The Witcher Developer Blog #2
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Q: As we've already seen, the graphics in The Witcher look extremely natural and real. In comparison, however, numerous games that have been released recently (including those in the RPG genre) present a rather sterile, even plastic-looking and dehumanized graphic style. How would you comment on this trend in graphics?
A: The Witcher is supposed to be as real as possible. The game's story is not at all amusing; the game world is dark, sinister and brutal. Such a realistic fantasy world (how's that for an oxymoron?) should captivate the player, and permit him to sympathize and maybe even empathize to a certain degree with the authentic characters presented in the game. Geralt is a trained monster slayer, ready for battle anytime and anywhere. Consequently, in keeping with the realism of the game, Geralt simply cannot allow himself to wear fashionable and attractive clothing, a long and stylish dark cloak, or whole sets of potion vials strapped to every imaginable part of his attire. I'm repeating myself here, but in-game realism is what we've strived for.
Naturally, it's much simpler to create a game that lacks visual cohesion and a consistent plot. So, if you plan on getting rich by selling a mediocre game at best, then all you need to do is choose a whole palette of ten colors, rip a couple of cartoon or game characters off the TV or computer screen, and there you go; you've got a guaranteed marketing hit. I've even heard of to-do lists where you just need to tick some boxes off, in order to sell a game. That's not what we're here to do, though.
As for sterile graphics, you do have to take into consideration the limitations of today's technology. As good as it might already be, it's nearly impossible to transfer all of your ideas into the game world successfully. It's extremely difficult to achieve a natural look in a game. It takes loads of time, effort and truckloads of coffee . That's why we're very happy with what we've managed to achieve in The Witcher.
