[DON'T SHARE PLEASE] Our Next Project Is...

Take Drew with you and have him cover the journey....i've thought you guys should join up from the first i heard he was leaving the Bomb.

Ryan Riley

Awesome job lining this up Danny! I've enjoyed the last two Witcher games quite a bit (the complex storytelling reminds me of how in depth earlier rpgs used to be). I'd be curious to know if the developers had any concerns about the marketability of a game with an older protagonist. As someone who is no longer a spring chicken I enjoyed playing as a world wary curmudgeon.

Never played more than 30 minutes of Witcher 1 as I found the combat horrible. Really really enjoyed The Witcher 2 though, was fully hooked and completed it within about 3 weeks I think. The Witcher 3 I really need to get into properly, I put about 70 hours in but never made it even to Skellige. Must go back, start again, and go through the whole game soon! (Lost all my saves due to computer dying.)

Nick Turner

Had a feeling this was going to be on the cards at some point. The Witcher 3 is probably my favourite game of the last decade. Would be amazing to see you cover the whole franchise! Looking forward to it.

I would ask them what they thought didn't work so well and what they're planning on doing different/improving next time around.

Dunga

I would like to see this in a one epic doc movie however that only if you have the flow/connectivity. In no way would a bunch of vignettes be a bad thing either. I would like to see one on the Last Wish quest, transformation of Witcher 1 to the Witcher 2 (this for me was dramatic, especially when you consider that they were releasing it on consoles also), the quest story writers as their depictions of real love and loss was incredible and the voice actors ( they were unreal). Anyway, so excited can t want. Just do your thing and get to setting up a Dublin meet and greet ! We can give you fierce grief and slagging. I'm sure you don't get your recommended daily dose in the US. 😉

I concur but I believe it's a touchy subject. So like yourself I'd love to find out more about it but it's not make or break for me.

I would like to know about the game's universal appeal, mainly its ability to capture a female crowd. Or is that just something I am seeing? It really feels like Witcher (III) has a unique hook into women. There seems to be something more going on than just having a hot protagonist. Is this something that the developers are aware of? Really looking forward to this one!

Thomas Munkholt

I second this

I like the idea of doing it in a vignette style like you say. There seems to be some opportunity to do a real deep dive on the nuts and bolts of specific aspects of the games that way. Please squeeze every last detail of what went into the Bloody Baron quest out of those guys because that sequence has stuck with me like few other moments in games.

God you are a tease! I love and trust your work, so I would like to see what the vignettes could look like. As to the stories you will be asking for I would love to know more about the involvement of Andrzej Sapkowski! The change from Witcher 2 a linear game, to the massive and beautiful open of 3 is a great topic and probably a great story about changing and challenging design philosophies.

We are 100% doing a meetup that weekend. Will post details a little closer to then!

Noclip

I'll share my thoughts regarding the doc some time later, but the main question is, when can I have a beer with you Danny? :D Weekend is 5th - 6th will happily visit Warsaw to meet up :)

Piotr Kostecki

Without question, my favourite thing about Witcher games (among the myriad things that make them great) is the way they handle player choices, and payoff. Specifically: unlike every other game out there -- which presents you a binary choice and screams at you "EITHER CHOICE IS BAD AND THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES AND YOU MUST CHOOSE" -- the Witcher games (especially 3) present moments in-game that do present a choice, but never telegraphs it. You make dialogue choices with such amazing frequency that you sometimes cannot tell that you're making a decision that will have massive consequences later on. The most notable example of this would be the way you interact with Ciri, culminating in the ending you are given. But there are so many other moments in game where the same applies, though the consequences aren't necessarily so massive. Similarly, you can sometimes find yourself going down a quest line and not realise there are alternate ways to complete it. Or, you could make a very deliberate choice -- one that aligns with a healthy moral compass -- only to learn that the outcome is something you could have never predicted. Which, in turn, makes the world feel more alive. Comparing that to other games, whose writing is so lacking in nuance that they feel that the player must be condescended to, is almost unfair. And yet, I think it's important, because the industry needs to learn from such examples that, as with all entertainment and art, you find the greatest audiences when you respect said audience. Obviously, Witcher 3 is the greatest example of what I'm talking about, but Witcher 2 still contained the infamous 16 endings, based on 4 big decisions that -- whilst presented with some weight -- don't necessarily betray the fact that these are the moments that will change the course of the narrative. So with all that being said, I would love to see a deep-dive into the consistently excellent writing of the series, and how they shaped a narrative that responds to the player without some bullshit Light/Dark Side mechanic (for example, as much as I love the Infamous games (Second Sun maybe not so much), you pretty much have to choose your moral path at the start and stick with it the whole time ... which leads to some awesome powers, but no opportunity for subtlety in terms of the player's expression of how they want to interact with the world presented to them.

