Larian's first project was called The Lady, the Mage and the Knight, a game set in the world of The Dark Eye.[10] During that time they also developed The L.E.D. Wars, a strategy game that was developed within 5 months and published by Ionos in 1997.[11] As a result, The Lady, the Mage and the Knight soon evolved into a collaborative project between Larian Studios and Attic Entertainment Software, who release the previous The Dark Eye computer games (under the name Realms of Arkania). Due to various problems between the two development studios and its publisher, the project was abandoned in 1999.[12]
In 2002, Larian completed work on Divinity: Sword of Lies which was published under the name Divine Divinity by CDV.[13] In 2004, Beyond Divinity, the sequel to Divine Divinity, was published in two editions: the standard version by Ubisoft Entertainment GmbH[14] and the deluxe version by MediaMix Benelux which contained Divine Divinity, Beyond Divinity and a novella by Rhianna Pratchett called "Son of Chaos".[15]
Also in 2004, KetnetKick, an educational game, was developed for Ketnet and released by Transposia.[16] In 2006, Beyond Divinity was re-released under Gold Games 9 by Ubisoft Entertainment which was a set of 10 games on 6 DVDs.[17]
In March 2008, Adventure Rock,[18] an online virtual world, was completed and released. This was followed by the release of KetnetKick 2 in October 2008 by VRT, the public broadcaster in Flanders. In March 2009, GulliLand[19] was published by Jeunesse TV, a French national broadcasting channel. In January 2010, Larian released Divinity II: Ego Draconis - the sequel to Divine Divinity - to the U.S. market on Xbox 360 and Windows[20] simultaneously, after releases in Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Benelux. Larian has also produced Divinity II: Flames of Vengeance, and built a Gold Deluxe version that holds all Divinity II episodes, called Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga.
In August 2013 Larian released Divinity: Dragon Commander, a game mixing strategy and role-playing elements in the Divinity universe, before the events of Divine Divinity.[21] The game has received an overall positive reception and gained attention thanks to its novel approach to strategy.
Larian released Divinity: Original Sin, a turn-based role-playing game set between Dragon Commander and Divine Divinity, in June 2014 after several delays. The game was funded partly thanks to a Kickstarter campaign which pulled in $944,282, more than double its goal of $400,000.[22][23]Original Sin was originally budgeted at €3 million, twice the amount of cash Larian had on hand, but by the time the game released Larian spent a total of €4.5 million on it; according to Swen Vincke, Larian delayed tax payments and pulled resources from Dragon Commander's development in order to fully fund and complete Original Sin, and the company would have gone bankrupt if the game had not been a success.[24] Upon its release, Original Sin became the fastest-selling game in Larian's history.[25] An enhanced edition was launched on 27 October 2015, including all formerly published downloadable content and several improvements.
Divinity: Original Sin 2, a sequel to Divinity: Original Sin, was funded through Kickstarter as well, raising the necessary amount to create the game within hours, and reaching all of its stretch goals.[26] The game takes place 1200 years after the events in Divinity: Original Sin and retains many of the gameplay elements that were present in first Original Sin.[citation needed] The game was released into Steam Early Access on 15 September 2016, with its full Version 1.0 release taking place just under one year later on 14 September 2017.[27][28] An enhanced version featuring various improvements was released on 31 August 2018. At some point Tencent acquired a minority stake in the company.[29]
Larian Studios developed Baldur's Gate 3, a role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. It is the third main game in the Baldur's Gate series, itself based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing system. It released in early access format on PC and Mac through Steam and GOG on 6 October 2020,[30] with a full release on 3 August 2023.[31] The game received universal acclaim and won many awards, including several Game of the Year awards such as from The Game Awards[32] and the D.I.C.E. Awards.[33]
Following the release of Baldur's Gate 3, Larian began work on downloadable content for the title but canceled it. The studio considered making Baldur's Gate 4, but then decided to work on a new project not tied to Dungeons & Dragons or Divinity: Original Sin.[34][35]
Baldur's Gate is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting. The series has been divided into two sub-series, known as the Bhaalspawn Saga and the Dark Alliance, both taking place mostly within the Western Heartlands, but the Bhaalspawn Saga extends to Amn and Tethyr. The Dark Alliance series was released for consoles and was critically and commercially successful. The Bhaalspawn Saga was critically acclaimed for using pausable realtime gameplay, which is credited with revitalizing the computer role-playing game (CRPG) genre.
Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer. He worked for Interplay and Obsidian Entertainment before becoming a freelance designer and writer. He is best known for his work on role-playing video games such as Planescape: Torment, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords and the Fallout series.
Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Interplay Entertainment. It is the sequel to 1998's Baldur's Gate and was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2000. Following its predecessor, the game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a fantasy campaign setting, and is based on the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition rules. Powered by BioWare's Infinity Engine, Baldur's Gate II uses an isometric perspective and pausable real-time gameplay. The player controls a party of up to six characters, one of whom is the player-created protagonist; the others are certain characters recruited from the game world.
Minsc is a fictional character in the Baldur's Gate series of Dungeons & Dragons role-playing video games developed by BioWare and Larian Studios. He originated from the pen-and-paper Dungeons & Dragons sessions held by the lead designer of Baldur's Gate, James Ohlen, and was expanded upon by the game's lead writer, Lukas Kristjanson. His video game debut was in Baldur's Gate as a companion character who can join the player's party. He also appears in the sequel, Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, the expansion, Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal, the 2015 game Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear, the 2023 game Baldur's Gate 3, as well as in promotions relating to the titles. Minsc is voiced by Jim Cummings in his original video game appearances, and by Matt Mercer in Baldur's Gate 3.
Divine Divinity is an action role-playing game developed by Larian Studios and published by cdv Software Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, which was released in September 2002. It has three sequels, Beyond Divinity, Divinity II, and Divinity: Original Sin II. It also has a prequel, Divinity: Original Sin, and a spin-off, Divinity: Dragon Commander. The game was released for Mac OS X on 15 November 2013.
Divinity refers to the property or state of being a deity or godlike.
Beyond Divinity is an action role-playing game by Larian Studios released in 2004. It is a sequel to Divine Divinity.
Michael Mearls is an American writer and designer of fantasy role-playing games (RPGs) and related fiction. He was the senior manager for the Dungeons & Dragons research and design team. He co-led design for the 5th edition of the game. He also worked on the Castle Ravenloft board game, and various compendium books for 3rd, 4th, and 5th editions Dungeons & Dragons.
Divinity II is an action role-playing game developed by Larian Studios. Its first release in 2009 was subtitled Ego Draconis and was published by dtp entertainment and in the United States by cdv Software Entertainment. The updated 2010 re-release The Dragon Knight Saga which included the expansion Flames of Vengeance, as well as the final 2012 release as Divinity II: Developer's Cut, were published by Focus Home Interactive.
This article is about the video game market and culture in Belgium.
Divinity: Original Sin is a role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. The fourth main entry in the Divinity game series, it is a prequel to the original game Divine Divinity, and to the other main games in the series. It was first released on Microsoft Windows on 30 June 2014.
Divinity: Dragon Commander is a real-time strategy video game developed by Larian Studios as part of the Divinity series of fantasy role-playing games. The game features a hybrid of gameplay styles and has single-player, competitive multiplayer and cooperative multiplayer modes.
Lawrence Schick is a game designer and writer associated with role-playing games.
Swen Johan Vincke is a Belgian video game designer, programmer and director. He is the founder and CEO of the video game company Larian Studios, where he has led the development of the Divinity series and Baldur's Gate 3.
Divinity: Original Sin II is a role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. The sequel to 2014's Divinity: Original Sin and the fifth main entry in the Divinity series, the game was released for Microsoft Windows in September 2017. The player controls a "Godwoken", a Sourcerer who can harness and use a powerful magic known as Source, and becomes a pivotal figure in the fight against the Voidwoken, monstrous creatures who wreak havoc in the medieval fantasy world of Rivellon.
Baldur's Gate 3 is a 2023 role-playing video game developed and published by Larian Studios. It is the third main installment in the Baldur's Gate series, based on the tabletop fantasy role-playing system of Dungeons & Dragons. A partial version of the game was released in early access format for macOS and Windows in October 2020. It remained in early access until its full release for Windows in August 2023, with versions for PlayStation 5, macOS, and Xbox Series X/S releasing later that year.
Divinity is a role-playing video game series developed by Larian Studios. The franchise was introduced in 2002 with Divine Divinity. The franchise received more mainstream attention following the critically and commercially successful release of Divinity: Original Sin (2014).
Minthara Baenre is a character from the 2023 Baldur's Gate 3, a Larian Studios roleplaying game set in the Forgotten Realms universe of Dungeons & Dragons. Voiced by Emma Gregory, she is a drow Paladin in service of the game's antagonist, and acts as a central villain for the game's first act. Depending on the player's actions, she can be recruited as a companion in the game's second act, and can be romanced if the player chooses to do so. Outside of video games, she has appeared on cards for Magic: the Gathering.
The Dark Urge is a character from the 2023 video game Baldur's Gate 3, a role-playing video game by Larian Studios set in the Forgotten Realms universe of Dungeons & Dragons. Designated as an "Origin" character, the player can select to play through the game from their perspective. Unlike other Origin characters, the Dark Urge's appearance, voice, gender, and class can be customized if the player chooses, and by default they are a male White Dragonborn Sorcerer, voiced by Neil Roberts.
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