D&D 5E Baldur's Gate 3 AMA

I took that as being the reason why it’s in the first person. I’m fine with that.

It’s the past tense part that I don’t like. It sounds like they want you to feel like you’re telling a story to someone after the events have occurred, which doesn’t really appeal to me at the moment. Makes it sound like you can’t fail.

First-Person Present Tense would make my eyes bleed.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

First-Person Present Tense would make my eyes bleed.
How so?

“I do this”
“I do that”
“I say this”
“I walk away”
“I threaten him with my sword”

Doesn’t seem so bad to me. That’s exactly the sort of language people often use at the gaming table.
 



Maybe you are hearing the narrative from the standpoint of an extraplaner being in one of the outer planes:

"Did I ever tell you the story of how I died?"

Incorrect-GOT-Quotes-1.jpg
 

How so?

“I do this”
“I do that”
“I say this”
“I walk away”
“I threaten him with my sword”

Doesn’t seem so bad to me. That’s exactly the sort of language people often use at the gaming table.

It's just not the way things are generally written. Past tense is so omnipresent that present tense sounds weird.
 



It's just not the way things are generally written. Past tense is so omnipresent that present tense sounds weird.
I’ve never played a game where the dialogue options were in the past tense like this. If I had, this wouldn’t seem so strange and off-putting to me.
 

I’ve never played a game where the dialogue options were in the past tense like this. If I had, this wouldn’t seem so strange and off-putting to me.

I'm thinking more from prose writing, not necessarily game writing. I suspect they're trying to make it feel literary.
 

Remove ads

Top