settings
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons rules means that Dungeon Masters are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast , and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based...

, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

(AD&D) 2nd edition
Editions of Dungeons & Dragons
Several different editions of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game have been produced since 1974. The current publisher of Dungeons & Dragons , Wizards of the Coast, produces new materials only for the most current edition of the game...

 rules. The game received critical praise, and was credited (along with Diablo
Diablo (video game)
Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996....

) with revitalizing the CRPG genre.

The story follows the journey of the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...

 (PC) along the Sword Coast, which lies on the west coast of the continent Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...

, as he or she grows up following the cataclysmic Time of Troubles
Time of Troubles (Forgotten Realms)
The Time of Troubles, also known as the Arrival, Godswar, and Avatar Crisis, is a fictional time period in the chronology of the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role playing game...

. Character development occurs through dialogue and battle. The game rewards the PC according to his or her moral choices.

Baldur's Gate uses the Infinity Engine
Infinity Engine
Infinity Engine is a game engine which allows the creation of isometric computer role-playing games. It was originally developed by BioWare for a prototype RTS game codenamed Battleground Infinity, which was ultimately re-engineered to become the first installment of the Baldur's Gate series...

, which was developed by BioWare. The same engine was later used in games such as Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...

, the Icewind Dale series, the Baldur's Gate expansion pack Tales of the Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast is a computer role-playing game in a high fantasy setting, developed by BioWare and published by Interplay in April 1999. Released as an expansion pack for Baldur's Gate from 1998, it adds about 20–30 hours of extra gameplay to the original game...

, the sequel Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released on September 26, 2000. The game is the sequel to Baldur's Gate, and, opening only a few months after the events of the earlier game, continues the story of the player character, whose unique heritage...

, and the sequel's expansion pack Throne of Bhaal
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is the expansion pack for the computer role-playing game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and is the final chapter in the Baldur's Gate series. It adds a multi-level dungeon called Watcher's Keep to the game and completes the main plot...

. The Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series took its name from Baldur's Gate, but the storyline is unrelated and the games have little in common beyond the setting.

Gameplay

The game was programmed within the licensed fictional world of the Forgotten Realms
Forgotten Realms
The Forgotten Realms is a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Commonly referred to by players and game designers alike as "The Realms", it was created by game designer Ed Greenwood around 1967 as a setting for his childhood stories...

setting, using the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition role-playing rules, though various elements from the ruleset were modified to allow the game to be executed with pausable realtime. Each character is in constant action, while the game can be paused at any time.

During the game, past and present events are related to the player through dialogue, written text, journal entries, or cut scenes. Dialogue is initiated when the player clicks on computer controlled characters. This generates written and sometimes spoken dialogue with selectable responses. Such interactions can lead to quests or missions.

The game is separated into seven chapters interspersed with segments of spoken dialogue. Free exploration of the world map is allowed in every chapter, though some areas are not unlocked until the player's character (PC) advances to a certain point in the game. The PC begins as a weak character, poorly equipped and without allies. As the game progresses, the player discovers new and more powerful equipment and magic, and can recruit a party of up to six characters, including the PC. Experience points are gained through completing quests and killing monsters, which can be spent to improve the abilities of the main character and other party members.

The flow of time during the game is expressed by changes in lighting and the opening and closing of most shops, with an increased likelihood of combat encounters during the night. Taverns are open during the night, but there are no changes in the presence of customers or the barkeeper to reflect the flow of time. The troupe of characters controlled by the player will become fatigued after traveling for a full day, which requires rest to recover.

