Posted December 18, 2011
Hello fellow GoGers and GoGettes,
The Witcher 2 is a fantastic game. I've just completed my second playthrough, and have started my 3rd; this time on the treacherous Dark Mode. In comparison to the first; I've only played The Witcher once, and when I heard of and saw the new direction The Witcher 2 was taking, I was extremely happy and welcomed it with open arms. I feel it is both a step in a *different* direction from The Witcher, while also being a step *forward* for the series, and for Role Playing Games as a genre.
I have a strong love for the series and it's developers. For CDProject Red to have developed such a title with such labour and love in the current industry climate goes to show they're truly one of a kind, who'll never bend over for the sake of "convention" or "wide acceptance" in the industry. DRM-free, packed with extras, free DLC and updates... I need not say more.
Having said all of that, I present this list as both a personal wishlist and as some kind of user experience feedback, that I hope to share with you fellow players, and the developers alike. My interest is to simply speak my mind, for whatever it's worth to the forum-goers and the developers. Feel free to let me know what you think, and to add in your own things you'd like to see in the sequel. Keep it clean, and no flaming -- after all, I have labelled this as my "personal" wishlist, and we are all entitled to our own opinions.
The Witcher 3 wishlist -
~UI update
I think the UI actually *looks* great. But at times it can be very non functional. Simple tweaks that have been done with some mods should be natively part of W3. If ever I need to know if I have something in my inventory, I should be able to see it. If I ever need to be able to compare items, I should be able to.
~Tighter controls
I find W2 controls to be great for the most part, but like many: I've found them to be unresponsive on several occasions. W3 should, quite simply, have super tight controls. Players should be able to control Geralt with ease, so as to allow for maximum enjoyment of the game.
~3 slot Quick and Auto Saves
We've all heard of the complaints about the save files stacking up. Sometimes it's good to have lots of save files, though. In any case, I find this might be a solution that's sort of in the middle.
~Multi person combat
I've already heard of this being considered for the sequel, which was great news. Multi person combat in W2 was difficult and required one to be crafty with traps, bombs, magic, running around, running around waiting for your energy to replenish, and a slight deal of repetition and frustration. It's great that it challenged you to use everything at your disposal, but having a native combat system that was a little more... "compatible", with multi person combat, would be a welcome addition.
~Cinematic controlled Camera + Over the shoulder Look Camera
The graphics have so much attention to detail - I'm sure many of us would have loved to get a close up of some of the details! Cinematic cameras were used I think once or twice in the prologue of W2, where you would be playing, but the camera was not in your direct control. These are awesome: they heighten the scenario, and can give an alternate view of the environment that makes your jaw drop. I think it would benefit the game a lot if there were more of them. The Uncharted series do both of these well and are good examples.
~Enhanced dialogue animations
W2 was vastly improved from W1 in this department. I'd love to see further improvements here. Standing still, complete focused eye contact, blank faces, etc should try to be as minimal as possible.
~Geralt running up stairs animation
Self explanatory. The Assassin's Creed series could most certainly benefit from this as well, but I digress. Games like Uncharted really add to the immersion with details such as this. Having such a thing would be a win-win, since lacking the animation hampers the immersion (it doesn't look right - at least in my opinion), and having the animation adds to it (feels natural while looking cool).. Geralt's animations have a lot of attention to detail, and I enjoyed seeing simple things like a turning-around animation. A running-up stairs animation would be just another step forward in the direction already taken.
~Alternative to The Witcher 2 "insane" mode
Rather than dying being "it" in Insane mode, I feel it would be a lot more interesting if The Witcher 3 took a more Demon's Souls approach - that is, the game is constantly auto-saving. You get one save for your playthrough - no reloading. If you die, it could reload you from a nearby checkpoint, but you would have lost any resources in the attempt. Any plot choices you make are committed choices. Want to sleep with the whores, but save yourself the 200 orens? Well, you can't just sleep with them, giggle, then reload your save. Same goes with any other choice you have in the game. This would give your choices more weight, in that you're committing to them for the *rest of the game*. We've all had the experience of being given a difficult choice, and spending our time making them. Well, this will make such scenarios *that* much more intense.
~Targeting options
When it comes to speaking to a character, interacting with an object, or targeting an enemy - there should be the alternative option to target based on where the character is facing, rather than the camera.
~Inventory, Weighted Items, Loot, and Pilfering
Ok - this is my absolute biggest gripe with W2, and my most important item on the wishlist. I'm putting these all under one label.
Let me start with items in general:
I personally do not feel the game benefits from having a large number of items. For W3, I would love to see that there is a more conservative item list, much like the way Mass Effect 2 has done. Being able to pick up random "junk" (which even had to get its own section for "convenience") does not add to the game, for me. It only hampers it, especially when considering the other things in the list (item carry limit, looting, and pilfering).
Weighted Items:
I do not wish there to be weighted items OR a carry limit of any kind in W3. I find there to be only 2 reasons this was done. 1 - It encourages players not to hold onto their items by either selling junk or using items for crafting. And 2 - The Witcher 2, while trying to be a modernised action RPG, also tries to keep elements of hardcore RPGs from the past, so as to please nostalgic fans.
