Interview The Witcher interview at the Codex

[Vault Dweller]

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher, The

Joanna Kobylecka, the <a href=http://www.cdprojekt.com/>CD Projekt</a>'s PR lady, has <a href=http://www.rpgcodex.com/content.php?id=128>answered a few questions</a> about <a href=http://www.thewitcher.com/>The Witcher</a> for your amusement:
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<blockquote><b>1. Let's talk about that "RPG Redefined" thing. What's it all about and why do you think that the genre should be redefined? Most importantly, why do you believe that your attempts to redefine it would actually improve the genre?</b>
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The best way to clarify this statement is to say that we don’t feel we are redefining the computer role-playing game genre, but changing the way that one achieves an overall role-playing experience. First, you had pen and paper games. At the heart of this was a great story, playing a role, and exploring a fantasy world through imagination. Then when computers arrived the experience simply transferred to a new medium, but instead of dice determining the next outcome you had the computer doing the computations. Then, with the advancements in computer technology we saw these worlds come alive with visual depth and amazing technology, but the focus on using numbers for advancement still remained. Our goal is to focus on delivering a great story within a rich fantasy world, taking on the role of this mysterious monster slayer, and introducing combat yet to be seen in PC RPGs. This is what we feel is the modern version of achieving a role-playing experience at the heart of what pen and paper RPGs did, but without the focus on numbers.</blockquote>Discuss!
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[HotSnack]

They have trained her well in the PRorce...

My awesome punneries aside, just what is "combat from a role-playing perspective"? The only role-playing in crpg combat I've seen has usually amounted to a power attack vs. smite evil choice upon picking powers.

 

[Naked_Lunch]

I like what they said about the non-linearity in regards to getting the key from the merchant, which shows that the thing with the guards and the harlot wasn't a one-shot deal. The combat doesn't sound too bad as they made it out before, as at least now we know it's been balanced out with the open-ended quests and whatnot.

The third is a simple collectible dice game. Each of them adds depth and variety to the overall gameplay experience.

Gotta catch 'em all!

 

[Atrokkus]

Though being quite sceptical at first, I am now having pretty high hopes for the game. Perhaps I just got baited by their clever PR, but hell -- it might actually turn out to be as good as they paint it now, or at least not diametrically opposite, as with Oblivion.

Thanks for the interview, VD.

 

[Atrokkus]

Oh, and VD - remove the comma from the {URL} tag of the official site link.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

I wasn't that interested in the witcher, but if they have really implemented choice in quests as they claim (and to the extent the example insinuates), I would definitely pick it up. I am not getting particularly excited over the combat system, but it's no deterrent for me either. Anyway, I guess I should pay more attention to this title. Good PR work, Joanna!

 

[meeneque]

Well what interests me the most is how much of the original book setting is going to be implemented there. The books were something great when I read them few years ago.

 

[FrancoTAU]

If it turns out to be Diablo 2 with more of a well thought out story, quests and dialogue I'd be thrilled. It sounds like that is what they're going for.

Anywho, I was interested in this one before because of the interesting setting and now i'm a little optimistic that it'll be a decent RPG on top of that. I'm just a little annoyed that VD didn't ask her about the kewl grafix! Seriously though, they are using the Half Life 2 engine right?

 

[Kraken]

I think The Witcher sounds pretty interesting. Haven't really bothered about it before, but will probably follow it more closely now. I really like that they avoid the overly simplified "good/bad" theme that so many games follow. If they truly accomplish multiple ways to solve quests as well as non-linearity, this is certainly a game to look forward to. Even with lack of TB combat, what she described doesn't sound too bad. We'll see how it all works out.

 

[Section8]

Ugh, lots of PR speak to cut through, but there are some real gems in there, and a whole lot of promise.

This is what we feel is the modern version of achieving a role-playing experience at the heart of what pen and paper RPGs did, but without the focus on numbers.

This could be good or bad. In the positive light, it sounds as though they're moving stat crunching to the background, primarily with regard to combat gameplay, and as long as the RP elements measure up, I can live with that. On the other hand, it's all too common to hear a developer assuring us how they've simplified everything but still maintain depth for those who want it!

