Baldur’s Gate 3 narrator “can't wait” for people to discover D&D thanks to video game
Expects to see more D&D web series.
Amelia Tyler, the actor behind the role of narrator in Baldur’s Gate 3, believes that more people will play Dungeons & Dragons 5E as a result of the success of the video game.
Released out of early access earlier this month, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the long-awaited sequel to the video game series originally developed by Bioware – a studio that’s otherwise known for creating Mass Effect – in the late 1990s. Though not officially part of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, Baldur’s Gate 3 uses a gameplay system that’s heavily based on D&D 5E, as well as being taking place within the Forgotten Realms setting that originates from the tabletop roleplaying game.
Developed and published by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a roleplaying video game that sees players either create their own character or play as one of the available pre-built characters, with options to choose between different playable species and classes from D&D 5E. During the game, players are able to explore a world with a party of other characters, interacting with non-player characters, getting into combat with enemies and overcoming various challenges by testing their ability scores and skills. To date, Baldur’s Gate 3 has sold around 2.5 million copies – reportedly surpassing the studio’s initial expectations.
Amelia Tyler plays the role of the narrator in the D&D-inspired video game, describing what is happening to the player. In an interview with Dicebreaker, Tyler expressed their excitement around the potential for Baldur’s Gate 3 to encourage more people to play Dungeons & Dragons 5E.
“I can’t wait to see how many more web shows and home games happen because of BG3,” said Tyler, “I can’t wait to hear the stories about people discovering this awesome new hobby they had no idea about.”
Besides its current popularity, Tyler believes that a big reason as to why Baldur’s Gate 3 may lead to more people trying the fantasy TRPG is how the video game might make D&D more accessible to newcomers. Tyler commented that: “what BG3 does that I’ve not seen done by anything or anyone in quite the same way is making character creation more intuitive and simpler.”
“I find that side of things very intimidating, but in BG3 I see my character evolving in a very intuitive and instinctual way,” explained Tyler, “I think the kind of people who have similar fears to me when I started roleplaying […] this is a really great way of experimenting before you go into an actual D&D campaign.”
“Helping with that learning curve is only going to draw more people in and make them thirsty to make a Dungeons & Dragons campaign happen.”