Post

In thinking about the loss of BioWare, which is truly one of the greatest and most important game development studios ever to exist, it occurred to me that a lot of folks might not understand WHY their loss is so upsetting to so many of us. So here's a quick primer on the studio. (A thread.)

That hit was of course Baldur's Gate, which completely redefined the CRPG genre and established three things the developer would become known for: 1) Deep, detailed world-building with lots of sidequests and conditional events 2) Strong interactions with memorable characters 3) A multiplayer mode

If there was any question Baldur's Gate was a fluke, BioWare cemented its status with Baldur's Gate II, which was not only a superior game but one that also rewarded players who carried over their characters (a common feature in CRPGs) with a deeper, more personal story. It's still fantastic today!

BioWare's other 2002 game was MDK2, which they inherited from Shiny. While it's not as unique as the original, it's still a decent action game that showed that BioWare could do more than adapt D&D rulesets for RPG fans - an important quality for their later major action RPG sci-fi series.