Tom Hauville

Awesome ! Seems like a big project with a really passionate group of game devs. I'd say go with your gut as far as how to do it goes, you haven't led any of your fans astray so far so keep doing what formats excite you. For some input though in case its helpful - I think it'd be awesome to have each segment be game specific. Keeps them in a nice package that can encompass any of the cool things that happened along the development process specific to each game. Either way, super stoked!

kyle disanjh

Super excited. My favorite game series by far.

Hah! Called it! If you're going for vignettes, I'd really love to hear about the creation of Chapter 2 in The Witcher 2. I was blown away by the creativity behind its concept: the two armies of a current conflict separated by the unending conflict of the cursed spectres of an older one. Alongside that, I'd love to hear the challenges faced and the decision behind having the game split down two directions, via Roche and Iorveth. I'd also like to hear their insight on the choice to have three moral standings: "good", "evil", and neutral -- particularly in the first game. It's easy to forget that it brought this trinity of perspectives in 2007 -- the same year Mass Effect came out with its binary Paragon and Renegade system, and how moral-choices-affecting-gameplay became a fad afterwards, with inFamous for instance coming out the following year. Could it be said they were ahead of their time? I'd love to hear about the technical challenges they faced with the first game -- they used Neverwinter Night's engine, making a third-person over-the-shoulder action RPG out of THAT! I'd like to hear the challenges of bringing the WItcher's universe into English for the first time -- did that affect their design decisions (and if so, how?) or was their priority to make their Polish audience happy? I'd love to know why they put so much love and care into their Collector's Editions -- some of the best I've ever seen. I'd love to hear about how their above-and-beyond approach to treating their audience well -- many of the busts of Geralt that came with the Collector's Edition of The Witcher 2 were damaged or broken because of poor packaging design, and what did CDPR do? They sent everyone who gave them photographic evidence of the damage a new one for free, and threw a Witcher medallion from the Polish Collector's Edition of the first game for good measure. I'd love to hear about the cancelled reboot of the first game -- I know they were in bad financial straits at the time (as was the whole world) and I'd love to hear them discuss that. So much you could talk about. Great anticipation! And I'm calling that your secret project is Horizon: Zero Dawn. No need to confirm or deny -- we'll wait and see!

I would love to see part of the production dedicated to how impactful The Witcher franchise (books/films/games) have been to the country of Poland. Not trying to bite off of Drew's style here but, it could be a small and interesting segment of the larger doc.

Jaw. Dropped.

Beau

Very excited for this one! I love the Witcher series! I think the vignette idea sounds superb and I feel a higher number of shorter videos is easier for people to watch.

Very, very cool.

