CFM: I also believe it'll be great, but I too wish that this new BG3 game resembled, I don't know, perhaps BG1 and 2? Call me nuts.
Sarafan: It would be quite hard to do a game with the same atmosphere as BG1 and BG2. Especially considering the fact that these two games were in 2D and BG3 will be a game with 3D world. But I still think that Larian should've pursued a unique style for BG3.
Hello Sarafan. Thanks for your reply. Regarding the "hard to do a game with the same atmosphere" thought:
BG1, Planescape Torment, Icewind Dale, and BG2 are my all-time favorite games. I love how those games' engines were able to produce its particular style of atmosphere, tempo, gameplay, hand-drawn art, story-telling mechanics, look-and-feel, and so on.
The titles each have their own list of negatives. Planescape Torment, being developed creatively as story-over-combat (compared to BG), was a missed opportunity for better epic high-level combat imho. The unique story in PST really lent itself to this. Icewind Dale, being developed creatively as combat-over-story (compared to BG), was a missed opportunity for creating memorable NPCs, ala Minsc and Morte. Any game using this engine that doesn't have at least a minimal amount of joinable NPC's is a missed opportunity imho.
But even with these and other negatives, these titles were all part of a family of certain kind of game, with a certain kind of style, and a certain kind of generated atmosphere. The Sword Coast, Sigil, and The Ten Towns couldn't be more different locales. But each of their atmospheres shone through to be sure. The engines provided a certain ability to have its particular style of atmosphere, tempo, gameplay, hand-drawn art, story-telling mechanics, and look-and-feel, shine through in this certain kind of way. A very different way from a third-person/camera-over-the-shoulder/turned-based/spinning-camera -type of game.
I have
no doubt that Larian and BG3 will do the Latter Way very,
very well. I will buy and probably very much enjoy BG3. It is The D:OS1/2 Way, which would just keep improving with BG3.
But I love the BG1/IWD/PST/BG2 Former Way too. I just wish a new game using the title "BG3" was using "The Former Way".