All in all though, I thought that wasn't a half bad answer to the "RPG redefined" nonsense. It comes across as "we want to closely emulate a P&P experience, but with regard to the strengths and weaknesses of the CRPG medium." I hope they live up to it.

Combat from a role-playing point of view is pretty exciting.

A slightly goofy comment, but on the whole, another good answer. If combat is going to be a major component, it's good to hear that different character builds allow different combat tactics. It's a bit sad really, that should be a given, but given the sorry state of CRPGs, it actually sounds exciting.

A big focus from the beginning of our design was to make the game non-linear, both on the level of minor decisions and solving small problems, as well as on the global level...It is important that, unlike in other games, we do not take a single decision at the end, which determines the finale.

Now we're talking. It sounds as thought they're taking the idea of choice and consequence very seriously. Another one for the "here's hoping they live up to it" basket.

Each player may develop his character in a different way. Depending on how we choose skills, we could create a witcher who is a soulless mutant, a witcher with magical powers almost equalling a sorcerer, or one who practically only uses the sword.

And again, I'm very glad to hear they're focused on differentiating character development. I hope the attention to detail carries over into elements other than just the combat, though. It would be nice if I can represent my character as a soulless mutant through dialogue.

Typically for our game, the player can choose the simple solution; that is, to declare himself on the side of one of the groups and reach the goal as quickly as possible. However, in the long term, it turns out that it would be much better to try to solve the problem from a neutral position and to reconcile the divided inhabitants...This is not a choice between “being good” and “being evil”. We listen to all of the sides and make a difficult decision – which of them we should help.

More goodness! I love the idea of numerous simple solutions and also a bigger, better solution for a player who's up for the challenge. I also dig the moral ambiguity idea they're pushing where the player actually makes a choice instead of just picking the obvious good/evil choice depending on their character.

We think both the purists of action and traditional RPGs will be satisfied.

Gah! Now where have we heard that before? I honestly can't pick my favourite from the many examples we've had in the past where games have more or less failed to satisfy either.

Several methods exist for influencing characters during dialogues, through which we can find out things that the person (for various reasons) would not normally tell us.

Another ambiguity. It sounds promising, but it might turn out to be:

NPC: I don't trust you enough to talk about that.

PC: <give cash/get drunk/cast spell>

NPC: Okay bestest buddy, here's the skinny...

Let's hope it's dialogue driven, and not completely transparent. Oh and I hope the player is able to fuck up, such as through offer a bribe that is too small, or getting a character too plastered to speak, etc.

It may be just one of the solutions you have available to you and you won’t know the outcome of your choice until you make it. These improve gameplay because it provides the player with a choice to play the role that they wish.

If it's half as good as some of the Space Rangers 2 text adventurish bits I'll be a happy man.

The very plot of the game is also dependent on the choice of faction. If we decide to help one of them, certain quests, and paths associated with these quests, open up before us. Unequivocally opting for one of the sides also has an influence on the conclusion of the game.

Is it just me who is having Lionheart flashbacks in a big way here?

With regards to Fallout, it presented the story in a non-linear fashion and its world was focused on violence to a degree. As mentioned above our story line is presented in a non-linear way and our game world is not your typical fantasy with the good guys and the bad guys. But overall, our game deals with modern issues we face today and Fallout addressed that to a degree. It also focused on delivering a strong storyline, just as we intend to do.

Well, either their heart is in the right place, or they just know how to sell to the Codex. From that, it sounds incredibly promising as a game, provided they live up to their own goals and hype. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, and hoping for some more gameplay vids that are as impressive as the "city gates" one.

[edit] Oh and I really liked the "it's hard to sell a typical action RPG because there's just so fucking many of them" bit. Beats the hell out of the "Titan Quest is going to be awesome, because nobody is making action RPGs these days!" shit that one of the major mainstream sites spewed forth.

 

[kohla]

....the kewl grafix! Seriously though, they are using the Half Life 2 engine right?

I thought it was Bioware's NWN engine..

 

[Ryuken]

Yeah, heavily modified. I wouldn't recognise it even from the Witcher screenshots (good thing for CDProject of course since the original Aurora engine never came close to delivering the same visual charm of 2D rpg's imo).