Fred Fryolator

Boy oh boy oh boy! Just by comment count I can already see this one will be huge! Well on my end a couple of thoughts out loud: - I liked how both FFIV and Doom had very distinctive segments to it - either chronologically (FF) or segment wise on story, combat and music (Doom). - I think it will be interesting to hear how starting from PC exclusive in W1, they went on to progressively improve and increase the scope of the game all the way through W3 Expansion packs. We used to seeing marginal changes to games with each sequel at best, so to see how they've managed to constantly challenge themselves would be great. - Story based on a couple of stand out quests would be great. I'm sure people all over industry would find it fascinating to hear how they write and produce their quests and quest lines - Gwent - developing a game in game is one thing (think of how amazing poker was in RDR), but to actually come up with one from scratch and take it all the way to standalone release is another accomplishment - this might be a tall order but - what if you'd tap into Community of "role players". From what I understand wit her franchise boasts with some of the most die hard communities that have their own get togethers. Maybe CDPR can help you set up a meeting while you're in the area with local RPs. Doing a segment on that aspect of game following and to have fully dressed and decked out fans of the game in the documentary might be a whole other level of community involvement

Tohir Tillyaev

Personally, I've never been a fan of vignette style videos. I can appreciate their ability to be more focused, but they always come off as popcorn instead of steak. You keep popping more and more in your mouth, but they're never as satisfying as one big steak. I get it, they get more clicks. They get more views. They're more flexible. They don't need clever transitions. They're easier. I've shifted to writing my book by chapters, instead of focusing on the whole story; and now I'm seriously considering shifting to all short stories instead of a novel, so I get it. But I still think a well made feature length retrospective on the series would be more satisfying (and epic) in the end than a bunch of little vignettes. Just saying...

Clay A Binkley

Thanks so much for all the info, this is incredibly helpful. This is exactly the sort of insight I'm looking for. I really appreciate it. I've ordered that book too.

Noclip

Great news, really looking forward to it! I think the idea of many small vignettes is the way to go, because you can be a lot more specific and niche. I'd love to see a few things of the franchise I don't/didn't know about as a fan. For example the bloody baron quest is supposedly the best quest, but it's also the most featured. There are many interviews with the writers and designers etc. out there, I don't think there is a need to share the story again. Maybe feature a different quest, maybe one that has a special meaning to some developers. I'd love to hear more about the influences of the books to the game or homages to the books by the game (There are a few quests titled after chapters in the books etc.) Maybe favorite short stories of the team. Maybe something about the Triss Yen situation. A lot of book fans seemed pretty enraged that Geralt started something with Triss even though, Yen and he are kinda star crossed. I love the quest where you travel with Yen on that boat in the mountains and you lift that genie "curse" and you can actually choose between Triss and Yen. That's a beautifully written quest and I'd love to have a vignette about it rather than the bloody baron again. ;) I for example started reading the books after the second game, so I was kinda biased to Triss. There is the book "The world of the witcher" which gives you a bit of a rundown of the world, its inhabitants and a few cultural influences. A video that goes really deep into the world building would be absolutely awesome! And lastly a video about that canned witcher 1 port and the possibility of a remake for consoles would be awesome!

Nikolas L.

I love the whole series but I think with Wild Hunt being the masterpiece that it is, I'd really love to see a lot about the infamous CD Projekt Red crunch at the end of production and how difficult it was to ship Wjtcher 3. Super hyped for thisss.

YESSSSS!!! I knew it! I just won a dollar FROM MYSELF. I mean RIP GS footage and Andy Cam but look who's coming back to Warsaw!! Can't wait for this. Got nothing to say about the vignettes, unfortunately, but that's mostly cause I know you'll get some good ideas once you're there and you got the footage. I trust you'll knock it out the park again like you did last time so just do your thing Danny. Definitely gonna be my favorite video so far. Keep up the great work!

I better finish playing through part three before this gets released.

Gabriel Costa (Hired Sword)

My favorite release styles have been the RL and DOOM methods of two or three larger chunks. At least thats what seemed most at home with a large game like DOOM. Regardless though I'm stoked to see a documentary about this popular series that I've never personally experienced! Your work has a way of making me care about games I normally wouldn't, thanks, Danny!

Luke Spencer

Eventhough I was kinda hoping you'd do Guerilla, so I could come to the meet up in Amsterdam 😉, I'm so happy you get to do this! I know how much you love the Witcher and I can't wait to see what you so with this project! I would like to know how they handles the pressure of postponing III, I think it was the best possible decision, but I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision for them. I'm curious about that process! Good luck Danny, and have fun!

