Baldur's Gate's "I Want To Live" Displays The Power and Flexibility Of VGM
Baldur’s Gate 3 has been out on early access for just over a year and within that time, Larian Studios have added to the spectacular opening act of the Dungeons & Dragons-inspired RPG with new character classes, spells, customization options, and content. Around the one year anniversary of the early access release, Larian released their most expansive update to date. This included the new sorcerer class, a whole host of bug patches and improvements, and, most importantly, new music. The game’s composer, Larian Studios and video game veteran Borislav Slavov, has been working tirelessly to bring the Forgotten Realms to life in Baldur’s Gate 3. For the most recent update, this included a new version of one of the instrumental tracks–“I Want To Live.” Borislav took some time to chat with GameGrooves about the new song, the process of writing instrumentally versus lyrically, and how he ended up performing the male vocal line in the song.
The sorcerer update marked the sixth major update Baldur’s Gate 3 has received in the past year. Eleven pages of update notes include gameplay tweaks and graphical overhauls. The most substantial part of the update, however, is the inclusion of a new area for players to explore: Grymforge. This is where most of Borislav’s work has been focused on, as he explained to me.
“There is a hefty pack of new music as part of the latest update of the game. Orchestral suites, ambient tracks, and songs! I have composed and produced music to cover the new area that came with the update and also additional music that extends the sonic experience through Act 1, including new cinematic soundtracks.”
One of these tracks is “I Want To Live.” The track is unique in comparison to his other works to date on Baldur’s Gate 3 in that Borislav opts to use a piano as the lead instrument. His other tracks often go with a stringed instrument, typically a traditional folk instrument of some description to help contextualise the high fantasy setting of the Forgotten Realms. Using a piano for “I Want To Live” is interesting in that it gives the track a shot of modernism and almost a JRPG sensibility to its compositional form. This track would slot perfectly in a Final Fantasy setting as much as it does here. The other thing the piano allows for is a dynamic complexity and nuance that portrays the track’s hopeful stoicism. There’s tragedy there, but the gentle twinkling of melody set against the hum of the lower register adds an element of determination an adventurer would feel exploring and enduring.
“I Want To Live” isn’t just unique for its instrumental choices. It has also been converted into an all-out song, starring the vocal talents of Borislav himself alongside professional vocalist Ilona Ivanova. Borislav explained how the song’s inception existed alongside the instrumental version.
“The song and the instrumental versions were composed simultaneously and they were influencing one another throughout the process. Once the song was fully composed, it was already well aligned with the instrumental, which had already been out for some time. Lyrics were provided by our Lead writer, Sarah Baylus.”
The song version of “I Want To Live” strips away some of the more orchestral flairs of the instrumental version, such as a particularly gorgeous french horn harmony, to allow the voices of Borislav and Ilona to take centre stage. Because these versions of the track were composed side by side, the overall themes and motifs have remained the same. Even the song version, which could be seen as more downcast given the stripped down nature of the track, still has an uplifting and hopeful aura thanks to the lyrics of lead writer Sarah Baylus and clever compositional flourishes from Borislav.
The fact that these versions of the song exist simultaneously has helped make some of the more subdued moments of Baldur’s Gate 3 more cinematic, as Borislav told me.
“Unfortunately, I cannot talk in detail before the game is fully finished without revealing something by accident. I can, however, share an interesting detail. The song is currently implemented in the camp (like the instrumental one), and if you find and stay still on a specific spot for a few seconds, the song starts playing in a cinematic way. If you move away from the spot, the song smoothly transforms itself into an instrumental, losing the vocals and vice versa. If you go back to the same spot, the vocals gently come back to support the cinematic vista point feel.”
“I Want To Live” also marks the first time we hear Borislav’s vocals on a Baldur’s Gate 3 track. Though not the original plan, Borislav felt that his voice was the best for the male part.
Borislav Slavov
“Truth is I always sing the songs myself during the composition process. This way I make sure that the professional vocalists know well what I expect from their performance in terms of dynamics and emotions the vocals are supposed to evoke. In the case with “I Want To Live,” the male vocal part that I had recorded felt good in combination with the beautiful and gentle voice of Ilona, so we decided not to replace it with another professional male vocal recording.”
He’s not wrong. Ilona’s sweet and delicate vocal performances pairs beautifully with the more raw performance from Borislav. Having his performance alongside a professional vocalist gives the track an anchoring, allowing it to not stand out too far from the orchestral version as a “musical theatre” rendition of a track. It’s humble and sweet, kind and real.
“I Want To Live” is another shining example of the flexibility and vitality of video game music as a whole. An orchestral and vocal track written alongside each other seems like a recipe for disaster in which too much is compromised on either side and neither track ends up really working. Nevertheless, designing the lyrics and the orchestration in a way where they can slot in and out of the overall composition seamlessly creates a piece changeable and inherently unique to video games. Something that can adapt to player intentions and create incredibly cinematic moments whilst staying intimate, making for memorable scenes while slotting back to underpin dialogue. It’s genius, and, thankfully, we still have plenty more to come.
“There will be several more couples songs/instrumentals in the full version of BG3! Very interesting ones are yet to come! Stay tuned!”
MICHAEL LEOPOLD WEBER
Michael is a freelance journalist currently living in West Japan. Though he has a degree in music from The University Of London, he still often plays out of time (shouting "it's close enough for jazz" whilst it happens). When he isn't obsessing over II-V-I's, Michael can be found digesting a whole range of video games from farming sims to FPSs. He also loves tea a little bit too much.
