Part 6 - The world, moral issues and the main character

The word has it, you showed character’s morality during E3 and the influence some of the choices had on the plotline.

It is quite obvious that with Andrzej Sapkowski’s prose as basis and with our willingness not to lose the most interesting aspects of the world we could not simply aim at producing a black and white set of cliché morals and behaviors so painfully characteristic of most RPG games. In Sapkowski’s prose there is no clear distinction between good and evil. Everything is presented in the shades of gray and even choices made with best intentions can turn out to be difficult, tragic or bad. This is an element that distinguishes our game’s quality, storyline and a general approach to the world, from all other RPGs taking place in majority of known fantasy realms. We believe this is the approach that has a greatest chance of getting through to contemporary players. We must take into account the fact, that players are no longer 12-13-year-olds. These days an average age of a gamer oscillates around 30, in Poland – twenty something. Thus, kids are not necessarily main target for The Witcher. The game’s addressed to more mature players, ones having their own fixed idea of the world. They might be puzzled by a formulaic, fairy-tale-like approach to the idea of good and evil. What we’re trying to show them is a much more complex world with real, and thus more believable, interesting choices. In majority of computer games the players realise but too well that only playing a good character pays off. That is, unfortunately, how most of the screenplays are constructed. Playing a bad character usually requires much more effort and sacrifices. Not to mention that all ‘moral’ choices (I used inverted commas, since an obvious decision may not be considered a moral one, whenever an arbitrary system of good and evil exists) in the game are predictable. If, while making a choice, one’s able to, by simply saving/loading the game, check whether it results in gaining experience points or perhaps a powerful magic sword – entire importance of such decision is virtually irrelevant. If one choice of a dialogue line results in acquiring ‘The Sword of Light’ while the other – ‘The Sword of Darkness’ both enhanced with various qualities and powers – the player knows which one to chose beforehand. He’s not actually interested in the essence of the choice, in morals that stand behind it – He’s led simply by willingness of achieving that which suits him best. If such situation is awarded with a certain amount of experience or reputation points, the player’s choice is obvious. When the player plays a paladin it is only natural that he or she will not choose the path of evil, because it might result in a smaller number of EXP. That is no morality. Here the only thing that counts is efficiency. Any choice remains but a mere background of a given situation. There’s no place for such things in The Witcher. None of the decisions made are either good, or bad – quite the opposite, they’re good and bad at the same time. Each of them is right, but also carries a certain burden and consequences. We would not like players to get frustrated if any outcome would misfit their expectations. Each of the choices pays off to a certain extent, but each is followed by a price to be paid.

This would result in a non-linear storyline, wouldn’t it?

Exactly. Generally, when it comes to the script there are three basic aspects concerning the non-linearity of the main thread. The game ends in three different ways, different in virtually every aspect, take the geopolitical situation for example. In each of those three endings, the main character plays a different role. Each time he’s faced with different goal and result to his deeds. The non-linearity is strongly connected with acting in favour of certain party. The Witcher is a lone wolf, he will not join any faction, though he may support any of them. The other aspect of the game’s non-linearity stems from the fact that nearly any quest can be fulfilled in a number of ways. Finally, there’s the butterfly effect to some of the events. Meaning, that some the supposedly trivial decisions may bring about a thorough change in the gameplay. This will give players a feel or actual participation in the life of the world. A feel that their choices matter.

Can you tell us a thing or two about the main assumptions for the story? What kind of quests can we expect?

The first and obviously most important thing is – we’re playing Geralt. Not much of a surprise, I know, we announced that some time ago. The Witcher appears with no memories of his past. The main goal of the game will not be for him to reinvent himself in a way – who he is is quite clear. Geralt is a well known individual and recognised by many. The trouble is getting to know the reason for his amnesia and the reason for his return. The other thread is a more epic one, it develops around a robbery of the witchers’ keep and the missing of mutation formulas. Ones that allow turning men into superhuman beings. And there’s of course a plethora of subplots and subthreads. That is about all I can tell you of the storyline at the moment. I would not like to spoil the fun of uncovering them by yourselves. As far as quests go, there are those... say self-imposed, an abundance of strictly witcher quests or those considered to be such by the NPCs. The inhabitants of the world do not actually differentiate between a monster slayer and a mere assassin. On the other hand I find it hard to imagine a warrior carrying boxes or babysitting. You can certainly expect a number of ‘killing orders’, though we wouldn’t like them to be similar to what you’ve seen in other games. The difference is particularly visible in outcomes of our deeds. There won’t be no rose petals under your feet just because you managed to kill a beast. The witcher is but a tool, respect goes to the one who hires him. A princess has been disenchanted... because her father hired a witcher not a hero. Such flavours all comprise in a certain ambience, a feel to the world. Another important thing is that we will be able to play a professional, a living legend to some extent. We will not be but a redneck climbing up from rags to riches. The players will not be forced to ask for jobs, they will be given ones and it will be them to dictate conditions. You will be able to say: ‘Ok, you’ll have your beast killed, but first you’ll need to do ME a favour’. The roles, as you can see, we’ll be somewhat switched. It does, in certain situations, result in obligations to fulfil promises, but will put the player in an entirely new position. Such tiny elements compose in a world where a game becomes reality... and that’s the point, isn’t it?