Our first solution was a “consequence graph”. We used it while creating The Witcher 2. At one point we thought about Geralt dual-wielding his swords. Geralt would fight with both his steel and silver sword. The idea seemed spectacular, especially in the visual aspect. Then we drew the consequence graph. The starting point was called: “dual wielding combat”. Then we started thinking about the direct consequences e.g. “looks great”.

Then we went deeper.. and we realized that dual-wielding interferes with one of our main gameplay rules – our swords serve two different purposes. The silver one works against magical monsters and the iron one works best against humans. The idea was finally abandoned and Geralt’s image remained coherent.

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Concept artists draw maps of locations based on quest descriptions together with the first impressions of characters and monsters.

Character artists look for ways to reflect personalities of different people, concentrating on those which are the most important to the storyline.

Location artists create the first 3D maps using the REDengine, which is an excellent tool for creating vast locations. This is the moment my team steps in. When we have the first sketches we can see how the world will look in 3D. We define the size of the gameplay area, thus setting the area the player will be able to explore. We determine what we want the player to feel when he or she walks up a hill or descends into a valley. After we combine our work with all the story and gameplay guidelines, we see a world teeming with life, no longer an empty visualization.

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