KATY: So what were the challenges of making the combat more action-based while maintaining the feel of an RPG?
JONAS: Well, in The Witcher 2 we had 20 action sequences, like cut and roll. In The Witcher 3, we have over 96. So basically when you are cutting, you can change your mind and start using a sign. It’s much more organic and fluid. We have that as the action heart of it. But also you can use signs (magic spells), you can set traps, you can use magic to shield yourself, you can tame animals with it, or calm enemies – so you have quick tactics. But then you can go deeper with effects; you can oil your sword with different poisons. It adds all of these layers depending on how you want to play it, and there is also all of the customization of armor and stuff. So it’s really up to the player, however he or she wants to play it.
KATY: I loved the fight with the Fiend, as he seemed to have very unique abilities. Does each beast in the game have a unique way of fighting?
JONAS: Oh yeah, unique special attacks and unique tracts. So, you come across something in a valley and you say, “Oh, here is one set of tracts. There is one set of tracts. I think I know these tracts and I know what kind of monster walked here.”
KATY: And that way you can address your combat strategy based on the monster?
JONAS: Exactly. You know how to prepare. Now in the demo, we weren’t really preparing for that fight [with the Fiend]. If we oiled our sword we would be better prepared and we would have killed it much quicker. However, we stumbled upon it and it was a little bit harder to lure it out, because it uses its environment against us. For instance, we have an ice giant in our game. It prefers caves, and uses the cave against us. You know stalactites? Or stalagmites? The pointy things!
KATY: The pointy things that are dangerous. (laughs)
ROBYN: Stalagmites? I think it depends on which way they go.
*everyone laughs
JONAS: The pointy things in the ceiling (laughs). He will try to stomp on the ground and bring them down, bringing the roof down on you. However, when put in a forest he will tear out trees and use them against you. So our enemies use the environment against us. Of course, the Lechen is more of a forest dwelling monster, so you won’t find it running out in the open. Certain monsters prefer certain types of environments.
KATY: The creatures in the game all appear to be very detailed. Was there any inspiration behind the design of the different beasts?
JONAS: Well, for example, the Fiend is called Bies in Polish, which means devil. It is inspired by this myth of this monster in the wild. This is really weird because I’m not from Poland, I’m from Sweden, but Poland has the myth that says, “a hunter who hunts on a Sunday and gets killed, gets cursed into a beast,” something like the Fiend. It all comes from Slavic mythology… we draw a lot of inspiration from this kind of thing.
ROBYN: You mentioned that these monsters will be using their environment against us – with the Fiend we also saw the environment used against them when it got its antlers stuck in the wall. What other ways will we be able to use the environment against the monsters?
JONAS: The Fiend, as an example, prefers to fight in a closed-in space so it can ram at you, put you in a corner, and kill you. But if you lure it into the open, it is much more vulnerable. You can go around it and use the open space against it. Wolves, not a monster, but part of the eco-system, will try and circle you… so again, using open space. It is all much more tactical; you can’t just go in a hack and slash.
KATY: It’s refreshing to see that sort of combat in an ambitious project like this. I have also heard rumors about mounted combat…. will that be included in the game at all?
JONAS: Well, we thought about it – but Geralt isn’t really a mounted character. We are still exploring the possibility, but we are thinking of minor things, like casting signs. But, as you saw in the trailer, he can dismount enemies as well, so there is some.
ROBYN: I have to ask about my favorite red-headed character…
JONAS: Trish? If she makes a reappearance?
ROBYN: Yes…
JONAS: I don’t want to spoil anything. Okay… Geralt is looking for his loved ones.
KATY: Hint, hint. (laughs)
JONAS: She might be included.
KATY: Oh, one more thing. I found the side-quest we saw in the demo to be very unique in how it so flawlessly merges with the main story.
JONAS: Side-quests often affect the main storyline. Like I said, sometimes side quests can be obviously a side-quest.
KATY: Exactly. Go find fifty of these things and then do this.
JONAS: Exactly. We don’t have FedEx quests. It’s terrible to have that, and we want to have a more organic feel.
KATY: We saw that in the ending of that particular side-quest; it was rather tragic. Will a lot of the side-quests have varying impacts like that, based on choice?
JONAS: More or less, yes. Like that quest, it could have ended very differently. For instance, if we spoke with the village elder and made sacrifices to the monster with wolf hearts to please it, which in turn would satisfy it [the Lechen’s] hunger, then the village would continue to train warriors and therefore be saved. It is unpredictable; you don’t know the consequences of anything.
ROBYN: What if you had asked them to exile Hilda? I saw that was an option.
JONAS: They would exile her. The village would still be there. But you know, when you go with the village elder and do the wolf heart sacrifice, you come back and Sven becomes angry and tries to kill you and the elders. He wants to have control of the village.
And also, when we say one hundred hours of game play, we don’t mean re-playability. We mean that your choices on the storyline are fifty hours and then we have an additional fifty hours of exploring and side-quests. We want to make people want to replay if differently.
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CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher 3 is going to unquestionably define next generation RPGs and is set to be released in 2014 on PC, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.