This is awesome! I didn't have a ton of time to put into the Witcher games when they came out and have been looking for a chance to dive back in. As a hobbyist game designer, I like the idea of more focused vignettes, as I love hearing the details of how devs work through specific challenges. I'd especially be interested in how they addressed player choice in the narrative so succesfully.

Josh Squires

Hey Danny - just wanted to pop in and say I'm really excited about the announcement. I think it'd be cool to discuss their design process, particularly how they created a game with such significant scope in a vacuum, yet were still able to push the genre forward. Other games (fallout 4) have tried to cover similar ground but felt a little antiquated by the time it came to release. I'm sure you can phrase that better...

Wesley Bray

1.) Should be super interesting, 2) I am for the vignette style, like I love the content but a 90 minute video is hard to sit thru, something in the vein of the DOOM video format would be best, like you said, have maybe one video going into the history of the studio, another going into the art/music, one going into the Bloody baron stuff, etc. Looking forward to the videos

Nick Grugin

So many ideas! I am beyond stoked! 100% go with some meaty pieces and some vignettes. I'd love one on Gwent and how that came into being (and perhaps dovetail that into the new standalone game). I wonder if interviewing the original author Andrej Sapkowski would be enlightening or pertinent but it could be fun. Maybe a vignette on some of the voice talent in the games too? And I'd love to see some semi-casual chats with folks like what we see in the Giant Bomb E3 late night show sort of style. Too many ideas but I am tremendously stoked! My favorite RPG franchise of the past decade!

Craig Parker

As an aspiring writer myself, I'd love to know how big a team of writers they had going. Particularly taking into account not just the long story but the sheer amount of NPCs and excellent range of side-quests, and the challenges that came with all that.

Steve Fiori

Soooo I've never played a Witcher game and I'm aware that there was already a Witcher 3 GameSpot video pre-release doc, so I'm happy for everyone being happy I guess? I would've preferred something else rather than more Witcher but it seems I'm not the target audience for this particular doc to begin with.

Liam Brown

Awesome!! Do a vignette on Geralt and his relationships with the various ladies of the franchise....What CDPR did with Triss/Yen in 3 was brilliant

Kurt

YEEESSSSS. I wish I knew which style i'd prefer but I don't know if thats something I can just offer up. It depends entirely on how the interviews go, how the story reveals itself. Either sound really interesting but It has so many factors like pacing in the editing room, what people say and how they say it, etc. I trust you to use best judgement on what the final doc/series will be and should be. I am so excited for this!

Tory Thompson

So each game had some kind of controversy associated with it, if I recall correctly. Witcher 1 didn't feel very finished, the Enhanced Edition was a big set of changes to finish the game. Witcher 2 had a terrible Linux port, worse than just emulating the Windows version. CDPR mismanaged the port and messaging around it. Witcher 3 was the first game to not get the full mod tools, even though CDPR said they would release the tools. Not sure that CDPR would want to talk about any of the controversies though, studios usually don't.

Fantastic news. Now i shall have to put my thinking cap on and see if I have any suggestions!

B&L

I definitely prefer these projects in parts as opposed to one big video. Mostly because I can find the time to sit down for 20-30 minutes so much easier than 90 (I don't like breaking from a video partway through). Specifically with Witcher I'd looooove to hear a lot from the design team. How they went about designing quests, gameplay design methodologies, and designing the general flow of the games. I'm super stoked for this Danny! Keep up the incredible work!

Kyle Hinze

I can't believe you took all that time teasing The Witcher and then teased another mystery project

Vignettes definitely sound like the best way to go. It will make it easier to consume in chunks. I'd be interested in hearing most about the evolution of the series. Like what did they learn from Witcher 1 and how did that impact 2, and so on. Also, I think it would interesting to hear the details of what games and other media influenced the development of each one. Can't wait to see what you put together. Keep up the great work!

Oh man when that music kicked in...so hype!

