How Baldur’s Gate 3 is making me a better digital humanist (and vice versa)
One of the best decisions I ever made, upon starting my PhD, was probably purchasing a console. The last thing you want to do, coming home after a day spent looking at and talking about books, is probably reading one. In this doctoral journey, playing videogames has been key to preserving my mental health. The Fable saga got me through my coursework. The Witcher 3 got me through my dissertation proposal. Similarly to what Gramond is reflecting on in his most recent post “Praxis is Invading My Life…In A Good Way”, I find myself seeing Praxis everywhere and applying the lessons we collectively learn each week to my personal life. Little did I know, these lessons would also apply to the game I am spending hours on this semester: Baldur’s Gate 3. I realize that Baldur’s Gate 3 is making me a better digital humanist. Just like Praxis is making me a better Baldur’s Gate 3 player.
- “A balanced party makes the journey easier”. I used to be afraid of close combat, hence excluding melee class characters from my party, while cherishing complementarity in AFK life (as Legacy Russell would say). This year, learning with diverse people from entirely different backgrounds has made me realize how true and applicable this BDG3 reminder is. Praxis fellows are just a team of adventurers, and the interdisciplinary nature of our present cohort is our best asset. Don’t get me started on what class each person would be (Brandon is the Scholar’s Lab bard, Amna would be a great cleric, etc)…
- Glitches are possible, but unlikely. In all likehood, there is something wrong with the data you entered. Close the game/VS Code, take a break, and go back to it once you’ve cleared up your mind. You’ll probably notice what the solution is then.
- When in doubt, just look it up online. Or rather: having to find the answer to your problem online is not something to be ashamed of. If you stumble upon a difficulty, chances are you are not the only one – someone probably asked the question online, just like someone probably solved the problem. Let IGN’s BDG3 walkthrough be your CodeNewbie community.
- Saving is a prerequisite and should be like breathing (here, I have a flashback of Brandon looking over my shoulder, whispering “You forgot to save it”). I used to hate having to save the game every minute or so. I remember getting visibly mad at my Divinity 2 coop partner because of his perpetual interruptions to save the game. It is only through Praxis and coding that I learnt that one cannot advance any further if the progress is not saved. Goodbye old me, who would insist on having a single save because it looked more aesthetically pleasing, and less messy. At least, now I don’t have to fight an entire market square just because I desperately wanted to loot a potato.
- Regular expressions are Illithid powers. Can you use it? Of course. Should you use it? Well… Jeremy told me regular expressions were a form of powerful voodoo or witchcraft – something you should not really mess with, especially if you are just learning code. Yes, I want to make coding easier, but turning into a mind flyer is not worth the sacrifice.
Now, is this post an elaborate strategy to have a D&D one-shot at the Scholar’s Lab? Perhaps. Note for the Slab’s Dungeon Master: I hope that the notes above convinced you that Praxis makes perfect. I am learning a lot. No more disgraceful potato looting.