Baldur’s Gate 3has proven to be one of the most successful RPGs of the last decade with nearly a million concurrent players on Steam and a heaping pile of favorable reviews. One of the reasons the game has seen so much success is the sheer freedom of choice that players have when adventuring through Faerun. There are countless narrative permutations depending on how players interact with characters they encounter inBaldur’s Gate 3, and these can have lasting repercussions much later in the plot.
As a consequence,Baldur’s Gate 3’s talented actors were tasked with recording an unthinkable amount of dialogue to account for each of these possibilities. In an interview with Game Rant,Orin the Red actress Maggie Robertsonweighed in on the challenges involved in playing a character that has to have dialogue that responds to myriad player choices, while consistently staying true to the character’s core personality.
Minor Spoilers for Baldur’s Gate 3 ahead.
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Players have unprecedented freedom when it comes toBaldur’s Gate 3’s narrative choicesand the possibilities that arise from each decision. Relationships can take different directions, most characters can be outright murdered, and alliances can be formed and subsequently broken. This even extends to antagonists like Orin the Red. Although she is one of the game’s primary villains, there are still a great number of approaches to take when dealing with her, and Robertson had to record many similar lines that vary slightly based on the player’s actions.
This game is unique because it’s just such a behemoth. It is a massive undertaking. There are so many different lines of narrative that could take place because it’s based on player choices. At one time, Larian showed me the spreadsheet of how it all could play out. Every choice the player could make immediately branches into tens of different possibilities of what could happen next. I can’t believe the fact that they were able to keep track of all of that. It blows my mind to this day.
What that meant for us when we were recording and working as an actor was that you’re doing the same line, sometimes over and over again, but with these minute tweaks that are dependent upon what the player could possibly choose.
At certain points in the game, Orin has interactions that depend onwhichBaldur’s Gate 3party membersare available to the player and which relationships the player has formed. Players can even choose to ally with Orin, and this alliance comes with its own subsequent permutations. Because of this, one of the biggest challenges for Robertson was recording lines that vary subtly in tone and delivery in order to reflect the state of the game, even if these lines only differ by a few words.
Baldur’s Gate 3 Actors Didn’t Have the Full Picture
Another challenge forBaldur’s Gate 3’s talentwas the fact that they weren’t privy to the full scope of the game’s narrative. This is common among actors across various media, where they might know their own lines, but they aren’t actually given the entire picture when it comes to the plot and the context for those lines. There was a great deal of trust between Robertson and Larian Studios, who directed her on how to approach the character and her delivery.
I only have the smallest microscopic picture, whereas the dev team has the big picture. They know how everything needs to interact and flow within the larger context of the game. So there is a high level of trust that needs to be in place because I rely on them to help guide me to make the choices that are going to serve the story the best.
I always feel that, for me, you can’t be precious about your work. I might come in with one idea and one preconceived notion about this character, and then they might tell me something on the day that has to completely change that preconceived notion that I had. I just have to fully be willing to say, “Okay, we’re going to scrap that, we’re going to go way over here and see what works over here and if that’s slightly better.”
The result quite literally speaks for itself, as each ofBaldur’s Gate 3’s characters shows an amazing amount of depth and responsiveness during conversations. Not only do choices matter in terms of gameplay and plot, but they deeply affect players' interactions with everyone around them in a way that drives home the importance of each seemingly minor conversation choice. Undoubtedly,Baldur’s Gate 3’s massive successhas a lot to do with the hard work of the game’s various and dedicated performers like Robertson.
Baldur’s Gate 3is available now on PC, with a PS5 version releasing on September 6.
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