About

Who are you?

I go by the The Artisan, also known as AionZ and Artemius_I, which is still used elsewhere. I’m long-time Baldur’s Gate enthusiast and recently a modder of the Enhanced Editions as of 2015. My most notable mods are Sirene NPC and Shadow Magic.

Why make mods for these games?

Besides the fact that WeiDU is an excellent tool that makes modding the Infinity Engine a breeze, the Baldur’s Gate series in particular is an excellent medium for me to practice my writing skills. Often, I’ll have a stroke of inspiration and immediately start putting in the code to turn it into a mod.

Why NPC mods in particular?

NPC mods are just my favorite type of mod to work on. They let me practice writing in a particular style for a character, don’t take as many resources as a large-scale quest mod would, and I get plenty of ideas for interesting characters all the time. They’re also reasonably popular (though less than they used to be) so I feel good about making them.

Why do you make your character backgrounds so complicated?

When you have too many potential characters and only so much time to work on them, you have to make a few concessions. Sometimes aspects of multiple characters get merged into one. Whether that makes the character better or worse is up to my writing skills. Regardless, I feel better knowing some of my ideas aren’t completely abandoned.

Who is your favorite Baldur’s Gate party member?

Jaheira, hands down. Though Imoen comes a very close second.

What are your favorite Baldur’s Gate classes and kits?

Anything that fits the ‘spellsword’ archetype. Fighter/Mage, Blade, Mage/Thief, etc.

I had an idea for your kitpack/tweak pack…

Please do comment, either on the site or at Beamdog Forums. If it’s doable within the engine’s constraints, I may add it in as an extra component.

I want to become a modder! Where should I start?

Check out this and this. Also, don’t go without the best IE editing tool, NearInfinity.

Will you proofread/playtest/give advice on my mod?

Proofread, no. I’ve done it a few times and it takes a ridiculous amount of time to do it to a satisfactory level. I’ll maybe do a quick test of mods but I am not entirely reliable at detecting issues. As for advice, go ahead and ask. I’ll try to give my honest opinions in a supportive manner.