"Baldur's Gate is a computer role-playing game (CRPG) developed by BioWare and released in 1998 by Interplay Entertainment. The game takes place in the Forgotten Realms, a high fantasy campaign setting, using modified Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) 2nd edition rules. The game received critical praise, and was credited, along with Diablo, with revitalizing the CRPG genre.
The story follows the player character's journey along the Sword Coast, which lies on the west coast of the continent Faerûn, as he or she grows up following the cataclysmic Time of Troubles. Character development occurs through dialogue and battle. The game rewards the player character according to his or her moral choices.
Baldur's Gate uses the Infinity Engine developed by BioWare. The same engine was later used in games such as Planescape: Torment, the Icewind Dale series, as well as the Baldur's Gate expansion pack Tales of the Sword Coast, the sequel Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, and the sequel's expansion pack Throne of Bhaal. In addition to these main games of the Baldur's Gate series, the Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance series also took its name from Baldur's Gate, but the storyline is unrelated, and the games share little but their setting."
Source: Wikipedia, "Baldur's_Gate," available under the CC-BY-SA License.
