Codex Interview The Witcher interview

[Ausir]

Tags: CD Projekt; Witcher, The

We have asked CD Projekt, the developer of The Witcher, an upcoming action-RPG based on the books of Andrzej Sapkowski, a few questions, and got some interesting answers. Here's a snippet:

12. In The Witcher there won't be a clear distinction between Good and Evil. Could you give an example of a morally ambiguous situation from your game?

The whole world of The Witcher functions without the clichéd simplification of Good vs. Evil conflicts — therefore we will encounter moral dilemmas all the time. Sometimes there is no doubt that finishing a profitable quest will require us to violate law, the witcher code, or just your own idea of what is right. Most people can't distinguish between a monster slayer and an assassin, and will often request someone to be murdered. Sometimes while working on a quest you'll realize that you were cheated, and what you're actually doing is wrong — the quest of rescuing a princess turns out to be actually about kidnapping her for ransom. Some of them will require choosing one side of the conflict, where everyone is equally vicious and wicked. A classic example is racial hatred — in revenge for pogroms, the persecuted elves answer with acts of terror and murdering innocent people. Which side will our hero choose?
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[Sol Invictus]

The interview is pretty sweet. I'm actually enthused about this one.

 

[Eclecticist]

They should answer the fucking questions properly and stop being hype-bitches.

 

[Elwro]

Yeah, I posted a thread about it on the official Polish boards, but I'm still waiting for any responses.

 

[Elwro]

OK, I was flamed, called a n00b, and then the thread got locked.
I haven't seen such a board in a while.

 

[Sol Invictus]

OK, I was flamed, called a n00b, and then the thread got locked.
I haven't seen such a board in a while.

Post a link to the thread, please.

 

[Elwro]

Here you go.
I didn't post it, because it's in Polish.

 

[Sol Invictus]

Can you clarify what that thread is about? And what they're saying to you?

 

[Elwro]

Frankly, this thread has almost no content. It can be civilly summarized in such a way: you should've used the search engine / gezz if every spammer posted a thread after each interview this place would become a mess / there's another thread in which you should've asked that / (!) interview is a form of commercial (2 people have said that.)
No one actually referred to what I was saying. I turned to the thread they pointed me to - it was a big "Questions to CDPRS" thread. There I asked my questions again, explicitly about the reason for which they ignored some of the questions. I cited the questions and pointed that they were about matters fundamental to any cRPG, such as dialogues or plot linearity.
The responses I got so far say "They already answered the questions about linearity in other interviews, so why should they bother". If something interesting appears, I'll post it here.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Well, keep in mind that interview was given to CD Projekt months ago.. months, before a lot of the other sites had their interviews out. Ausir even gave it to them in Polish, and got the answers back in Polish, which he translated himself. There really shouldn't have been that much of a delay in getting the interview back, but there you go.

 

[Ausir]

Well, I'm partly responsible for the delay myself, too, so CD Projekt is not the only one to blame - it took a while to translate it...

 

[Elwro]

From the Polish FAQ I got the info that the game will have five chapters and will take 30-40 hrs, but "you won't be able to experience the game in its whole depth the first time you play" and similar usual bs. Each chapter will have about 12 main locations. No missile weapons in the game. The creators aim for the "Mature" rating in the USA.

I got a nice and polite reply from their 3d programmer (stating sth like "I don't want to make excuses for my friends, but they certainly didn't want to disregard any questions" etc). I got into a discussion with a dumbfuck mod who deleted my post. I also got a desperate PM from an oversensitive girl saying that she couldn't stand my posts and that I offended her by saying that a mod shouldn't make spelling mistakes.

 

[dojoteef]

Wow, most Polish gamers seem to be whiny assholes :D.

 

[EEVIAC]

I got into a discussion with a dumbfuck mod who deleted my post. I also got a desperate PM from an oversensitive girl saying that she couldn't stand my posts and that I offended her by saying that a mod shouldn't make spelling mistakes.

What exactly did you write to get that kind of reaction? I've always thought that you were one of the more moderate and polite posters (by Codex standards.) Maybe Evil Elwro only appears in Polish...

 

[Sol Invictus]

Whenever anyone mentions something about a 'dumbfuck mod who deletes my posts' I feel like the small, metaphorical dagger that was plunged into my stomach a long time ago, when the first person said it about me, is clawing further into the recesses of my intestines.

I have a deep seated guilt that will never go away.

