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Elimination of Opening Friedrich Nietzsche quote?

HaHaCharadeHaHaCharade Member Posts: 1,643
edited December 2012 in Archive (General Discussion)
Was curious why the quote before the opening cinematic was eliminated? I always thought it fit Baldur's Gate and the truth of CHARNAME's origins perfectly... Was this a conscious decision? Kind of a shame.

"He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster... when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you..." -- Friedrich Nietzsche

Comments

  • SilverstarSilverstar Member Posts: 2,207
    Good point on how the quote wouldn't fit quite as well with the book thing Aosaw. As for putting it there before the main menu, that's not a bad idea.

    ... I also want my quote back. And that one missing line, though guess that's harder to do with the new pacing. Ah well. New scene is good too :)
  • R0GUER0GUE Member Posts: 27
    Well, I for one always found that quote kind of out of place. For one thing Nietzsche, being from our world, they would have never heard of him in the Realms. A quote from Elminster or Alaundo would be much more fitting. But that's just me.
  • darthchairdarthchair Member Posts: 191
    The quote is lovely. It fits. But...as ROGUE in all capital letters suggests...if you are going to use a work of fiction and you quote something that exists in a different reality...it seems silly. Ultimately it is a matter of personal preference though. But could you imagine reading the Game of Thrones, and suddenly George R.R. Martin lists, "I cannae do it Cap'n, I jes don't got da powah!" before leading into a chapter about Cersei banging her brother while he's all missing an appendage and in a dungeon and whatever? Obviously I know the author doesn't use random quotes at the start of a chapter, I'm just using it as an example. It's strange.

    I think you can get away with it better when you have a book that is kind of a fantasy version of our own world. I mean if you live in the Dresden Files, there is a much better chance that say Stephen King might exist or something. Or Carl Sagan, or something like that. And you can quote them. Or a book in the far future that uses our own history before it detaches from it at some point.

    But it is personal preference. And the quote does fit. My guess is that they just made the artistic choice that it wasn't a part of the Forgotten Realms lore so it didn't need to be there.
  • HaHaCharadeHaHaCharade Member Posts: 1,643
    edited December 2012
    darthchair said:

    The quote is lovely. It fits. But...as ROGUE in all capital letters suggests...if you are going to use a work of fiction and you quote something that exists in a different reality...it seems silly. Ultimately it is a matter of personal preference though. But could you imagine reading the Game of Thrones, and suddenly George R.R. Martin lists, "I cannae do it Cap'n, I jes don't got da powah!" before leading into a chapter about Cersei banging her brother while he's all missing an appendage and in a dungeon and whatever? Obviously I know the author doesn't use random quotes at the start of a chapter, I'm just using it as an example. It's strange.

    I think you can get away with it better when you have a book that is kind of a fantasy version of our own world. I mean if you live in the Dresden Files, there is a much better chance that say Stephen King might exist or something. Or Carl Sagan, or something like that. And you can quote them. Or a book in the far future that uses our own history before it detaches from it at some point.

    But it is personal preference. And the quote does fit. My guess is that they just made the artistic choice that it wasn't a part of the Forgotten Realms lore so it didn't need to be there.

    Yeah... but the quote is about the concept of evil. Its not about, say, an electric shaver or the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's from a real world person, but it doesn't mention real-world concepts that don't exist in Faerun... so it doesn't really matter imo that it wasn't, say, coined by an elf. LOL.
  • darthchairdarthchair Member Posts: 191
    @HaHaCharade Sorry, you lost me at Steelers. HERE WE GO STEELERS, HERE WE GO! :D Although I am wishing for a better season next year. We need new people. E'gads.

