We’re talking about Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition (2012) this month. Although originally released in 1998, the Enhanced Edition is now the main entry-point to the game and its series for current audiences.

Let’s talk about its success — and failures — in trying to capture tabletop RPG mechanics, its location-based narrative structure, and its major influence on user interface design. Let’s compare how it, and Fallout (1997), have defined how role-playing games should look and feel like, examining how echoes of its design can be seen in everything from Pillars of Eternity (2015) to The Outer Worlds (2019).

Thursday at 8:30 EDT / 7:30 CDT / 5:30 PDT.