 

[obediah]

PR Person 1: Let's redefine the RPG genre.

CEO: I love it.

PR Person 1: Instead of tons of number crunching and boring TB combat, it will be fast-paced action but your skills will determine the options available to you.

CEO: I love it.

Fly on the wall: <cough> Action RPG </cough>

CEO: I love it.

PR Person 1: No, it's not a crappy Action RPG, it's a redefinition of RPG to replace slow-paced, TB combat, with fast-paced action combat.

CEO: I love it.

Gly on the wall: Listen you stupid bitch, you're not redesigning CRPGS, you're re-inventing Action RPGs. I don't know what evil reason you have for attempting to deceive everyone, but it's an Action RPG.

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The rest of the interview was very promising, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable being optimistic about it if I wasn't screaming "BULLSHIT" in my head over and over by the third question.

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

That's not the point. An action RPG with depth and nonlinearity, choice and conseqeunce would be a wet dream come true.

 

[obediah]

That's not the point.

It's an interview to help me learn about the game to see if I want to follow it's development and possibly buy it. From previous experience, I know that some PR people are more interested in raising interest for their game than helping people make an informed decision based on an accurate representation of the game. I know the first 3 answers are pure PR bullshit - not using that information to guard my enthusiam for the other answers would be stupid.

An action RPG with depth and nonlinearity, choice and conseqeunce would be a wet dream come true.

Well I don't know about that, but such a game would have a lot of potential. It would also still be an action rpg, and not an "rpg redefined". We're also not talking about a hypothetical game, we're talking about a real game in development. That means that we can't just talk about how cool features would be, we also have to think about how likely they are, and how well the implementation will approximate the promises.

 

[LlamaGod]

The Witcher seems like it will be atleast enjoyable to play for awhile, so far atleast. But I have a sneaking suspicion that it'll be a 'whipping boy' game, as in it'll be one of those good but not perfect forgiener games that all the major sites decide to use as their aggression pillow.

All good points of the game will be ignored and all the bad ones will be overexaggerated and be-moaned endlessly.

 

[Elwro]

An interesting interview, with content (!). I really think that, even if they took their time, the team put some effort in answering the questions. Thanks to Joanna and VD!

Morally ambiguous choices were something I loved in Geneforge and I hope CDProjekt manages to weive a nice story around them.

 

[Jaesun]

Good interview. I'm more interested in playing The Witcher than Oblivion now. The Witcher sounded like something I would not be interested in, but if they impliment most of all they state in this interview, I might pick up a copy.

 

[FrancoTAU]

....the kewl grafix! Seriously though, they are using the Half Life 2 engine right?

I thought it was Bioware's NWN engine..

Ah, i think you're right. What Euro RPG was licensing out Valve's engine? Was it Roots?

Witcher = Neverwinter Nights/Aurora Engine
Night Watch = Silent Storm Engine
Roots = Valves Engine? Doens't really matter since the project is dead.

 

[RK47]

Yeh honestly it's action from the way the screenie showed the guy charging in with his big sword

Sounds like worth a look.

 

[Elwro]

Too bad it's (if I recall the news correctly) to be released in early 2007...

 

[Dhruin]

The only Euro RPG using source would have been Arx2, which has been dropped for Dark Messiah.

Nice interview, although I didn't see anything particularly new.

 

[Zomg]

Can you bring up the term "dialogue trees" in interviews from now on?

 

[suibhne]

I've been looking forward to this since the early info about its development. Color me "cautiously optimistic", I guess.

I'd prefer TB, but I'll take RT if it's fun. I'm much more willing to put up with RT combat with a single character vs. party-based action, anyway. And the quest design sounds good, which means they at least know the right answers. Even if The Witcher doesn't live up to its own goals, even having decent goals is far more than you can say for Bethesda or almost everybody else in the RPG market right now.

And ooh lolly, but do those screenies look good. Let's just hope the animation can hold up its end of the bargain; that's where a lot of otherwise fine-looking games end up sucking. (*cough*OBLIVION*cough*)

 

[Dhruin]

That's what I liked about The Witcher - who knows if they will pull it off as described but at least they are heading in the right direction in terms of non-linearity and multiple solutions.