    I agree with you a little. I guess I'm a bit indifferent about the quote. I see both sides. To tell you the truth, I didn't even miss it until someone was like, "HEY WHERE DID IT GO!?" And then I vaguely remembered it from back in the day. I suspect if enough people complain, it will suddenly reappear.
  • darthchairdarthchair Member Posts: 191
    @Bytebrain Touche.
  • Ruckus3Ruckus3 Member Posts: 73
    Well if you wanna get all technical, the forgotten realms is supposed to be just another parallel world. So, that being said, with all the crazy ass magic users out there, maybe someone just happened to scry Nietzsche's work. Just sayin, it's a good quote, and pretty fitting for the storylines.
  • R0GUER0GUE Member Posts: 27
    That's true @Bytebrain. And one of the things I like about BG is it doesn't take itself too seriously. There is a lot of humor in there which kind of takes out of "canon" so to speak. So yeah if they want to put it back in, I wouldn't complain.

    Oh and @darthchair the reason my forum name is all caps is because I use a zero for the o. I find it's a much more likely tag to have not been taken, and so I used it a few times and then just stuck with it.
  • darthchairdarthchair Member Posts: 191
    Rzerogue, gotcha. ^^
  • KukarachaKukaracha Member Posts: 256
    HaHaCharade said:

    R0GUE said:

    Well, I for one always found that quote kind of out of place. For one thing Nietzsche, being from our world, they would have never heard of him in the Realms. A quote from Elminster or Alaundo would be much more fitting. But that's just me.

    Nothing wrong with a work of fiction quoting non-fictional people as long as its done in the right place / context... like an introduction. That works well. If it was actually a quote you saw "in game" that, say, mentioned Nietzsche by name then I would agree, but since its before the game begins, its more setting the mood than anything else.

    Well, Shakespeare is quoted numerous times inside the game (although never directly mentioned).
  • QuartzQuartz Member Posts: 3,853
    I think it should be back in the game. I think Friedrich Nietzsche is a tool, but the quote is good and VERY fitting for the game.
  • xxxsmb1987xxxxxxsmb1987xxx Member Posts: 280
    @Quartz I wonder how hard it would be to mod it back into the game?
  • CalmarCalmar Member Posts: 688
    The Nietzsche estate successfully filed a lawsuit against Overhaul to have their intellectual property removed from the game...
  • xxxsmb1987xxxxxxsmb1987xxx Member Posts: 280
    @Calmer are your serious or joking?
  • charles888charles888 Member Posts: 5
    I doubt it..but I wouldn't be surprised either..they could have inserted a similar line...it really added to the game.
  • KurumiKurumi Member Posts: 520
    edited December 2012
    Kukaracha said:


    Well, Shakespeare is quoted numerous times inside the game (although never directly mentioned).

    Yes.. as is Oppenheimer.. well, at least once.. I just forgot who mentioned it.. was it Xzar or Montaron? I think Xzar.. "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds"..

  • styggastygga Member Posts: 467
    @xxxsmb1987xxx meant @calmar not @calmer
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    I had forgotten all about it. It would be fun to see it put back in, but for me it's not a major loss if it's gone for good.
  • LemernisLemernis Member, Moderator Posts: 4,318
    I miss the TSR dragon, though lol. (I know we won't see that put back in for obvious reasons, but just saying it was cool.)
  • MoomintrollMoomintroll Member Posts: 1,498
    It works really well as an insightful note BEFORE the game. This occurs all the time in books, where the quote wouldn't belong in the main text, why not in a game?
  • raelcariraelcari Member Posts: 133
    It is a beautiful quote, and its essence fits the battle of good vs evil in the game.
    I say keep it.
  • HeliasHelias Member Posts: 112
    It should come back. Very few gamers are in danger of overexposure to 19th century German philosophers.
  • KaldornKaldorn Member Posts: 4
    It certainly needs to come back; excellent quote and so so apt for the whole BG series. Great tone setter....
  • HaHaCharadeHaHaCharade Member Posts: 1,643
    Added back in as part of the new patch - HOORAY! Thanks! :D
  • AHFAHF Member Posts: 1,376
    HaHaCharade said:

    Added back in as part of the new patch - HOORAY! Thanks! :D

    That is fantastic news. (Rushes to download the latest patch....)
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