The Witcher franchise could have turned out very differently…
Speaking to The Gamer in a recent interview, former lead narrative designer Artur Ganszyniec, who worked on the original The Witcher game back in the mid-2000s, has informed us of some interesting details regarding the development of the game, which influenced its success up to now.
Artur explained how the original Witcher title was meant to be twice as long, with a host of additional locations and characters, including a new protagonist named Berengar. Still, this ambition was limited by the size of their budget. However, he explains how this actually, in turn, added to the richness of the storytelling.
“We had to cut them due to budget constraints,” Ganszyniec explains, adding that it was the best thing that could happen, as they “had to find a way to tell the story using a smaller cast of characters.” This would ultimately make The Witcher more “concise and emotional,” says the former lead narrative designer, adding that however stressful things might have been at the time, it all worked out for the best.
The player’s deep connection and understanding with the main characters are definitely part of what makes The Witcher franchise unique and a truly immersive experience.
It’s an interesting anecdote from a former developer on the original Witcher game, and we’d highly recommend reading the full interview for an extensive deep dive into the creation of a series that would eventually aspire to ‘modern classic’ status for CD Projekt Red in The Witcher 3 eight years later.
You can play The Witcher right now on PC if you’ve yet to experience the origins of CD Projekt Red’s series. As for The Witcher 3, though, CD Projekt Red recently revealed that they would be delaying the new-gen upgrade of the 2015 RPG to some point in 2022. While Geralt’s new-gen overhaul with 4K visuals and 60 frames per second gameplay was initially meant to launch this year, we’ll be waiting a while longer to step back into the Witcher’s shoes on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
In other news, October has seen some big next-gen titles being released, including the likes of FIFA 22, Far Cry 6 and Left 4 Dead’s spiritual successor, Back 4 Blood. You can purchase all of these titles, as well as pre-ordering Call of Duty Vanguard and Battlefield 2042, from our Go2Games website.
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