Edit: Looks like the GOG version is available for OS X, so I'm hoping that'll work. I guess I was just a little tipsy when looking at the GOG page since it's the holidays and missed it. Also, I didn't think about Steam gift cards/PayPal. That's another way of getting games on Steam without giving payment info. Thanks everyone for your help!

Edit 2: Just talked to my dad. I misunderstood his issue a bit with Steam. It's less about giving Steam his credit card (because you kinda have to give away your CC info in order to use it), rather he's not a fan of the fact that you have to log into Steam just to play your game. I think you can technically launch BG3 without going through Steam, but it's sort of a pain to go through the file directories in order to do so. Again, thanks for all the suggestions!

So, my dad's expressed interest in playing Baldur's Gate a bunch since it's come out and since I've been telling him about my play through. I also have great memories of playing Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance with him when I was younger on Game Cube so it would mean a lot to me to play BG3 with him. The issue comes down to his setup and stubbornness with privacy (I'm hoping Lemmy will have some good suggestions on this front).

The first hurdle is that he only uses Apple and doesn't want to get a windows machine just to play games, which IMO is reasonable. This doesn't seem too bad since, as far as I can tell, BG3 is available on Mac. The issue comes down to the fact that he doesn't want to download Steam and give them his credit card. He already has Epic because that's the only way he can play MTG online and he doesn't want to download another game client. Also, he has it in his head that you have to play all your games through steam. As in all your data goes to Steam before going to the game and you have to be online in order to play games on Steam. I think I've convinced him that this isn't the case, but he still doesn't feel comfortable giving them his CC. To be clear, he plays MTG without any in-game purchases so he hasn't given Epic his CC so he feels less bad about that although he's still not super thrilled about having to go through Epic just to play MTG.

My solution at the moment is to have him make a Steam account and I'll buy him BG3 for his Christmas present. Is this the best solution, or is there another way to go about it? I know BG3 is available on GOG, which he feels a bit more comfortable about, but I can't get a solid answer if the GOG version works on Mac OS.

Thanks for any help!

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

GOG store page says it works on Mac.

On a separate note, with all these excuses maybe he's not wanting to play it as much as you think he does. Or, the man is stuck in his ways and needs to read up on basic computer security. I guarantee Steam is keeping his cc info a lot more secure than his work probably handles his PII.

[–] jmchrist 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Oh that's awesome, must not have read the GOG page carefully enough, thanks!

And on that other note, he's the one that keeps bringing it up, he just wants my help to find the best way to get it for him. I agree he's a bit stuck in his ways, he doesn't use anything that needs his CC or address (unless my mom signs up for it first lol), and doesn't like downloading anything that he's not 100% trustworthy of.

Thanks for your help, I think GOG is the way to go!

[–] Tarquinn2049 1 points 11 months ago (2 children)

It's a pretty common mindset in the neurodiverse community. It's partially based on black and white thinking, and partially based on a type of anxiety that causes a sense of pre-dread before doing almost anything, once you break through and actually start it, that type of anxiety goes away. To be replaced by whatever other types of anxiety the individual has, lol.

And of course with most of these it's more accurate to say it's a result of the trauma of growing up with these cognitive differences in a world where they aren't standard.

It might be a bit frustrating trying to navigate his defenses, hopefully you end up getting it all worked out.

[–] scrion 12 points 11 months ago

Not everyone has to be neurodivergent to not want to use a credit card on the Internet - there have been plenty of leaks for this to be a valid stance. Also, let's not forget about other countries where credit cards play basically no significant role in day to day payment activities and people view them as "oddities" (for a lack of a better term).

Also, depending on how you hand your credit card info over, and if mechanisms like EMV 3d secure are in place, some merchants basically obtain a copy of your card and it's on you to check the validity of the transaction and also re-check that no additional transactions have been made over time. While it is certainly good practice to go over your credit card statement each month, I could totally understand if someone wanted to avoid that hassle and the one that comes with a dispute.

[–] jmchrist 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Lol, it wouldn't surprise me if he's neurodivergent (I probably am too tbh), but I think it's just more how he was raised and now he's just too old to change his way, lol. He's been a computer engineer since the 80's and has been on the internet since about then. I think he's just gone to too many security conferences and gotten a bit paranoid. Better to be too cautious than the other way around in my opinion. And to be clear, it's not like he's overly paranoid to the point of affecting his life, he just doesn't like giving his info out online to places he doesn't trust.

[–] Tarquinn2049 1 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Hehe yeah sorry. It wasn't just the credit card thing. The whole story there was like 10 different hints. I know alot of normal people and alot of neurodivergent people, and there are alot of parallels there, too many to be coincidence.

But I don't get why so many people push back on it. Not only is it fine to be neurodivergent, but it's not like you can change it by pretending you aren't. This isn't the olden days anymore, we know a ton of stuff now that can really help even getting diagnosed in your later years. Still always best to get the diagnosis before school, since the standard school experience causes alot of unnecessary grief. But the next best time is always "as soon as possible". Many things can be un-done with surprisingly little effort when done the right way.

I know the old mentality is to not get a label so people won't treat you different, but that is not at all how anything works anymore. Getting diagnosed is basically everyone's favourite day of their life nowadays. It's the turning point where their life finally started to make sense for them. And they "caught back up" to where they were always supposed to be.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Maybe this isn't the case in your neighborhood but my local grocery stores have racks of gift cards, including for Steam. I know people who have similar concerns as your dad, so they just buy Steam credit for themselves.

[–] jmchrist 3 points 11 months ago

That's not a bad idea. I was planning on just gifting it to him over Steam since I have no qualms with giving Valve my CC, but if he wanted to buy something in the future, that would be a great work around.

[–] PunnyName 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Buy another copy from wherever you want, then pirate the FitGirl repack, install and play that.

[–] jmchrist 4 points 11 months ago

Lol, that would work for me or my friends, but I think giving him a pirated version might make him even more sketched out. Thanks for the idea, though!

[–] ABCDE 3 points 11 months ago

I think they only have the Windows version.

[–] smort 4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Email GOG and ask them whether their version of BG3 works on Mac? If it ends up not working, you have a solid case for a refund

I know Steam would be ideal, but sometimes you just have to meet somebody where they are

[–] jmchrist 4 points 11 months ago (2 children)

Someone else in this thread mentioned the GOG version works on Mac, although I can't see anything about it working on ARM, but I'd assume it does since it says it works on OSX 12+.

I've tried getting him into Steam, but he has some sort of grudge against it, idk why. Thanks for the suggestion!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 11 months ago

Yeh it works on M1 Macs.

[–] ABCDE 3 points 11 months ago

https://www.macrumors.com/2023/09/22/baldurs-gate-3-mac/

[–] godzillabacter 3 points 11 months ago

IIRC I've never given Valve/Steam payment info. Everything is processed through PayPal. But even then, you should be able to gift his account a purchase without him putting in payment methods if you can convince him to use steam at all

[–] billwashere 2 points 11 months ago

I would kill for my son to try to get me to play ANY video game with him, let alone BG3. I started playing D&D and video games over 40 years ago. He's lucky to have a son like you. Hope you guys can figure this out.

[–] fishos 2 points 11 months ago

I mean, if credit card is the issue, you can buy steam gift cards with cash at most game/electronics stores. I know this will depend on your region, but he can absolutely have a steam account with no card attached. I sometimes delete my debit card info by accident trying to use a different card and have to readd the card entirely. There's been plenty of times my steam account has had no payment method.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 11 months ago

If the issue is having to go through Steam to launch the game, then GOG would be the better alternative, as it gives you a DRM-free version of the game that can be installed and run without depending on them.