 

[dojoteef]

Stop lying Exitium, you know you love every minute of your power hungry ways :mrgreen:.

 

[Fez]

Whenever anyone mentions something about a 'dumbfuck mod who deletes my posts' I feel like the small, metaphorical dagger that was plunged into my stomach a long time ago, when the first person said it about me, is clawing further into the recesses of my intestines.

I have a deep seated guilt that will never go away.

Write the Codex into your will and top yourself. That solves most problems. If it doesn't work I'll buy you a pizza.

 

[Elwro]

What exactly did you write to get that kind of reaction?

I wrote that replying to questions in such a way was a sign that CDPRS disrespected both the interviewer and the public, displaying a belief that people don't feel the need for the answers to be relevantly connected to the questions. I pointed out that some of the more important questions - about linearity and about the dialogue system - were ignored and the developers posted something that looked like an answer to a really different question. The mod said to me "You have to practice your reading skills if you want to understand anything in the future" (or sth), citing some completely irrelevant passages from the review and claiming that they contained answers to the questions I mentioned. I retorted proving that those passages were irrelevant, and he said "If you have a problem with me, PM me". I said "You overestimate yourself if you really think I might have a problem with you", and he deleted that.

 

[EEVIAC]

I retorted proving that those passages were irrelevant, and he said "If you have a problem with me, PM me". I said "You overestimate yourself if you really think I might have a problem with you", and he deleted that.

It sounds pretty tame, but maybe your leaving out the sections where you call him a faggot. It seems to me that there's an increasing reluctance on the part of developers to admit that their games are linear. Even Leon produced some boners like "well the main story is linear..." I don't know why the admission of linearity is so embarrassing for game developers.

 

[Volourn]

Yeah, I can see why devs would love to share the linearty of their game switch others then be called good for nothing morons who desereve to be castrated. Yeah.

Heck, BL's linearty doesn't really bother me.

 

[dojoteef]

Heck, BL's linearty doesn't really bother me.

Volourn, that's the point. Why should developers try to hide the fact, or skirt around it? It's just another aspect of the game. It's like EEIVAC said, it seems the developers are almost too timid to actually mention the fact that their storyline is linear. Yes, I would prefer a more non-linear game for replayability sake, regardless though when I buy a game I want to know what I'm getting into. As long as the game is good, I don't care if the story is linear or not. When the developers dodge issues like this it tends to be one of two things, they are either ashamed about the aspect of the game in question, or they don't want to release that information yet because it's not complete or for competative reasons. The storyline though is something that is usually ironed out near the beginning of a development cycle for an RPG not near the end, so they should know whether or not the game is linear or not. Why won't they answer a question regarding it then? I think that's the issue.

 

[Volourn]

Um.. I told you why. Because, of the reaction 'linear games' tend to get on the net. Geez.. Just look at all the whining about the last aprt of BL which is nowhere as bad as people claim it is. It's because it's been punded so hard that linearty = bad so devs just rather not discuss it or spin their game's linearty ala Leon. I don't blame them one bit as long as the 'Codex and their ilk exists.

 

[dojoteef]

Volourn what you're saying still just skirts the truth. When you play the game you will find out if it's linear or not, in fact most reviews (well maybe not most, reviewers can be pretty damned stupid) will mention the linearity or non-linearity of the story. It is an aspect of the gameplay. I haven't read anyone here at the Codex mention they aren't going to buy a game because it features a linear storyline, that's absurd. So I'm not sure where you're coming from with this. Those that want non-linear stories want them for replayability. It can be pretty damned boring playing a game for the second time if all that changes are your skills. You are still forced on the exact same track.

I don't think people complain about the end sections of Bloodlines because of linearity, the whole game is linear. They complain about those sections because of the heavy emphasis on combat, which I guess most people didn't like.

 

[Volourn]

The game has a focus on combat (or stealth) throughout the game. I don't know know there's a rumour otherwise.

And, no, if you see the rants abot linearty vs. non linearty; it's pretty obvious why devs don't "hype" a game's linearty.

 

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Whenever anyone mentions something about a 'dumbfuck mod who deletes my posts' I feel like the small, metaphorical dagger that was plunged into my stomach a long time ago, when the first person said it about me, is clawing further into the recesses of my intestines.

I have a deep seated guilt that will never go away.

But then you take all that guilt, transform it into a power trip, and turn the dagger in a 180º degree motion and go 'stabbity death' on others.