When it comes to a series as legendary as the Baldur’s Gate franchise, every PC gamer and Dungeons & Dragons fan has a story to tell about their first experience with the ’90 RPG series that put developer BioWare on the map. Now that the first new Baldur’s Gate game in more than a decade is set to hit Steam Early Access later this year, players are feeling more nostalgic than ever for the iconic series. So, what does Baldur’s Gate 3 writer Adam Smith remember about his first Baldur’s Gate playthrough?

“Baldur’s Gate came out just around the time I moved out of my family home,” Smith tells Den of Geek during a Baldur’s Gate 3 press event in February. “At the time, my sister and I played pretty much every game together, so Baldur’s Gate was the game we played when I visited her. We kind of played it cooperatively even though it was a single-player game, and we would just make major decisions together. It was a big bonding experience.”

Not long after those Baldur’s Gate adventures, Smith transitioned into the (arguably just as adventurous) world of video game journalism. After nearly a decade as a writer and editor for Rock, Paper, Shotgun, Smith moved from reporting on games to writing them. Just a couple of years later, he got an offer from Larian Studios founder Swen Vincke that was hard to believe.

“When Swen first told me, ‘Here’s your contract and the NDA,’ I asked, ‘What are we working on?’” Smith recalls. “He said, ‘I can’t tell you until you sign the contract.’ I just said ‘Dang, okay,” and I signed. Then he finally said ‘Okay, we’re going to make Baldur’s Gate.’ I was just like, ‘Okay, but what are we really working on?’”