The Witcher: Rise of the White Wolf Interview

Article Index

Eschalon: Book II

Publisher:Atari
Developer:CD Projekt RED
Release Date:Canceled
Genre:
  • Action,Role-Playing
Platforms: Theme: Perspective:
  • Isometric,Third-Person
Buy this Game: Amazon ebay
GB: You've also stated that the console version will feature "new and more aggressive enemy behavior". What should we expect from Geralt's opponents in Rise of the White Wolf? What exactly will be different about their behavior?

Mateusz: In addition to having enhanced AI, opponents (as well as Geralt, as I stated above) will be able to use many more combinations of movements, actions and blows during combat. They'll make lunging attacks at Geralt, evade his blows, parry them and even riposte. Especially at higher difficulty levels, combat will require players to show tactical wit, using the entire range of available combat elements.


GB: At this point in development, do you have any idea what sort of achievements and trophies will be available in the console version? Any chance we might see the achievements patched into the PC version?

Mateusz: We're now planning achievements and trophies for the console version, and it's impossible to say if these new components will be suited to the PC version. It's not currently planned to bring achievements to the PC game.


GB: How about DLC? Will we see any sort of premium downloadable content for RotWW, and if so, will the same content be made available for the PC version?

Mateusz: Yes, that's certain DLC will be available for both Xbox 360 and PS3, although we're not revealing what that content will be. We're not currently planning to bring the DLC to the PC game. as with all of the changes we're making to the console games, they're being built with the new engine in mind. To move that content back to the PC-game engine would take a ton of work and would probably have a big impact on the future titles we have in development.


GB: PC gamers seem to be a bit worried about your decision to port The Witcher to consoles. If RotWW is more successful than the original Witcher was, wouldn't it be fair to say that you may start focusing primarily on consoles in your future games? After watching PC-favoring companies like BioWare and Bethesda Softworks make the switch to console-preferred development (and even console-exclusive for a period of time in BioWare's latest games), why should we believe CD Projekt will be any different?

Tom: I don't think it's fair to say that we'll start focusing on console development. Granted, the companies you mentioned could have made this same claim, but we got our start on the PC and we're still fully committed to the platform. We love playing PC games, and we'll continue to work on games that take advantage of the PC's strengths. That's really easy to say, and I know that PC gamers have been burned in the past by companies with similar (commitments.) All I can do is point to stuff like GOG.com and our work on The Witcher: Enhanced Edition to show our dedication to the platform.


GB: You've stated previously that you have two other unannounced projects in development. Is there anything you can tell us about either of these at this point? When do you expect to be ready for an official announcement?

Tom: There's not a ton I can say about the unannounced projects right now. as we've alluded to, there's a good chance that one or both of those will help to quell PC gamers' fears. Right now we're focusing our marketing and PR attention on Rise of the White Wolf, as that's obviously going to be a big title for us, but we're naturally interested in revisiting the Witcher universe. We've put a lot of work into building up the license as a gaming property, and it'd be a shame to see all that work go to waste :). We'll probably share some of our plans at some point next year. when, I can't really say.


Thanks for your time, guys!