Baldur’s Gate 3 has become one of the most popular role-playing games of all time, but it’s also one of the many titles in the genre that stand on the shoulders of giants. Some of its greatest strengths come from the previous Baldur’s Gate games or the Divinity: Original Sin titles by BG3 developer Larian Studios, but its roots ultimately go much deeper. The reactivity and depth of Baldur’s Gate 3‘s world are some of its strongest elements, and the game that first took those ideas to the next level came out over three decades ago.
Swen Vincke, founder and head of Larian Studios, credits the classic RPG series Ultima as having a profound impact on what he thought was possible in the genre. In particular, Ultima 7 had an incredible influence on a vast majority of modern RPGs, and it was a clear turning point that redefined the genre, giving players a sense that their choices truly impacted the world.
BG3’s World Of Seemingly Endless Possibilities Wouldn’t Exist Without Ultima 7
The Finer Details Are What Set BG3 & Ultima 7 Apart
In a 2020 interview with PC Gamer, Vincke cites Ultima 7 as a benchmark for Baldur’s Gate 3‘s reactive characters and world, particularly in making it feel that “anything is possible.” BG3 is far from the only RPG influenced by the Ultima classic, and you’ve likely experienced its reach in franchises as renowned as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Final Fantasy series, and plenty more. Baldur’s Gate 3 owes its success to Vincke’s mission to give players the same sense of wonder and possibility that he felt while playing Ultima 7.
The concept of your choices making a real impact on the world as you explore it seems ubiquitous nowadays, but that hasn’t always been the case. Worlds such as those experienced in Baldur’s Gate 3 take this idea to the extreme, while others implement it in more subtle ways. Ultima 7 meaningfully took player agency into account, and Vincke was captivated by the non-linear world where “you had to interrogate characters to know what you needed to do” and “had a party that reacted to what you were doing.”
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While many games have attempted to recreate the level of immersion that Ultima 7 was able to accomplish, it clearly isn’t easy to integrate these features into RPGs, even by modern standards. Vincke describes exactly what it was about Ultima 7 that he wanted to capture in Baldur’s Gate 3, and that he intends to perfect in Larian’s next major project that has been in the works:
“The interactivity of the environment, using it to solve puzzles, how it all blended with the illusion of walking around in a world. It’s something that didn’t go forward. If you take Baldur’s Gate, it had lots of dialogue reactivity, but the world was very static.”
Simply put, Ultima 7 was way ahead of its time, featuring RPG mechanics that set a new standard for what was possible with such limited technology. Baldur’s Gate 3’s world of seemingly endless possibilities would not be what it is without Ultima 7 paving the way so many years ago. “Players should always be rewarded for their exploration: it’s a lesson that we teach our designers today,” says Vincke, who even encourages his team to play Ultima 7 to understand exactly what it is that he aspires to.
Ultima 7 Is An Inspiration To Many Modern RPGs Aside From Baldur’s Gate
Baldur’s Gate 3 Is Far From The Only RPG Inspired By The Ultima Series
The deeper influence of Ultima 7 is even more widespread, inspiring many of the modern mechanics that make the genre so attractive and successful. You can see its impact anywhere from Skyrim to Fallout to Assassin’s Creed, though arguably there haven’t been any modern RPGs that even come close to the immersive aspects of Baldur’s Gate 3. Causality is a huge part of what sets Ultima 7 and BG3 apart, particularly in how a player’s choices alter or impact other party members and NPCs, and ultimately affect the outcome of the story itself.
Todd Howard, the mind behind modern epic RPG franchises such as Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, described the impact Ultima had on him in an interview with Game Informer.
The sense that your actions and choices truly matter is what takes the concept of role-playing games to the next level, connecting the game world meaningfully with the player and their emotions. The illusion of choice is not really a choice, but games like Baldur’s Gate 3 dispel any illusions by creating various possible outcomes, character reactions, environmental effects, etc., that are dependent on your decisions. BG3 has the additional benefit of a D&D-based universe that is built on immersive roleplay and honoring players’ intentions and desires.
Ultima 7 Wasn’t Flawless, But It’s The Rosetta Stone For Modern RPGs
Ultima 7 Was Far From Perfect, But Its Impact Is Undeniable
Even Swen Vincke admits that Ultima 7 was not a perfect game, and I don’t want to give the impression I’m seeing this game through rose-colored glasses. Ultima 7 had an infamously terrible combat system, among other issues that were largely a result of limited technology or ideas that simply didn’t work on a practical level. These faults are excusable and understandable given the time Ultima 7 was created, and it’s easy to point out its flaws when comparing it to modern games that have the benefit of history to learn from.
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No matter your thoughts or feelings on Ultima 7, its overall impact on the industry is undeniable. If you never got the chance to play Ultima 7 and are interested to see how it influenced Baldur’s Gate 3 and modern roleplaying games in general, you can actually purchase it on GOG or the EA App to play it on a modern PC. It’s a nostalgia trip for sure, but playing through even just a few minutes is pretty enlightening, and it might give you a new appreciation for Baldur’s Gate 3‘s world of seemingly endless possibilities.
Source: PC Gamer, Game Informer
- Released
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August 3, 2023
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
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Larian Studios
- Engine
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Divinity 4.0
- Multiplayer
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Local Multiplayer
