“Rediscovering RPG Essentials: Avowed Developers Reflect on the Hidden Gems in Baldur’s Gate 3”

If you happen to be like me, you likely feel an urge to explore and accomplish everything available in any RPG you are playing. For one Avowed developer, however, the key to a successful RPG is not solely the content you engage with, but rather the content you overlook instead.

In a conversation with Obsidian Entertainment lead director and senior designer, Berto Ritger, he expresses how significant the idea of missable content is to an RPG like Avowed. “I believe the essence of RPGs that makes them unique is missable content, to be honest, and it personalizes the experience to how you interact with the game,” he shares. This idea has been essential to the success and replay value of another RPG, Baldur’s Gate 3, since its launch.

For Ritger, the fact that different players can have vastly different playthroughs adds to a more individualized experience and fosters conversation. “If you chat with someone like, ‘Oh, I discovered this thing under the docks. There’s a little secret tucked away on the eastern side of the docks that you can uncover. And you can even climb to the top, where there are items waiting.’ But if you find that, and your friend doesn’t, they might have stumbled upon something else, sparking fascinating discussions about the game.”

With this philosophy in mind, Avowed has been crafted in a way that encourages every player to encounter diverse content. “We aim to capture your interest in elements that we want you to interact with,” Ritger explains. “The lighthouse is very prominent, and everyone is going to notice a tall structure and be inclined to climb it. Hence, we want to facilitate that experience too. You can do that, and you can leap into the ocean if you choose. So we attempt to guide your attention in that direction.”

While Avowed has drawn various comparisons to Baldur’s Gate 3 thus far, the team