Josh Sawyer is not a fan of Baldur Gate 3 style romances, and this is why he doubts that a new Pillars of Eternity will be a success: 'I'm out of touch with the audience.'

Josh Sawyer, an RPG legend with writing and designing credits on games such as Icewind Dale and Neverwinter Nights 2 and Fallout: New Vegas. He also worked on Tyranny, The Outer Worlds and Pillars Of Eternity. The success of Baldur's gate 3 has led to talk of a Pillars of Eternity 3 and Sawyer is hesitant to participate. Not because he does not want to, but because he feels he isn't up to date with what modern RPG players want.

Sawyer stated in a recent Q&A video that money is a major obstacle in recreating BG3’s success in a Pillars of Eternity sequel: "Money does not fix all of your problems, but some things you cannot do without it." The production quality of the character model, cinematics, and all the animation is insane. It's a huge amount of money and time. It's a costly proposition."

Sawyer said the same thing in 2023, that he would be happy to try and make Pillars of eternity 3 if someone was willing to give him a budget similar to BG3. Even with that budget he isn’t confident that a new Pillars would reach the lofty heights that Baldur’s Gate 3 achieved because that’s just not his thing.

Sawyer said, "I feel like I have no pulse on the audience. I don't know if I did in the past. "Whether I had it 20 years ago or now, I don’t think I have it." There are certain things that [players] enjoy and dislike, whether it's mechanically or story-wise. Or I get it and it's not - I don't dig.

"I feel like I am out of touch in a sense that if you give me a lot of money to create a game, I will do it." I don't think it will appeal to the same audience as Baldur's Gate 3 and make the money back.

In response to another question, Sawyer said that romances are one aspect of the RPG genre he doesn't like, at least the way they are usually implemented. Sawyer isn't against romances in games, but he doesn't like what fantasy RPG fans are into.

"I'm not in step with that and it's difficult for me to sort it out." Sawyer said, "I get some things, but I don't like them."

"If I made romances in a video game in a way I find appealing, would a player enjoy it, or would they hate it even more than not having romances in the game?"

It's strange to hear Josh Sawyer state that he feels out-of-touch with the RPG crowd. However, I found his comments on in-game romances to be very relatable. In Baldur's gate 2, I pursued Viconia with great enthusiasm. But in the 20 years since, RPG romances feel more like a checklist than an organic evolution in game relationships. This is reflected in the many "how to have sexual relations with everyone" guides available for Cyberpunk, which I am currently playing. The priority here is not romance but simply getting it done to move on to the next game.

It's possible Sawyer is feeling the same effect. Ted Litchfield, PC Gamer Associate Editor, dug up a 2006 form post (via Reddit), in which Sawyer expressed similar feelings about RPG romances.

"I don't dislike love in game stories, I just hate to reduce love to shallow fantasy indulgence," wrote he.

"I understand that people wanted to have more romance options in NWN2, however, I sometimes think that people want romance 'victory conditions' for all companions. This can make some characters seem less interesting... It bugs me. I don't like to think that you can win' everything or get everybody on your side."

Pentiment is Sawyer's latest game. It doesn't have romances but it has relationships. If you enjoy narrative-driven games and haven't tried it yet, you should.