„They really didn't believe it was possible.” CD Projekt's CEO on how hard it was to sell the idea for The Witcher 3
Before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt became a hit, the CD Projekt Red studio took a long time to convince partners of its vision for the game.
Even though The Witcher 4 is still a long way from being released, it's already getting fans of the series and people in the business world pretty excited. However, the series didn't always enjoy such interest. Adam Badowski revealed in an interview with PC Gamer how difficult it was to convince potential partners about The Witcher 3. According to the CEO of CD Projekt Red, combining a strong story, cinematic experience, and open world was a big deal for the whole industry.
"No one believed it was possible," and some even "looked for other strengths" of the game. Badowski faced the challenge of convincing people who wanted to know how the third installment differed from other games. They were primarily interested in the gameplay, which was "quite standard."
It's a combination of combat and character development, plus magic, which is kind of weak because it has to be in line with the tone of the witcher character. So in that area, it's difficult to find something super fresh, admitted the CEO.
The benefits of The Witcher 3 were challenging to show through a script or presentation, much like persuading people to play the earlier installments. Especially since Badowski preferred to inspire rather than lay out all the aspects. That's why he's a huge fan of demos, because they let you get a feel for the real gameplay. Before the third installment was released, the devs made a bunch of demo versions for themselves.
Adam Badowski is known for his ambitious approach to design, and his ideas have often given his studio colleagues some real challenges. Thanks to him, The Witcher 3 included not only the option to swim but also to dive. Underwater, there was a rich world full of interesting collectibles. For Badowski, it was all about "immersion" and logic – if there's water in the game, it just makes sense that you should be able to explore it.
Sometimes there are quests limited by the location that's designed [in a] way that gives you this feeling of control. But for most of them, it's in an open world. So this little fact has so many consequences and production is really complex.
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Author: Krzysztof Kaluzinski
At GRYOnline.pl, works in the Newsroom. He is not afraid to tackle various topics, although he prefers news about independent productions in the style of Disco Elysium. In his childhood, he wrote fantasy stories, played a lot on Pegasus, and then on a computer. He turned his passion into a profession as an editor of a gaming portal run with a friend, as well as a copywriter and advisor in a console store. He doesn't care for remakes and long-running series. Since childhood, he wanted to write a novel, although he is definitely better at creating characters than plot. That's probably why he fell in love with RPGs (paper and virtual). He was raised in the 90s, to which he would gladly return. Loves Tarantino movies, thanks to Mad Max and the first Fallout he lost himself in post-apo, and Berserk convinced him to dark fantasy. Today he tries his hand at e-commerce and marketing, while also supporting the Newsroom on weekends, which allows him to continue cultivating old passions.
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