CD Project Red’s upcoming addition to the fantasy RPG saga, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt won the reigns of E3. The game features a vast beautiful landscape matched with a dynamic tactical combat system and a complex, decision-oriented story to match.
The newly made open-world environment is the talk among the team working on Witcher 3, with many personal investments into the game, due to the high popularity at The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. The games are based on the novels by the author Andrzej Sapkowski, who works with the story writers of The Witcher 3. They ensure the books and stories work in sync with each other. Senior VFX artist Jose Teixeira explains “We were limited before, maybe we didn’t have the technology or manpower to do it, we were limited in terms of the size of the game we could bring you. Now we can bring you a true open-world experience.” This is exactly what we want to hear.
The team guarantees a vast open world, with vast beautiful places to explore, numerous people to visit, hundreds of objectives to complete and collectibles to achieve. There are over 100 hours of gameplay which must accommodate for a vast world, as Teixeira explains – “something like 65 times larger than The Witcher 2.” Alongside the epic world, there are around 80 different beasts to come up against. Some water based, some land and air – with some water and air. That sounds like some challenging combat, which is exactly that.
The new combat system is innovative and simply, it works very smoothly. CD Project Red use motion-capture on a stunt double wielding Geralt’s sword. Every piece of combat used in Witcher 3, it’s real. Fluent movements as you would see them in real life, that’s if we were slaying giant beasts. Jose Teixeira explains “I think we have something like 96 animations just for combat, just for hits.” There are many possibilities in combat also, with Geralt able to attack from the side, above and even with his elbow – cheap shots. A tactics system is also in place, with customisable armour, weapons and potions available to enhance your combat. Teixeira explains “Our whole point is to make it fun and rewarding for everybody – it’s difficult, but it’s rewarding.” – which is again exactly what we want to hear. Maybe in the mist of Dragon Age and Dark Souls?
Now, what sets Witcher 3: Wild Hunt aside from the upcoming RPG titles such as Dragon Age: Inquisition,Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and Fable Legends? Jose Teixeira explains that it depends on the player.
“The thing that set The Witcher 3 apart is the story; it’s a really interesting story” he explains, which is understandable with such a solid writing team. A gamer expects well scripted dialogue, excellent voice acting and believable landscapes. “People who want a more deep, interesting experience, they will definitely find it in The Witcher 3” – explains Teixeira.
Although similar to RPG’s such as Dragon Age, another aspect that, keeps The Witcher fans hooked is that the game choice really matter. The team at CD Project Red have developed a term for their many alternate endings. ‘World states’, after the main story is finished, the world you roam has changed quite a bit. Each choice you made in the past had a consequence on who is dead or alive, whether or not villages are buried in rubble or safe as usual. The gigantic world will be 100% affected by the choice you made. Teixeira states “Right now I think we’re up to about 36 of them, so that’s 36 different potential endings so far”. Although this is not a final number, there are 36 complete and final ‘world states’, with the possibility of more to come.
Could The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt compete with Dragon Age Inquisition’s 40 alternate endings? How much potential do you think CD Project Red’s upcoming title has? Leave your comments below!
