Interview The Witcher interview at Rock Paper Shotgun

[Ausir]

Tags: CD Projekt; Michal Madej; Witcher, The

<a href=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/>Rock Paper Shotgun</a> <a href=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1407>has interviewed</a> Michal Madej of <a href=http://www.cdprojekt.com>CD Projekt RED</a> about the upcoming Enhanced Edition of <a href=httP://www.thewitcher.com>The Witcher</a>.
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<blockquote><b>Was it daunting, breaking into a genre dominated by Bioware and Bethesda, and threatened somewhat by MMORPGs?</b>
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Personally I find it more motivational than daunting. It&#8217;s really fair competition and we are not &#8220;enemies&#8221; on the market, as there are very few good RPGs for players to choose from. Still, we do struggle to get the best reviews, scores and awards. I think we did really well because the genre tycoons grew a little overconfident and stuck to the old clichés. We had to come up with an idea for a new, fresh and modern RPG experience that would still feel familiar to Baldur&#8217;s Gate or Elder Scrolls fans. I think we were also a little faster in noticing that to compete with the more and more popular MMOs, you must offer a completely different experience. Many single-player RPGs still contain too many gameplay elements that are simply more exciting in a multiplayer game, like money grinding and random drops. Instead we focused on elements that just don&#8217;t play an important role in MMOs &#8211; a captivating storyline, meaningful choices, character interactions and emotions.</blockquote>You can read the rest of the interview <a href=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1407>here</a>.

 

[Andhaira]

Good stuff, though Mass Effect isn't exactl;y an overdone cliche. Its a unique game in a unique universe.

 

[Claw]

The question Ausir quoted is so funny to me because the only Bioware game I've ever played is Baldur's Gate, and I never finished it.

I also didn't really like any Bethesda RPG.


I'm not yet sure I like The Witcher either. I've got some choppy performance and don't like the combat too much.

 

[RK47]

Fuck, this is so much better than listening about acorns playing an integral part in the game's storyline or a dog that can fetch ammo in a post-apoc environment. It's like tuning to some good tune in the radio trying desperately to get out from the gangsta rap or bubble gum pop trash we get these days.

 

[tunguska]

You can’t make games if you are not passionate, dedicated and convinced that you are making something extraordinary...

Tell that to Bethesda and all the other cynical "just make simple crap for the console kiddies because they make more money and cost less" developers. It's telling that Witcher has so much nudity (from what I have heard - I haven't played it yet). They were obviously aiming for an older demographic (Yay!). And I really like Medej's POV on this. Very insightful about having to do something very different from the sickeningly popular MMORPGs. He had to have been thinking of Bethesda when he said that. The opposite of that 'open' (and to me boring) play style is precisely what I look for in a CRPG.

 

[DefJam101]

Good stuff, though Mass Effect isn't exactl;y an overdone cliche. Its a unique game in a unique universe.

Any space opera setting that isn't a "space-opera noir" nowadays is not original.

It's.. OK... but the whole idea of large government entities and light/dark is horribly overplayed. We need more gray.

 

[Zhirzzh]

Good stuff, though Mass Effect isn't exactl;y an overdone cliche. Its a unique game in a unique universe.

Any space opera setting that isn't a "space-opera noir" nowadays is not original.

It's.. OK... but the whole idea of large government entities and light/dark is horribly overplayed. We need more gray.

The second thing you said is very true. As to the first, ALL space opera is inherently cliche in novels, but very underused in Crpgs.

 

[MetalCraze]

a good interview. read it earlier this morning. I just hope the Enhanced patch-whatever won't be like 1 gig in size or something.

 

[Ausir]

It will be a few gigs, actually. Especially the English version, with new voice-overs.

 

[MetalCraze]

such a small patch. I wish they'd change the boring grinding quests to something more interesting. bring me N of monser skulls is so mmorpg...

 

[Crolug]

such a small patch. I wish they'd change the boring grinding quests to something more interesting. bring me N of monser skulls is so mmorpg...

I have to disappoint you mate but it's just what the witchers do for living. It's like you'd like Roger Wilco not to sweep starship halls with his golden broom, if you know what I mean

 

[27]

In theory yes. But why in books it was nowhere near the boring style of the game? Even if we ignore tha fact that Geralt eventually stopped being witcher (omg, spoiler), earlier when he did go on a 'hunt' it was either quick and to the point or rather interesting. But it was always the case of a single monster. One kikimora was a problem for a whole village, one drowner was a reason to call a professional killer, one manticora/gryphon caused enormous problems to merchants and travellers by blocking an important road etc. There was never such an infestation of monsters as presented in the game. I think that one could assume there ware barely so many monsters in the whole world of witcher, not to mention the closest vicinity of Wizima.

So if one doesn't like the fact that most of the quests are boring as hell, there is no explanation 'it's part of the setting!' because that's not the case. If devs wished to stay true to the books, it would be very hard to make an action RPG out of this game. I guess it would rather resemble an unorthodox adventure game with many dialogues, a considerable bit of investigation (after all one of the inspirations for Geralt was Marlowe - not in trade but in character, but still.. ) and perhaps some action elements - e.g. Blade Runner style.

So yeah, the game was fun despite the boring grinding, but it did screw the setting considerably.

 

[bozia2012]

In theory yes. But why in books it was nowhere near the boring style of the game?

This is the dumb thing tW inherited from h'n's games.

