Critical thinking in BG.
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I was a married father when this game came out in 1998. I started gaming again, by doctor recommendation, after a traumatic head injury. Gaming also relieves anxiety, that's true for most I believe. My age puts me near the beginning of video games, many quarters were dropped in various machines. I studied PAC-MAN and Donkey Kong strategy books. I really spent A LOT on Williams Defender and Galaxian both of which I flipped the score on. You could do that back then. Girls came around and I left it all behind. I was shocked when a, $300 a visit, neurologist suggested, I go back for more at almost 23 years old. I bought all the remade oldies, some new Lucus Arts stuff. My kid brother knew I used to roleplay D&D and Gamma World, he turned me on to Pool of Radiance. That's how I eventually found Baldur's Gate. I tell you this, because now that I'm widowed, I have time to spend watching Gamers game. For the most part they all play like children, the developers play to this, by tweaking things to address complaints. Baldur's Gate was designed by adults for adults, but they understood where their margins would meet, and wanted a new generation to experience roleplay. You could rob anyone and actually access inventory of any successful pickpockets NPC. Take and give items. You could kill any moving thing in the game with or without consequences. Depending on which character you initiate dialogues they would change. Party members mattered. The changes didn't stop there however. The journal had a perception of being broken, by this time, was on my second playthrough. I realized it wasn't. The quest wouldn't show complete, if it was resolved incorrectly. I semi hack and slashed my first playthrough, I couldn't find my way out of Candle Keep for two nights. I wasn't "common core" educated and had to critically think every day trouble-shooting problems. There weren't a lot of resources, at the time, I was on the front line, it being so new. I took notes, listened to the game, thought about my character as it was, and got lucky. I discovered a completely different experience from my first playthrough. Reactions and character dialogues changed, unresolved quests resolved, see characters that I missed before due to time and destination choices. ECT.. The game mentioned you're supposed to be in a hurry. AOln tells you the wolves are to be ignored. The encounter at the Friendly Arm too tuff, I exercised free will and went some-where else. When you talked to the priest in Candle Keep, if you were lucky enough, he would mention a forest to the north. I think the guard talks about torches outside. That used to mean something. Those dialogues would unlock cloakwood and you could go there to die usually. There was a way to live though. When you just look at a highlighted object by interacting with it that by design is attempted robbery. I don't really agree with that, but you are reminded of it though out the story. Touching a dead body is bad. So looting them is worse because you are stealing from their kin. Just making a living. Besides, you are no better than the supposed bandits. Common sense. A child however assumes if it's there it must be mine. I don't know how much is not removed or tweaked out of existence, I just notice clues every where and nobody ever takes the road.
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I relay to you in one respect when you said, let me pull it out easier - "There weren't a lot of resources, at the time, I was on the front line, it being so new. I took notes, listened to the game, thought about my character as it was, and got lucky."
I can imagine this perfectly back in those days. Nowadays I am used to open the wikipedia and check in advance what maximizes my XP and loot so I select those answers, sometimes literally a quest in wiki will tell me choose 1-3-3-1 bingo. Thanks bye next. And sometimes there is little bit of commedy going on in those wiki threads.
Once I reach to the city of Baldurs Gate, I open the browser and pick each area link in wiki in the section QUESTS - BY AREA. Where it will list me the quests. I finish said quest, I ALT-TAB, read the next quest do this do that. Then I breeze through the city. I can't imagine to walk around this big city and ask for quests and hints from characters. I am nervous player in general.
But then I usually play powergaming stuff, stuff like no-death run, and I can't be bothered with the story much. But I can relay to your experience and I know what you are talking about.
This wasn't the case earlier until I played XCOM Enemy Unknown at the max difficulty, and then the curse started. Ironically I never managed beat that game at max settings with all secondary options turned on. ANd I gave up long ago but the curse remained like a shadow to haunt my gaming since.
I guess is not something so bizarre, there are guys speedrunners who as soon as they touch the game their mind is how to speedrun this game.
MC Barbarian - Jaheira - Khalid - Kagain - Coran - Yeslick (these are all fighter classes)
Coran and Yeslick join later so in order to not violate the fighter only rule I had to use up until their recruitment Shar-Teel (I run 5 party team for a while)
The way I play is not just no-death but also completionist - meaning every single enemy and quest and dlc must be included into the achievement and every map explored. On top of that I impose a rule that no character has to permanently die (temporary death is allowed via ressurection at a temple). Obviously MC cannot die.
So after my failed thief run I said okay bring it on I am going all in with fighters only and no magic except cleric/figters.
And I beat the game like that. However there was one setback at the very end of the game just short of challenging Sarevok. You know that encounter ambush with the Iron Throne mercenaries. We ll I accidentally lost Jaheira permanently to a massive lightning ball ricochet and overall being moron. I saw the lightning strike coming and I yet disregarded it because I was so close to the end of the game like these mercenaries were nuisance to me at thap point and it went so bad. I aggroed the skeleton warriors north of them in the ruins, it was hell.
Anyway I got seriously pissed at that point almost quit the game due to Jaheira's death. But then I said okay it is still concept of proof if I can beat the game without death even if Jaheira got phased out it is still proof of concept as main party holds up. So I had to bring Shar-Teel back for the final fight with Sarevok.
I was so pissed at that point that I said I am going to challenge Sarevok head on. No cheese, bring it on, all of them at the same time Sarevok, Angelo, Tazok, and Seimaj. And it was epic battle and I won it and didn't die (although I think Shar-Teel there, Kagain, Coran, Khalid lost quite a lot of the team, but Yeslick remained and MC, I remeber Yeslick landed the final blow to Sarevok after Team eliminated all the rest in a face to face battle with them.
Then I took a breath. I did it. Yet I am so sorry for Jaheira and it took something out of the achievement. I lost her so close to the end at the very end.