Barney the Dinosaur Meets Dark Fantasy in Baldur's Gate 3: A Surprising Creation

A Baldur's Gate 3 enthusiast has harnessed the game's character customization features to bring to life the beloved children's show character, Barney the Dinosaur. Baldur's Gate 3, known for its mature themes, now boasts this quirky custom character in its diverse community.

While it's not common for Baldur's Gate 3 players to fashion their custom avatars after children's TV characters, the extensive array of personalization options offers room for imaginative character creation. Although the game doesn't provide the same level of detail in slider-based facial features as some others, its variety of fantasy races allows for an impressive range of character possibilities, often inspired by figures from various media.

A Reddit user recently showcased their customized character, drawing inspiration from Barney the Dinosaur. Similar to the Baldur's Gate 3 player who brought Shrek's dragon to life, this creator opted for the Dragonborn race to embody Barney. This choice served as the foundation for the dinosaur-inspired character, with the unique purple scales contributing to the Barney resemblance.

Perfectly replicating Barney's appearance proved challenging due to the character's gentle, non-threatening portrayal in the TV show. It could be argued that Barney's iconic design intentionally downplayed his dinosaur features to make him more appealing to children. This contrasts sharply with the fundamental character creation tools in Baldur's Gate 3, designed to produce characters with high-fidelity, realistic appearances. Additionally, Baldur's Gate 3's Dragonborn race is rather intimidating, featuring predator-like attributes and a tough, scaly exterior that significantly differs from Barney's soft, felt-like skin. It's also worth noting that the only Dragonborn Origin Character in the game is The Dark Urge, essentially a serial killer, a stark contrast to Barney's well-known qualities.

Nonetheless, this rendition of Barney is impressive and captures the character's essence within the game's more realistic, dark-fantasy atmosphere. If Barney were a real creature with human-like intelligence, this custom character might represent how he'd appear. This showcases the game's creative potential, where players can recreate grounded characters, such as Disco Elysium's protagonist, as easily as they can bring to life fantastical, family-friendly figures like Barney.