Better would be to upgrade 90% fights to boss-fights - less monstarz, but hard-as-fuck to kill and add some scripted events. Anyone who read the books knows that Geralt really had to prepare for each fight and he won them by being smarter than monsters and faster than humies. And he was not a tank - just remember how he was killed (in the game you would just use a group stance or igni lolz).

[I liked the first chapter's tomb - without preparation you didn't have any chance to win.]

I think CDPR added those quests for an easy way for you (and them) to get money, XP and some "non-meaningless" kills.

 

[WhiskeyWolf]

but hard-as-fuck to kill and add some scripted events

+1

 

[dragonfk]

just remember...

Just what the fuck do you think you are doing? Hide that fucking spoiler.

 

[bozia2012]

just remember...

Just what the fuck do you think you are doing? Hide that fucking spoiler.

Lolz - it's not a spoiler. Everybody knows he died for the sins of mankind (I didn't tell how - not directly at least).

 

[Soulforged]

Did you ever expect the cards to be controversial? And do you think the people who consider them offensive have a point?

It depends on the territory – in some countries we did think it would be controversial, especially in America, but not in Germany, for example. And the people who consider the cards offensive have a freedom of choice; they don’t have to collect them. Actually, those cards express their choices; so if the decided to have sex with a girl in the game, why would they feel offended by her naked breasts? And we really made those cards more into classy artwork than vulgar sex scenes, which I hope is obvious.

That's not entirely truth, some cases were easily predictable, you knew they were going to end in Geralt fucking someone. Some others, however, were not as predictable or didn't give you any choices specificaly relating to the sex scenes and the resulting cards. The card with the vampires was a good example, if you decide to save them from the knights Geralt ends up having sex with them, no matter what you do, you can choose to not save them, but perhaps you want to save them and not fuck them. There was another moment in which I was frozen by the poverty of the design, you're in a cave, there's a female elf refugee who is suffering from hunger and if you decide to help her by giving her food Geralt automatically ends up shagging here. That was comedy gold for sure.

 

[mjorkerina]

Considering the fact that the witcher is sterile all the shagging armies of wymyn doesn't even serve the purpose of spreading your genes everywhere.

 

[dragonfk]

just remember...

Just what the fuck do you think you are doing? Hide that fucking spoiler.

Lolz - it's not a spoiler. Everybody knows he died for the sins of mankind (I didn't tell how - not directly at least).

Are you on drugs, have you been drinking heavily yesterday? "Everyone knows" ? WTF? Maybe you shouldnt be so arbitrary as to presume that everyone knows the event from the end of Saga. Imagine not all of the people from Codex read the books or played the game. To be honest I have never seen more dumb explanation than"Everyone knows that"... And how in nine hells the fact you dont say how he died changes anything? I dont understand how anybody could not see it as a MAJOR SPOILAGE?!

 

[27]

Actually CDP screwed up and spoiled the whole story so that by now most people who have had contact with the game know how the books end. And even if that was not such a big deal (i.e. what happens to Geralt at the end of saga), some NPCs summarise all the major events from books. So while you would know the end, you could still be surprised by some minor things, like Regis - but no, Jaskier ("Da..." whatever his name was in English) tells you who he (Regis) was and there is no surprise.
Fortunately the books don't depend on 'OMG I didn't expect THAT!' events that much, so it's not *that* bad.

It's rather sad that instead of the opportunity of fully enjoying quite good story of Sapkowski, you get a medicore sci-fi-something that doesn't even belong in the setting.


At least they didn't screw up the elves (much).

 

[bozia2012]

Actually CDP screwed up and spoiled the whole story so that by now most people who have had contact with the game know how the books end. And even if that was not such a big deal (i.e. what happens to Geralt at the end of saga), some NPCs summarise all the major events from books. So while you would know the end, you could still be surprised by some minor things, like Regis - but no, Jaskier ("Da..." whatever his name was in English) tells you who he (Regis) was and there is no surprise.
Fortunately the books don't depend on 'OMG I didn't expect THAT!' events that much, so it's not *that* bad.

Thanks for explaining this to dragonfk.

The whole Jaskier-telling-the-story-of-Regis event feels really forced - like if they wanted to spoil it so badly.

 

[dragonfk]

Imagine not all of the people from Codex read the books or played the game.

Big up for reading with comprehension.

 

[JarlFrank]

Meh, I don't remember everything from the game anymore anyways so once the books are translated the minor details will still be surprising. I've seen the series too, but someone here said it didn't contain spoilers for the saga, so that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[27]

...who have had contact with the game...

Doesn't browsing through these forums qualify as having said contact? If you assumed that at least one person in this thread hasn't read earlier topics about The Witcher (where that particular spoiler was revealed continously) or seen CDP's advertising campaign ("The game starts 5 years after Geralt's death, rly!") it would make sense to act as if there was anybody potentially interested in the books who doesn't know how the game starts. But I guess that's a bit naive.

edit: JarlFrank -> The series not only doesn't contain any spoilers but also completely doesn't fit the saga as quite a few of characters that should appear in later books die in the series (in a lame and unreasonable way, but that's beside the point). So if it spoils the books it's only because it takes some characters and ideas and then puts them on their head (just to mention the fact that in movie Geralt was made to be some emo honourable samurai - complete opposition of Geralt from the books, maybe beside the emo part).

 

[dragonfk]

...
But I guess that's a bit naive.

Here I am, a bit naive person for whom clear indication of spoilers on the Internet is a must.