Those aren’t criticisms of Larian or Baldur’s Gate 3. They are opinions that creating games at a certain scale isn’t something developers can just replicate at will. Just like Rockstar games aren’t something any studio can’t just go out and put together.

It’s like how someone would argue that not all books/novels need to be as long and complex as the Song of Ice and Fire series. Not all books need to be like those books, just like not all games need to be like BG3 (or GTA or RDR to use the other comparison).

Except my point has very little to do with complexity or how long it is. I rather a game be short than waste your fucking time, we don’t need 200+ hour games. It is one of those things I hate about modern gaming where if a game is less than 20 hours of enjoyment it is worthless to many. I want quality yet many AAA studios don’t pump out the best stuff. Halo infinite ended up as a trash fire that didn’t respect its players and has basically been put down because of pointless money grubbing. Every Ubisoft game follows the very same formula make a large empty world where you clear towers.

We as gamers should strive for games like BG3 because they were quality works that were made for the enjoyment of the player. They aren’t meant to fuck with you and hand over your wallet. Hell one of the biggest games this summer was a fucking roblox Battlefield game. People just want to play a good game that isn’t trying to always nickle and dime them. Its a plus when there is complexity but its not a requirement for it to work.

Edit: Larian is a studio that has basically been the poster child for “crowdfunding” and I personally am fine with that. This can be what happens when we support studios with an idea. There will be a ton of failure but crowdfunding has brought many top tier indie games especially in genres thought dead in modern gaming (FTL, Divinity Original sin, Shovel Knight, Wasteland 2, Superhot, Yooka-Laylee, Night in the Woods, A Hat in Time, Elite Dangerous, Ready or Not, etc.)