This console generation is drawing to a close. Yet, The Witcher 3, which launched four years ago, remains one of the premier examples for great open-world experiences. During production, however, the development team likely didn’t feel this would be the case. In fact, CD Projekt RED initially worried the title didn’t feature enough content to keep players engaged. Considering the sheer density of the finished product, this is somewhat shocking to learn.
Lead Writer Jakub Szamalek divulged as much in an interview with Eurogamer. During production, he explained, developers are only seeing the game in bits and pieces. Thus, it’s difficult to discern a true sense of what the final result may entail. For Szamalek and the rest of the writing team, mapping out the narrative, then, warranted an unbelievable amount of attention to detail. Apparently, there exists so many moving parts that losing track of the bigger picture becomes all too common.
Szamalek told Eurogamer,
We had a lot of tables and trees and diagrams and post-it notes to try and build the whole picture but it was extremely difficult. We were actually very worried that we didn’t have enough content. We were seriously concerned there weren’t enough quests, enough dialogue sequences, there wasn’t enough to keep the player busy. Obviously we were hugely mistaken because the density of the experience is definitely not lacking–but it was so hard to assess it when the game was still being made.
What people outside of the industry don’t always appreciate is a game is constructed from so many pieces and you don’t see the final product until the very end so it’s hard to plan for unforeseen problems. When you’re working on a play in the theatre, you might not have the costumes or the set, but you can see the actors interpreting the lines, you can imagine what it will look like–in games that’s extremely hard. Even if you do have a clear goal and direction, you might end up in a different place because a certain part of the game gets cut or a new mechanic is introduced and this requires you to change the storyline, or it turns out that a tester says the game is lacking this or that.
CD Projekt RED definitely delivered on the content in both quantity and quality. From side quests to random encounters, The Witcher 3, in many respects, seems emblematic of what a massive open-world should offer players. The same can be said for the narrative possibilities, most of which are based upon player choice.
The Witcher 3 hit the PS4, PC, and Xbox One in May 2015 to astounding praise from critics and players alike. Its critical success quickly translated to commercial wins, as well. As of June 2019, Geralt’s final CD Projekt RED-produced adventure has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
[Source: Eurogamer]
