‘Game Of Thrones’ Actor Talks About His Role In ‘The Witcher 3’; Devs Discuss The History Of The Studio And Franchise

With the release of “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” less than a month away, Polish developer CD Projekt Red is starting to open the floodgates, giving gamers a better look at its plans. A new video sees “Game of Thrones” actor Charles Dance discuss his involvement with the game, while fans get to learn more about the studio’s roots and the origins of the series itself.

The new video is hosted on the official “Witcher” YouTube channel and shows Dance delivering some of his lines as Emhyr var Emreis, the powerful Emperor of Nilfgaard. Dance explains that this is his first ever video game project and talks about the evolution of the fantasy genre, as well as his amazement at the sophistication of modern video games.

In a separate series of videos hosted on the Gamespot YouTube channel, the publication goes deep into the history of CD Projekt Red and “The Witcher” series, starting with the studio’s origins as an importer, and them ending up crafting one of the most ambitious open-world RPGs ever made. The video helps provide context for the developer’s decision to release 16 free pieces of post-release DLC content to support the game, with co-founder Marcin Iwiński explaining that considering the scale of the game, pieces of armour, hairstyles and weapons are so insignificant it feels wrong to charge for them.

“What does it cost us to make a set of armour? Several hours, and considering the scale of the game and the investment people will be making in the game, spending hours playing, lets make it more fun,” he said.

The video goes on to explain that the team bought the rights to the Polish literary series, “The Witcher.” The team was certain the property would be appreciated locally, but they were initially unsure whether Western gamers would take to the Eastern European fantasy world. The first two games, “The Witcher 1” and “The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings,” were critically well-received, but they didn’t do much to introduce new fans to the series, something the dev team has sought to address with “The Witcher 3.”

“The Witcher 3” makes a number of changes to the proven formula in order to streamline gameplay. Where previous games forced players to meditate and prepare potions before a battle, “Wild Hunt” allows gamers to consume prepared potions during combat. In addition, rather than require gamers to collect specific ingredients in order to concoct potions, “Wild Hunt” allows gamers to meditate and brew previously crafted potions by simply using leftover alcohol.

Another way in which “Wild Hunt” has been designed to help ease new fans into the game’s world is the fact that the adventure starts out in a relatively small but freely explorable environment called White Orchard, before opening up to the wider world. The starting area helps introduce mechanics, quest types and gameplay, allowing new players to get to grips with the cadence of combat and questing.

The long wait for “The Witcher 3” is almost over. After a series of delays during which the developer took time to add a layer of polish, the studio recently announced that the game has gone gold. PS4, Xbox One and PC gamers will be able to get their hands on the game on May 19.

(Credit: YouTube/The Witcher)

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