James Huffman

Sweet Lord!

Oh yah! I want to hear some things about the books--as someone who has not read them--and the challenges of adapting a linear format to non-linear. Also the music and SFX in 3 were such a keep part of the immersion, what does that team do to get all those assets.

Josh LaBaw

AWESOME NEWS! Would love a feature length doc. I know it's a huge undertaking, but would be cool to see you tackle all the topics but maintain a flow and pacing throughout. Maybe even intertwine each topic into a big cohesive whole

Vignettes, by the way, seems totally the way to go. I'm not sure I (or your sanity) want a blow by blow run down of each game's production.

Liam Harvey

For Witcher 1 I would definitely appreciate a lot of focus on the very beginning of the whole project. I live in Czech republic, Witcher is super popular here, so it was "in the know" for quite some time, but only with glimpses of information. I would like to know the meat of it. Who had the first idea, how Sapkowski reacted to this, how all the developers from Poland (basically) united under CD Projekt flag, all of it. I did the interview with developers during Witcher 2 development and always wanted to ask them about a thing that come up long after the game was released - how big was the change in perception (not any more "Witchy enough?" remarks in UK press) and overall feeling in the studio after the first game, which was still kind of perceived as a "eastern European" game "from some Russians or I don't know" And for Witcher 3, my questions would be mainly on the scope of the whole project. How it gotten bigger, open-worldy and non-linear in comparison to previous games. Stoked for this!

These suggestions are brilliant, please keep them coming. The more I hear feedback, the more it sounds like a bunch of vignettes is the way to go.

Noclip

FANTASTIC NEWS. Oh boy. As suggested above (and this is more orientated towards Wild Hunt i.e. The One I Actually Finished) I'd love a closer look at the music and side quests. But also maybe a deep dive into the DLC, especially Blood & Wine—which would also hopefully shine a light on their amazing attitude towards constant (CONSTANT) quality of life improvements, updates and patches. I'm also fascinated by the early days of CD Projekt Red—the guys and gals who didn't even know how to make videogames.

Liam Harvey

Enjoyed your The Point on this, be interesting to talk of how fan reaction in forums etc influenced updates

Would love to see something focusing on Geralt himself, because he's a defined character but at the same time, you make him your own across the trilogy. A look at how they achieved that so well would be incredible.

I'd love to see their dynamic quest system touched on. The first hour of Witcher 3 I just rode Roach through the wilderness & somehow stumbled on The Devil in the Well. It unfolded in a really interesting way. Most of my friends grabbed the contract in town, but I was lucky enough to experience the quest in a far more special way.

Alex Van Aken

Amazing, Cannot wait. Finishing up Witcher 3 now so this is coming at the right time. I would like to know how the Blood and Wine DLC came too be. It is a massive expansion on top of an already massive game. Also, I think vignette's are the only way you could tackle any of the content in the witcher as it is too much other wise.

Totally. I missed chatting to the composer guy last time I was there before W3. He's unreal. I think most of that soundtrack was composed by him.

Noclip

Anything to do with the music would be appreciated.

That's a great idea.

Noclip

Yes! I can't wait for this project.

Alex Van Aken

Yahoo! I've never played the trilogy so I'm fascinated to see the behind the scenes of it.

Colby Perry

I wonder if CDPR would be willing to open up about their relationship with the book writer over the years and how they even got the license. It'd be fascinating but man, if they don't whatever.

Andrew

So awesome. What would I like to see? Witcher is always lauded for its side quests, so a section about their design process and philosophy behind constructing side quests in the game would be VERY interesting to me.

Dean H Pritchett

1) Holy crap, this is amazing 2) Love the Eraserhead look Danny is sporting

Victor Campos Ferreira

Stoked you're able to do this. Look forward to it.

I guess I'll be dusting off Wild Hunt when I get home today...

OMG! So hyped!!!!

Andrew

Ohhhh hell yeah!!!!

Anthony_Vazquez

Love me some Witcher

The return!

Hassun