The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Interview
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G: There's a fantastic Skyrim mod called Frostfall that involves the ability to camp in the wilderness and the possibility of hypothermia. Hardcore RPG fans are going crazy for it, as it adds a lot of immersion to exploring the open world of the game. Is there any chance to see anything like that in The Witcher 3, maybe as an option?
K: We're constantly thinking about adding features that enhance immersion but our most important feature is still the emotion evoking story. We want gamers to be pulled in because the world has a lot to offer and not necessarily because you can die of, say, thirst by travelling through it. The Witcher was and always will be about the story, the characters and actions and consequences everything else comes second. This doesn't mean that hardcore gamers aren't important for us, we're hardcore gamers ourselves so we do understand the need for that extra challenge. Having that said, you can be sure we'll introduce some elements that will cater to those needs.
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G: The Artificial intelligence of villagers and similar characters was quite advanced in The Witcher 2. They went about their business and found shelter from the rain for instance. Is it this going to be improved further in the new game? If yes, how?
K: We aim to enrich this part of the game with enrooting NPCs in local lore. During E3 we showed you a monster-hunt with Leshen. The villagers had their own backstory the monster was part of their lore, a tiny bit for the gamer, but the whole world they were brought up in for them. Putting NPCs in context like that makes them more believable. As for other new features we introduce, communities will react to weather changes and will even migrate if the situation demands it (being threatened by The Hunt etc.)
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G: The Witcher games have always been purely single player experiences, but the upcoming generation seems to be full of talk about persistent worlds and online features. Are you considering any kind of online gameplay for the third chapter or you're sticking to your guns?
K: The Witcher has always been about experiencing your own, unique adventure. We can assure you that we won't sacrifice our trademark that is immersive, single player storytelling for the sake of other features, just to have them. Designing the game is a lengthy process, during which many elements are taken into consideration, but ultimately your uninterrupted gaming experience always comes first. No, we won't have multiplayer in The Witcher 3.
