For the better part of last week I was whisked away to sunny Warsaw, Poland, for a very special visit to one of the country’s greatest exports: CD Projekt Red and their Witcher franchise. Aside from getting to visit the famed studio in person, I got a decent amount of hands-on time with the game, as well as a little time to chat with the game’s Director, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz.
After experiencing the game for the first time, I had a few questions to ask regarding how closely packed him and his team were keeping the story, and how it fit in with the new, open-world approach of this final Witcher chapter. Konrad went into detail about how the main story and side-quests interweave into one another, with smaller actions that Geralt takes having a great impact on the core narrative players will follow. This fits into the game’s micro-narratives, which are created around settlements that you visit.
The evolution of the Sign system was also a major talking point, since magic was more of a toy than a necessity in the previous title. Konrad explained how his team acknowledge this and set out to create a system more crucial to success. It comes down to making players feel like they’re a Witcher, with all of these tools at their disposal. Players will still have to favourite Swordplay, Magic or Alchemy over one another for effective builds, but Konrad believes that this time each one is as viable as the last.
Wrapping up with the twelve year Witcher veteran, I asked whether this is really the last time we’d see a Witcher game for the Polish studio. With a slight shrug, Konrad didn’t really give a definite answer, but did make it clear that most of the team were now tired of the setting. There’s still the potential for more stories in this world, but this is very much Geralt’s last ride.
As for possible future games though, that’s still up in the air. But they’re certainly not going to visit it anytime soon – especially with Cyberpunk 2077 now looming.
Last Updated: April 28, 2015
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 14:32
And by “whisked away” you mean “stuffed in some old luggage of Geoff”?
If not, FOR SHAME!
Blood Emperor Trevor
April 28, 2015 at 14:37
Everything I’ve seen about W3 looks amazing. If they can bring that to Cyberpunk 2077… I’m going to need new pants.
Weanerdog
April 28, 2015 at 14:41
When did you start wearing pants?
Pariah
April 28, 2015 at 14:41
He’s #ForeverSP. He still gets to “wear the pants”.
Weanerdog
April 28, 2015 at 14:43
Ah figurative pants. It all makes sense now.
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 14:43
This is the five dorrar question
Blood Emperor Trevor
April 28, 2015 at 14:45
I AM JUDGE HEADPANTS, ARBITER OF THE LAW & BREEZY ROBE WEARER
Pariah
April 28, 2015 at 14:45
The link is uncanny. Everyone dredds seeing that in action.
Weanerdog
April 28, 2015 at 14:47
bahaha
Deceased
April 28, 2015 at 14:39
Video is private 🙁
Also, STAHP with the Witcher posts, I can only handle so much excitement in one day!!!
Deceased
April 28, 2015 at 14:39
I’m just kidding, don’t stahp The Witcher 3 posts!!!
Deceased
April 28, 2015 at 14:45
Did he say, “… some small Polishes … ” as in plural form of Poland’s inhabitants? XD
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 14:45
Oh you!
Pariah
April 28, 2015 at 14:46
Well, the midget population contained therein.
Geoffrey Tim
April 28, 2015 at 14:42
Stupid YouTube scheduler. Is public now.
Ghost In The Rift
April 28, 2015 at 14:56
Think my hardest decision is gonna be Triss or Yennefer, hard choices in this life.
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 14:56
Hmmm, after hard thought, I say Triss
Pariah
April 28, 2015 at 14:57
“hard”. sounds legit.
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 14:58
SCIENCE!
Or is that Biology? Hmmmm
A STUDY MUST BE DONE I SAY!
Skoobaz
April 28, 2015 at 15:23
Talking of “for Science” Kerbal Space program!!!
Ghost In The Rift
April 28, 2015 at 16:22
Red heads lol, they will make you go nuts!