To the 1st point: if players are conscious and better educated over the ways of crafting, this won't ever be an issue.
And to the 2nd point: nostalgic players can pick up Baldur's Gate on this very site :)
Reaching the carry limit is absolutely frustrating. The game does NOT make a good impression when you've reached the item limit while still in the Prologue. It doesn't add a "challenge" in any way either, and if it's meant to discourage hoarding items and picking up everything in sight: then *why* do so many arbitrary items exist in the world?! Well, my point is to remove them both - no item limit, and no items that have no value. Problem solved.
Loot:
W3 could benefit from either: an autoloot system (and I'm not talking about pressing Space after clicking, I'm talking about a one-click-loot-everything), or, a super auto-loot: kill a harpy, "received Harpy Wings x2"... No looting necessary. As things are, you would fight a dozen creatures, wait the 5 seconds or so it takes to get out of combat, go up to every body you just massacred, loot it, repeat 12x. Time wasted, gamer frustrated, tedious action that doesn't add to the experience,.. etc.
Pilfering:
In 2 words: remove it. In the Prologue, there were a ton of houses you could just enter and loot the crap out of. There are 2 reasons this is bad: from a role playing perspective, it makes Geralt a thief. He is not: he is a Witcher. It is contradictory to what he does, and that the living citizens say nothing of your actions breaks immersion even further. The other reason: it is absolutely tedious. In the earlier mentioned Prologue scenario, a new player, doing the best that s/he can, will be looting everything, not wanting to miss a single thing. The Prologue (and ultimately, the entire game) is meant to be a story-driven, forward moving Act. To be stopped and held back by several opportunities of pilfering the houses of everybody, does not enhance the story, the game, or the experience.
To summarise all of these points regarding items: The Witcher is NOT the Elder Scrolls, where you can roleplay (a thief), where the large number of items are (potentially) used for a large number of things, and where they add to the believability of the world (again, potentially). These old school RPG traditions feel tiresome in a series like The Witcher, where the experience is always generally immersive and strong, but comes to a halt because of old gaming habits that they feel reluctant to drop.
AND, this concludes my wishlist. I may have missed certain things, which I will likely edit and add this post as I remember them.
As I said, I am a huge fan of the series and will continue to fully support CDProject Red the best that I can - I am merely thinking out loud, here. In terms of story (none of which were on my list) I fully trust that you'll craft The Witcher 3 with the same attention and care as you have the first 2 games - which always full delivered in this area!
Feel free to share your additions and thoughts.
The Witcher 2 is a fantastic game. I've just completed my second playthrough, and have started my 3rd; this time on the treacherous Dark Mode. In comparison to the first; I've only played The Witcher once, and when I heard of and saw the new direction The Witcher 2 was taking, I was extremely happy and welcomed it with open arms. I feel it is both a step in a *different* direction from The Witcher, while also being a step *forward* for the series, and for Role Playing Games as a genre.
I have a strong love for the series and it's developers. For CDProject Red to have developed such a title with such labour and love in the current industry climate goes to show they're truly one of a kind, who'll never bend over for the sake of "convention" or "wide acceptance" in the industry. DRM-free, packed with extras, free DLC and updates... I need not say more.
Having said all of that, I present this list as both a personal wishlist and as some kind of user experience feedback, that I hope to share with you fellow players, and the developers alike. My interest is to simply speak my mind, for whatever it's worth to the forum-goers and the developers. Feel free to let me know what you think, and to add in your own things you'd like to see in the sequel. Keep it clean, and no flaming -- after all, I have labelled this as my "personal" wishlist, and we are all entitled to our own opinions.
The Witcher 3 wishlist -
~UI update
I think the UI actually *looks* great. But at times it can be very non functional. Simple tweaks that have been done with some mods should be natively part of W3. If ever I need to know if I have something in my inventory, I should be able to see it. If I ever need to be able to compare items, I should be able to.
~Tighter controls
I find W2 controls to be great for the most part, but like many: I've found them to be unresponsive on several occasions. W3 should, quite simply, have super tight controls. Players should be able to control Geralt with ease, so as to allow for maximum enjoyment of the game.
~3 slot Quick and Auto Saves
We've all heard of the complaints about the save files stacking up. Sometimes it's good to have lots of save files, though. In any case, I find this might be a solution that's sort of in the middle.
~Multi person combat
I've already heard of this being considered for the sequel, which was great news. Multi person combat in W2 was difficult and required one to be crafty with traps, bombs, magic, running around, running around waiting for your energy to replenish, and a slight deal of repetition and frustration. It's great that it challenged you to use everything at your disposal, but having a native combat system that was a little more... "compatible", with multi person combat, would be a welcome addition.
~Cinematic controlled Camera + Over the shoulder Look Camera
The graphics have so much attention to detail - I'm sure many of us would have loved to get a close up of some of the details! Cinematic cameras were used I think once or twice in the prologue of W2, where you would be playing, but the camera was not in your direct control. These are awesome: they heighten the scenario, and can give an alternate view of the environment that makes your jaw drop. I think it would benefit the game a lot if there were more of them. The Uncharted series do both of these well and are good examples.