Setting

The western shore of Faerûn
Faerûn
Faerûn is a fictional subcontinent, the primary setting of the Dungeons & Dragons world of Forgotten Realms. It is described at a relatively high level in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting from Wizards of the Coast, and various locales and aspects are described in more detail by separate...

 along the Sea of Swords
Sea of Swords (sea)
The Sea of Swords is a body of water in the Forgotten Realms fantasy world, located off the Sword Coast in the northwestern part of Faerûn. The Moonshae Isles forms the sea's western boundary while the Nelanther Isles and the Tethyr Peninsula defines its southern extent...

 contains a multitude of ecologies and terrains, including mountains, forests, swamps, marshes, plains, cities, and ruins. Collectively called the Sword Coast, it attracts adventurers with both good and evil intentions, and provides the backdrop for the game's adventure. The region encompassed by the game is roughly bordered to the South by the Cloud Peaks, the East by the Wood of Sharp Teeth, the West by the Sea of Swords, and the North by Baldur's Gate
Baldur's Gate (city)
Baldur's Gate is a fictional city in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It is a coastal city on the north bank of the river Chiontar, located in the Western Heartlands region of Faerûn...

, which is the largest and most affluent city in the region. The characters travel the countryside, exploring the various areas such as towns, dungeons, mines, forests, castle ruins, and Baldur's Gate itself. The main story involves the characters investigating a conspiracy, confronting the clandestine plots of organizations like the Zhentarim
Zhentarim
The Zhentarim is a fictional organization in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Also known as the Black Network, it is an evil organization based on the continent of Faerûn. One of its goals is to dominate the lands from the Moonsea to the...

, the Red Wizards of Thay, The Iron Throne, the Flaming Fist
Flaming Fist
The Flaming Fist is the largest and most powerful mercenary company of the fictional world known as the Forgotten Realms, in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.-Description:...

, The Chill, The Black Talons, and the Harpers, and finding out the main character's own ancestry and history.

Characters

Baldur's Gate includes several canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...

 characters from the official Forgotten Realms campaign setting, such as Cadderly Bonaduce, Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden
Drizzt Do'Urden is a fictional character in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Drizzt was created by author R. A. Salvatore as a supporting character in the Icewind Dale Trilogy. Salvatore created him on a whim when his publisher needed to...

, Volothamp Geddarm, and Elminster.

Story

The PC and his or her friend Imoen have grown up together since childhood under the tutelage of their guardian, the mage Gorion. As orphans, they were raised in Candlekeep, an ancient fortress-turned-library in the rural Sword Coast region, which lies south of the city of Baldur's Gate. However, strange things are afoot on the Sword Coast: iron production has virtually halted, metal already produced quickly crumbles, and bandits scour the countryside seeking iron over any other treasure. Strangest of all, there are mercenaries with designs on the main character's life, even inside the secure walls of Candlekeep. Gorion knows what is going on, but will not tell the PC, and instead decides to leave Candlekeep and journey with the PC to a hiding place. However, the night after leaving Candlekeep, the pair are ambushed by a group of bandits led by a mysterious armored figure. When Gorion refuses to hand over the PC, he is attacked by the bandits; Gorion defeats them but dies in doing so. The PC soon runs into Imoen, who had been following in secret after reading a note about the journey on Gorion's desk. She too saw Gorion's murder, and now insists on accompanying the character.

The nearest cities are closed to the player: Candlekeep demands a unique, valuable book as its admission fee, and the city of Baldur's Gate is closed off to outsiders for fear of the bandit hordes. Seeking safety, the PC teams up with other adventurers, and soon he or she sets out to find the cause of the iron shortage by traveling to the source of the iron, the mines of Nashkel. In doing so, the player begins to unearth a deeper conspiracy. Kobolds
Kobold (Dungeons & Dragons)
Kobolds are a fictional species featured in the Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game. Aggressive, xenophobic, yet industrious small humanoid creatures, kobolds are noted for their skill at building traps and preparing ambushes...

 have been contaminating the iron in the Nashkel mine, and documents found there connect the operation with the iron-hunting bandits, and ultimately lead the main character to the secret campsite of the bandits. They appear to be mobilized mercenary companies
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 employed by the Iron Throne, a mysterious organization which is aggressively expanding its influence. The Iron Throne intends to gain control of the Sword Coast by diverting the iron supply to its own armies exclusively, and stockpiling all plundered iron at the only working iron mine in the region, deep in the Cloakwood forest. As the main character sabotages the mercenary installation in the Cloakwood mines, the pressure on Baldur's Gate is relieved enough for the city to be re-opened to outsiders, and the PC can confront the local Iron Throne leaders at their headquarters.