Deceased
April 28, 2015 at 14:57
But… but… now you’re missing out on Yennefer 🙁
Brady miaau
April 28, 2015 at 15:14
I also think so, but I think there is more darkness in Triss, esepcially in her history with Geralt, than was made clear in W1 and W2. Hints were given.
BUT Triss for the win. I can do naught but that.
Matthew Holliday
April 28, 2015 at 16:26
the books expand on their relationship a bit more.
the main points are that Yennefer might be his soul mate, but Triss was always there.
still need to finish the books, but from the 3rd book, geralt “embraces his destiny” or whatever.
so its destiny vs loyalty.
saying that Triss is darker than yeneffer might be a bit off though, triss has a dark as shit period in her backstory, but overall its a dark spot on a pretty white sheet.
yeneffers backstory might not have a pitch black spot, but her entire page is pretty muddy.
Brady miaau
April 28, 2015 at 18:59
Funny, for someone who reads a lot (sci-fi and fantasy), I have no interest in reading these books. not sure why. I think I have been burnt with translations before (Umberto Eco, for example) AND, as a principle, will not read books on my games, like Mass Effect books or something,
Thanks for the feedback.
Matthew Holliday
April 28, 2015 at 22:55
the translations are pretty legit, its not like anything gets lost or is badly written or anything, its a very good read.
but it is a tough read, not like LotR was a tough read, its just… not what I expected.
its not the same as the mass effect books, which the only thing of relevance that came out of them was one minor character, written AFTER the games.
the witcher books were written befor, it inspired the games, but sofar as i can tell, the games are entirely separate, it doesnt roll over main story lines or anything.
TBH, i have no idea how they made a game out of these, they feel like REALLY detailed character storyboards, rather than actual stories.
toko
April 29, 2015 at 01:23
“its not like anything gets lost”
I’ve only seen a couple of pages of the translated Witcher (by Danusia Stok, not the current translator) but I’m afraid I’d have to say A LOT is lost. Some of it may be attributed to the deficiencies of the English language per se, some of it to the deficiencies of the translator. The end result is, it just doesn’t have the same “feel” as the original. “Unfortunately” Sapkowski was a true master of Polish language and that shows in the translation.
Which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give the books a try, in fact you should DEFINITELY give them a try. They will greatly enhance your playing experience.
Matthew Holliday
April 29, 2015 at 09:21
as i dont speak polish, i cant really comment i guess.
but the translation im reading replaces english with some of the more common french terms.
its odd though, books that are written in another language, seem to carry a bit of the culture of the language it was written in, but i dont get that at all from this. maybe a tiny bit in character design, but overall, it doesnt FEEL polish.
toko
May 1, 2015 at 13:30
The Witcher is Polish as hell, probably the most “Polish” fantasy book I’ve read. This is in stark contrast to some other fantasy which may have been written in Poland but feels generic as hell and could’ve been written anywhere.
So if you don’t get this “feeling” when reading the Witcher, be sure helluva LOT was lost in the translation.
Brady miaau
April 29, 2015 at 06:41
Hmm, before the games does sort of refute my argument. Maybe I get and e-book or something.
Hammersteyn
April 28, 2015 at 15:06
http://img-9gag-fun.9cache.com/photo/aM1j6nA_460sa.gif
Admiral Chief
April 28, 2015 at 15:08
Both gif?
Hammersteyn
April 28, 2015 at 15:27
😛
Alessandro Barbosa
April 28, 2015 at 15:18
I saw Yennefer…
Decision became a little easier after that 😛 She’s spellbinding
Matthew Holliday
April 28, 2015 at 16:27
to be fair, you cant go wrong with either.
destiny vs loyalty, its a tough decision.
Lardus-Resident Perve
April 28, 2015 at 15:10
Sounds good – especially where he corrected you on the DLC/Expansion wording!
Alessandro Barbosa
April 28, 2015 at 15:17
Yeah, they’re very against the label of DLC. Time will tell whether the two expansions do justice to the name though
peter decosta
April 28, 2015 at 18:14
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