Marek Ziemak (CD Projekt Red): In some games, it’s as if the whole world is waiting for the player to arrive just to tell you something. That’s not how it will work in our game (entrevista)

Os últimos dias têm sido férteis em notícias sobre The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, o terceiro título dos estúdios polacos da CD Projekt Red que transporta para um universo interactivo Geralt of Rivia e o universo literário fantástico criado por Andrzej Sapkowski. Em entrevista ao Game Front, o gameplay producer Marek Ziemak falou sobre vários aspectos do desenvolvimento deste ambicioso projecto: da combinação entre o formato open world e uma trama interactiva relevante, da construção do mundo, de Geralt - e mesmo de outros temas como a política de DRM da CD Projekt Red e os planos da produtora após o lançamento do jogo. Alguns destaques:

GF: Let’s talk about story versus open world. In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — to make the inevitable comparison — I’ve spent countless hours exploring, but I still haven’t managed to complete the main storyline. How will The Witcher 3 attempt to find the balance between a world I want to venture off the beaten path and explore and a beaten path players actually want to follow to the end?

Ziemak: That’s a big challenge for us, connecting the open world and the intense storyline, but it’s a challenge we’ve been aware of from the very beginning. The first two titles allowed us to learn how to create storylines players get sucked into and don’t want to leave for too long. That definitely helped. We’re also trying to connect as many side quests as possible to the main storyline. We’re trying to blur the line between what’s a sidequest and what is the main quest. There are plenty of gameplay mechanics that will draw players back into the story even as they travel through the world and explore different places. 

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GF: Got it. Let’s talk about the living world aspect of The Witcher 3. Just how alive will it be? Are we simply talking about hawks hunting rabbits, or will it feature a persistent world where NPCs have jobs, homes, and relationships the player can potentially alter or impact?

Ziemak: We want to create the feeling of being in a world that’s alive. We are putting a lot of effort into developing an AI system for entire communities. The characters you see and meet in villages and on the streets have their own agendas, have their own businesses, they eat, sleep, and live in their own homes.In some games, it’s as if the whole world is waiting for the player to arrive just to tell you something. That’s not how it will work in our game.

GF: NPCs will have their own houses, will players also be able to buy or build homes for Geralt?

Ziemak: I can’t really answer that question at this stage… we might have some crazy ideas. Remember, though, Geralt is a witcher, he’s a traveller, a monster hunter. He’s not the type of guy to settle down in a single home in a city.

A entrevista pode ser lida na íntegra aqui.

Fonte: Game Front