Baldurs Gate I Tragedy

[Chronis]

The greeks believed tragedy to be one of the highest forms of art.

 

I was thinking the other day that BG especially BG I is a very happy story of overcoming hardship and achieving victory. There is little in the story that moves the player to feel regret, remorse or sadness or heartbreak.

 

I was toying with the idea of writing a tragedy mod for BGI

 

I think the story is perfectly set up for it

Imoen and the Protagonist seem almost destined for a relationship at the start of BGI. They don't know they are related, have been childhood friends for years, and are on a dangerous journey together where every day may be their last.

 

I should note that this would be nothing like the Imoen romance mod. For starters it would not end on a happy note. While I can easily envision Imoen and Charname falling into a relationship in BG I if Charname pursues her, I don't see Imoen as at all interested in continuing said relationship if she learns the truth.

 

Although I was not a big fan of the TV show it came from one of my favorite quotes is

 

"Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything, creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle, and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild. Because after disaster strikes, the important thing is that you move on. But if you're like me, you just keep chasing the storm."

 

What will Charname do once the happy relationship of innocence and ignorance comes to an very abrupt end? Will he pretend the relationship never happened, try to move on, or continue chasing the storm.

 

Your thoughts?

[Miloch]

The greeks believed tragedy to be one of the highest forms of art.

Something like Oedipus or Electra here? Sounds interesting...

[Kulyok]

But what about female players? They're not about to fall in love with Imoen... well, most of them, at least.

 

Kivan's unrequited love story in BG1 for us ladies would be lovely, but, for better or for worse, Domi allowed her Kivan to move on from the memory of Deheriana to the PC in BG2, and we know it, so.

 

Besides, again, neither Imoen nor any male(Kivan, Xan, Ajanits, Garrick, Eldoth) or female NPC is to _everyone's_ taste, so I am not sure building the mod on a relationship would help.

 

But if you are talking about an Imoen BG1 Relationship mod, as opposed to a BG1 Tragedy Mod, well, it's your call.

[Gabrielle]

How tragic.

[Guest Guest]

But what about female players? They're not about to fall in love with Imoen... well, most of them, at least.

 

I am thinking of making the mod two parts. The first would just be expanded dialog for Imoen which would be available to both genders. Right now the dialog for Imoen in the BGI NPC project is really good, but it tapers off quickly about a third of the way through the game leaving one wanting more.

 

The romance option would only be available to to a male PCs who aggressively and consistantly pursues it. I don't like mods that force their content on the player. If the character pursues Imoen it will lead to a quest or two and a transiently happy PG13 romance.

 

What interests me, however, is what happens when everything starts to go wrong. Charname will find out first. Does he try to keep the truth from Imoen?

When imoen finds out the relationship will end at this point.

However, like in any good tragedy the unfortunate repercussions will far exceed the magnitude of error, and there will be opportunities for things to go from bad to worse.

 

As I think about this, I think it could be really good or if not done right could be laughably bad.

[Sorrow]

I like your idea .

 

An option of forcing Imoen to stay faithful when she learns about that they are siblings would be nice. Or an option of beheading her for lack of loyalty would be nice too .

[muffin-tacos]

As I think about this, I think it could be really good or if not done right could be laughably bad.

 

I agree with you there. And I think that this is a really good (if it is done properly) and interesting idea. I especially like the idea of Charname keeping the truth from Imoen. But I think the player should be able to have an option to tell Imoen the truth too, so you can choose which path you want to take. Both will, of course, since this is supposed to be a tragedy mod, end in a tragic way... but maybe one path is slightly less tragic than the other? It will mean more work, but if it's done properly I think it could be the highlight of the game.

 

Just a thought, mind you.