~Enhanced dialogue animations
W2 was vastly improved from W1 in this department. I'd love to see further improvements here. Standing still, complete focused eye contact, blank faces, etc should try to be as minimal as possible.
~Geralt running up stairs animation
Self explanatory. The Assassin's Creed series could most certainly benefit from this as well, but I digress. Games like Uncharted really add to the immersion with details such as this. Having such a thing would be a win-win, since lacking the animation hampers the immersion (it doesn't look right - at least in my opinion), and having the animation adds to it (feels natural while looking cool).. Geralt's animations have a lot of attention to detail, and I enjoyed seeing simple things like a turning-around animation. A running-up stairs animation would be just another step forward in the direction already taken.
~Alternative to The Witcher 2 "insane" mode
Rather than dying being "it" in Insane mode, I feel it would be a lot more interesting if The Witcher 3 took a more Demon's Souls approach - that is, the game is constantly auto-saving. You get one save for your playthrough - no reloading. If you die, it could reload you from a nearby checkpoint, but you would have lost any resources in the attempt. Any plot choices you make are committed choices. Want to sleep with the whores, but save yourself the 200 orens? Well, you can't just sleep with them, giggle, then reload your save. Same goes with any other choice you have in the game. This would give your choices more weight, in that you're committing to them for the *rest of the game*. We've all had the experience of being given a difficult choice, and spending our time making them. Well, this will make such scenarios *that* much more intense.
~Targeting options
When it comes to speaking to a character, interacting with an object, or targeting an enemy - there should be the alternative option to target based on where the character is facing, rather than the camera.
~Inventory, Weighted Items, Loot, and Pilfering
Ok - this is my absolute biggest gripe with W2, and my most important item on the wishlist. I'm putting these all under one label.
Let me start with items in general:
I personally do not feel the game benefits from having a large number of items. For W3, I would love to see that there is a more conservative item list, much like the way Mass Effect 2 has done. Being able to pick up random "junk" (which even had to get its own section for "convenience") does not add to the game, for me. It only hampers it, especially when considering the other things in the list (item carry limit, looting, and pilfering).
Weighted Items:
I do not wish there to be weighted items OR a carry limit of any kind in W3. I find there to be only 2 reasons this was done. 1 - It encourages players not to hold onto their items by either selling junk or using items for crafting. And 2 - The Witcher 2, while trying to be a modernised action RPG, also tries to keep elements of hardcore RPGs from the past, so as to please nostalgic fans.
To the 1st point: if players are conscious and better educated over the ways of crafting, this won't ever be an issue.
And to the 2nd point: nostalgic players can pick up Baldur's Gate on this very site :)
Reaching the carry limit is absolutely frustrating. The game does NOT make a good impression when you've reached the item limit while still in the Prologue. It doesn't add a "challenge" in any way either, and if it's meant to discourage hoarding items and picking up everything in sight: then *why* do so many arbitrary items exist in the world?! Well, my point is to remove them both - no item limit, and no items that have no value. Problem solved.
Loot:
W3 could benefit from either: an autoloot system (and I'm not talking about pressing Space after clicking, I'm talking about a one-click-loot-everything), or, a super auto-loot: kill a harpy, "received Harpy Wings x2"... No looting necessary. As things are, you would fight a dozen creatures, wait the 5 seconds or so it takes to get out of combat, go up to every body you just massacred, loot it, repeat 12x. Time wasted, gamer frustrated, tedious action that doesn't add to the experience,.. etc.
Pilfering:
In 2 words: remove it. In the Prologue, there were a ton of houses you could just enter and loot the crap out of. There are 2 reasons this is bad: from a role playing perspective, it makes Geralt a thief. He is not: he is a Witcher. It is contradictory to what he does, and that the living citizens say nothing of your actions breaks immersion even further. The other reason: it is absolutely tedious. In the earlier mentioned Prologue scenario, a new player, doing the best that s/he can, will be looting everything, not wanting to miss a single thing. The Prologue (and ultimately, the entire game) is meant to be a story-driven, forward moving Act. To be stopped and held back by several opportunities of pilfering the houses of everybody, does not enhance the story, the game, or the experience.
To summarise all of these points regarding items: The Witcher is NOT the Elder Scrolls, where you can roleplay (a thief), where the large number of items are (potentially) used for a large number of things, and where they add to the believability of the world (again, potentially). These old school RPG traditions feel tiresome in a series like The Witcher, where the experience is always generally immersive and strong, but comes to a halt because of old gaming habits that they feel reluctant to drop.
AND, this concludes my wishlist. I may have missed certain things, which I will likely edit and add this post as I remember them.
As I said, I am a huge fan of the series and will continue to fully support CDProject Red the best that I can - I am merely thinking out loud, here. In terms of story (none of which were on my list) I fully trust that you'll craft The Witcher 3 with the same attention and care as you have the first 2 games - which always full delivered in this area!
Feel free to share your additions and thoughts.