I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but Baldur's Gate is a clear example of where a huge shift in gaming preference is staring us right in the face. Players roll dice when told, and they roll them once, and it's always the identical dice. Take away the little bonus and penalty points, and that's it; all the other dice are implied, and all the game mechanics are represented, but it's primarily automated because players don't need all the distractions when teleporting phase spiders are trying to eat their faces. Baldur's Gate is either catering to, training, or pioneering (depending on your point of view) a new rules-light, narrative-heavy style of roleplaying. Light, do you see the Light? Sometimes, we need new editions not because the game changed... but because we changed, and the game needs to catch up or get left behind. Currently, it seems like everyone is a bit overloaded with game mechanics. These are relics of wargaming we don't need because the concepts are all mainstream tropes now; I don't have to explain what every little thing is; players get it; they play fantasy games or read books or watch movies and series; they don't need the training wheels, so, Baldur's Gate took those training wheels off, they taught me a lesson on how to do it smoothly and without ruffling any feathers. It's not about politics or change for no good reason; it's just about adaptation and evolution in a living, hobby space. So thank you, Larian Studios, for your excellent game and for keeping Dungeons and Dragons alive.
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