The fantasy role-playing game Baldur's Gate 3 from Larian Studios is full of touching quests, but one of the most heart-warming stories included in the release version was not planned by the studio's writers.
Image source: Steam (tchuo)
In the fall of 2020, player Solfalia from the Larian forum thanked the studio for releasing Baldur's Gate 3 in early access: it allowed him to “go on one last journey” with his father, who had previously been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
“Dad got me interested in games at an early age.. We played Baldur's Gate 2 together for hours on end, and then looked forward to BG3 so we could go back to that time and go on a new adventure,” Solfalia wrote in 2020.
Image source: Larian Studios
The appeal did not go unnoticed by Larian. Staff writer Rachel Quirke recently admitted that “everyone on the team was wide-eyed when we read that letter.”
As it turned out, a certain Larian screenwriter approached Solfalia with a proposal to honor his father in the game itself. The reference took the form of former mind flayer hunter Galbraith, who can be found in Baldur's Gate.
Quirke volunteered to write the lines for Galbraith (image source: Orvandor in X)
Solfalia was delighted with the Easter egg: “Galbraith not only looks like my dad, but also has several lines, including very touching ones (for me, at least). I won’t lie, my gaze was clouded.”
A parent suffering from Alzheimer's disease can no longer play Baldur's Gate 3 on his own – he is in a specialized boarding house – and listened to his son's story about Galbraith “with childish delight on his face.”
Image source: Steam (vaulus)
“I’m very glad that we got to salute the mighty mind flayer hunter,” Quirk wrote. Credit for the idea of making Solfalia's father in Baldur's Gate 3 a retired braineater killer goes to an unknown screenwriter at Larian.
Baldur's Gate 3 is out on PC and macOS on Steam and GOG, as well as on PS5, Xbox Series X and S. As part of the Steam Awards 2023 (The 2023 Steam Awards), the project earned “Game of the Year” and an award for best story.