Skyrim Designer Bruce Nesmith Found a Different Kind of Agency in Baldur’s Gate 3
He praised Baldur's Gate 3's consequential choices while defending Skyrim's open guild access, with Morrowind offering a narrower faction lockout.
Bruce Nesmith says Baldur’s Gate 3 showed him that decisions can close off gameplay without making an RPG less enjoyable, even though he still supports Skyrim’s more open approach. The former Skyrim lead designer came to appreciate how the consequences in Larian’s game gave some choices more weight.
Speaking on The Examined Game, Nesmith contrasted those decisions with Bethesda’s approach of letting a character take part in the Thieves’, Fighters’, and Mages’ Guilds. He liked that seeing different outcomes in Baldur’s Gate 3 could mean using another character and taking a different path.
Morrowind offers a narrower example of faction restrictions. A character can join only one of the game’s three Great Houses, closing off the other houses’ questlines. Baldur’s Gate 3 applies consequences across a broader set of story choices, where another character and a different route can reveal outcomes unavailable in the first playthrough.
Nesmith has previously tied Skyrim’s staying power to player agency, rather than the open-world label alone. His reaction to Baldur’s Gate 3 adds another dimension to that view: a game can preserve broad access to its activities or make some choices costly, and both approaches can be enjoyable.
As Nesmith put it, “They were both fun, they’re just fun in different ways.”
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Baldur's Gate III
Developed by Larian Studios
An ancient evil has returned to Baldur's Gate, intent on devouring it from the inside out. The fate of Faerun lies in your hands. Alone, you may resist. But together, you can overcome.
- Genre Role-playing (RPG), Strategy, Turn-based strategy (TBS)
- Platforms Google Stadia, Xbox Series X|S, Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Mac
- Perspective Bird view / Isometric
- Modes Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative, Split screen
- Release August 3, 2023
- Publisher Larian Studios
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Age Rating