In Baldur's Gate, the PC is enrolled by the Flaming Fist
Flaming Fist
The Flaming Fist is the largest and most powerful mercenary company of the fictional world known as the Forgotten Realms, in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.-Description:...

 city guard to investigate the Iron Throne, but after no damning evidence is found, the PC returns to Candlekeep to spy on a meeting of the Iron Throne leaders. Much has changed in Candlekeep since the PC left, and it is soon revealed that the fortress has at least partially been taken over by Doppelgängers
Doppelgänger (Dungeons & Dragons)
In the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, Doppelgangers are monstrous humanoids, identified primarily by their ability to change their shape and appearance to mimic almost any humanoid creature...

. The PC also encounters a mysterious man named Koveras. Soon after leaving the company of Koveras, the PC is charged (rightfully or falsely, depending on the player's choices) with the murder of the Iron Throne leaders. The only route of escape is through the catacombs below the monastery. The PC manages to escape the catacombs, and returns to Baldur's Gate. But things only get worse, as the PC is framed for the murder of a Flaming Fist officer and must stay hidden while working to uncover the truth, finally uncovering a grand scheme masterminded by the original armored figure, Sarevok.

Seeking to confront Sarevok, the characters find out that he is actually half-brother to the main character, both of whom are children of the dead Lord of Murder, Bhaal
Bhaal
Bhaal, Lord of Murder, is a deity of the fictional Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting.-Publication history:Ed Greenwood created Bhaal for his home Dungeons & Dragons game, set in the Forgotten Realms....

. The main character's Bhaalspawn
Bhaalspawn
In the fictional universe of Forgotten Realms, Bhaalspawn is a name given to all children of the fictitious Bhaal, Lord of Murder, who foresaw his own death during the Time of Troubles and fathered children who could one day be sacrificed for his return....

 ancestry explains much about their past, and raises questions about their future. Sarevok's plans turn out be much more sinister, as the Iron Throne is just a façade for his real intentions. Through manipulation of politics and resources, Sarevok plans to start a war of sacrifice between Baldur's Gate and the kingdom of Amn to the south, causing enough carnage to become the new Lord of Murder. In the end the PC defeats his brother Sarevok and sends his tainted soul back to Bhaal.

Development

Baldur's Gate was developed by the Canadian game developer BioWare, a company founded by a pair of practicing physicians, Dr. Ray Muzyka
Ray Muzyka
Dr. Ray Muzyka is a Canadian entrepreneur. He is the CEO at BioWare Corp as well as a Senior Vice President and Group General Manager of the BioWare RPG/MMO Group of Electronic Arts at BioWare's parent company Electronic Arts.-Career:Muzyka co-founded BioWare in...

 and Dr. Greg Zeschuk
Greg Zeschuk
Dr. Gregory P. Zeschuk is a VP and Group Creative Officer at BioWare Corp. and Electronic Arts. He co-founded BioWare in 1995 with BioWare’s other co-founder and Group GM/CEO, Dr...

. The game required ninety man-years of development, which was spent simultaneously creating the game's content and the BioWare Infinity Engine. The primary script engine for the game's AI was Lua.

At the time that the game was first shipped, none of the sixty member team had previously participated in the release of a video game. The time pressure to complete the game led to the use of simple areas and game design. Ray Muzyka said the team held a "passion and a love of the art," and they developed a "collaborative design spirit." He believes that the game was successful because of a collaboration with Interplay.

The game was published by Black Isle Studios, an internal division of Interplay.

Reception

Baldur's Gate received positive reviews from virtually every major computer gaming publication that reviewed it. At the time of the game's release, PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...

 US
said "[Baldur's Gate] reigns supreme over every RPG currently available, and sets new standards for those to come".

The Maximum PC
Maximum PC
Maximum PC, formerly known as boot, is an American magazine and web site published by Future US. It focuses on cutting-edge PC hardware, with an emphasis on product reviews, step-by-step tutorials, and in-depth technical briefs...

magazine game review compared the gameplay to Diablo
Diablo (video game)
Diablo is a dark fantasy-themed action role-playing game developed by Blizzard North and released by Blizzard Entertainment on December 31, 1996....

, but with a more extensive selection of features and options. The pixel-based characters were panned, but the reviewer stated that, "the gloriously rendered backgrounds make up for that shortcoming." The main criticism was of the problems with the path finding algorithm
Algorithm
In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

 for non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...

s. Despite this, the game was deemed an "instant classic" because of the amount of customization allowed, the "fluid story lines", and the replayability.

Baldur's Gate did much to revive the computer role-playing game (CRPG) genre, which was struggling at the time. Baldur's Gate was notably successful in using AD&D 2nd edition rules in a video game.

The game was a financial success, selling over two million copies worldwide. This success lead to an expansion pack, a sequel, and a separate spin-off series. It also set the standard for many other games, in particular those using AD&D rules, especially those developed by BioWare and Black Isle Studios: Planescape: Torment (1999), Icewind Dale (2000), Icewind Dale II (2002), Neverwinter Nights (2002), and Dragon Age: Origins (2009).

Legacy

Baldur's Gate was the first game in the Baldur's Gate series
Baldur's Gate series
Baldur's Gate is a franchise of action role-playing games released under the Dungeons & Dragons Video Game Licenses. It is set in the fictional campaign setting of Forgotten Realms and takes place in its fictional continent of Faerûn. It takes place mostly in the Western Heartlands, but has also...

, which spawned three more software titles before the series ended. It was immediately followed by the expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...

 Tales of the Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast
Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast is a computer role-playing game in a high fantasy setting, developed by BioWare and published by Interplay in April 1999. Released as an expansion pack for Baldur's Gate from 1998, it adds about 20–30 hours of extra gameplay to the original game...

(1999), then the sequel Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a computer role-playing game developed by BioWare and released on September 26, 2000. The game is the sequel to Baldur's Gate, and, opening only a few months after the events of the earlier game, continues the story of the player character, whose unique heritage...

(2000) and its expansion pack Throne of Bhaal
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal
Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal is the expansion pack for the computer role-playing game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and is the final chapter in the Baldur's Gate series. It adds a multi-level dungeon called Watcher's Keep to the game and completes the main plot...

(2001). As of 2006, total sales for all releases in the series was almost five million copies. The series set the standard for other games using AD&D rules, especially those developed by BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...

 and Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios
Black Isle Studios was a division of the computer and video game developer and publisher Interplay Entertainment. Black Isle Studios was a division that developed computer role-playing games, and also published several games from other developers. It was based in Orange County, California, USA. The...

: Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...

(1999), Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale
Icewind Dale is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment. Released on June 30, 2000, it takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting, and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition...

(2000), and Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II
Icewind Dale II is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and published by Interplay Entertainment, released on August 27, 2002. Like its 2000 predecessor Icewind Dale, the game is set in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting in the Icewind Dale region...

(2002).

Baldur's Gate was re-released along with its expansion in 2000 as Baldur's Gate Double Pack, and again in 2002 as a three CD collection entitled Baldur's Gate: The Original Saga. In 2002, the game and its expansion were released along with Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter
Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter
Icewind Dale: Heart of Winter is an official expansion pack to the computer role-playing game Icewind Dale developed by Black Isle Studios. It introduced many changes and additions to the original game, and included an all-new campaign...

and Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment
Planescape: Torment is a computer role-playing game developed for Windows by Black Isle Studios and released on December 12, 1999 by Interplay Entertainment. It takes place in Planescape, an Advanced Dungeons & Dragons fantasy campaign setting...

as the Black Isle Compilation. In 2004, it was re-released once again, this time along with Icewind Dale II, in Part Two of the Black Isle's compilation. More recently, Atari
Atari
Atari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...

 published the Baldur's Gate 4 in 1 Boxset including Baldur's Gate, Baldur's Gate: Tales of the Sword Coast, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal on a combination of DVDs and CDs.

Baldur's Gate and its expansion were released digitally on Good Old Games on September 23rd, 2010.

External links

at BioWare
BioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...

  • Baldur's Gate at MobyGames
    MobyGames
    -Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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