Witcher 3 Writer: No-Man's Land Region "Like a Lovecraft Story"

[StewShearerOld]

Witcher 3 Writer: No-Man's Land Region "Like a Lovecraft Story"

Writer Jakub Szamalek has offered new details about the No-Man's Land and Novigrad regions of The Witcher 3.

Between several <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126827-The-Witcher-3-Shows-What-It-Means-To-Kill-Monsters>trailers and a <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122451-Witcher-3-Screens-Show-Off-the-Snowy-Land-of-Skellige>growing collection of screenshots released by the game's developer, players might think they've seen a lot of The Witcher 3 already. That said, what players have been shown is only one piece of the enormous puzzle CD Projekt RED is trying to craft with the game. Currently, all the assets the studio has shown off have come from the game's Skellige Islands region. Speaking about the title recently, writer Jakub Szamalek described two other areas: "No-Man's Land" and "Novigrad."

"[No-man's Land is] a territory that has been ravaged by war, through which armies have marched and they've burned everything they've come to on their way," said Szamalek. "It's a dark, creepy environment covered by swamps primeval forests. There are sparsely populated areas, small villages full of very distrustful people who are not welcoming to new-comers." No-Man's Land will be inspired in part by real world Slavic mythology. "It's a dark environment in which there are many secrets to uncover. At times it will feel like a Lovecraft story where you come in to a small community and you know from the start something is wrong, then you discover just how wrong things are." Novigrad, in turn, will be a city region "based on Medieval Amdsterdam" and will be the game's center of "political intrigue." The area of Novigrad won't be limited to just the city, however. It will include "the surrounding forests, fields and residences of the nobles."

Both regions, in addition to the Skellige Islands, represent the developer's desire to create a game that, according Szamalek, isn't just "huge" but also "very diverse." The various regions can also be experienced in any order. "If you become tired, or bored, you can always go to a different place. What's exciting about The Witcher 3's main storyline is that it's not linear structure branching, it's actually a collection of elements which you have to find, combine and then get a full picture in your head."

Source: PCGamer


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[Erttheking]

Huh, well that should be interesting to see. To be fair I can see why a village would be paranoid about outsiders if a massive army just came marching through and burned all their crops. I get the nagging feeling we're going to be seeing more than a little bit of cannibalism.

Also I hope that the noble estates are pretty, shiny, overflowing with riches and life and overall safe. The contrast with the no man's land would be wonderful.

 

[Hazzard]

I expect cannibalism, like the poster above and a fair amount of conflict within the individual villages, as the survivors fight over the food they have left.
I'd quite like to see a combination of the battles that ravage the land and what happens to the people afterward.

 

[james.sponge]

I expect cannibalism, like the poster above and a fair amount of conflict within the individual villages, as the survivors fight over the food they have left.
I'd quite like to see a combination of the battles that ravage the land and what happens to the people afterward.

I think we will get that since The Witcher books covered that topic quite extensively and CDRP were always faithful to the source material.

 

[Hazzard]

I expect cannibalism, like the poster above and a fair amount of conflict within the individual villages, as the survivors fight over the food they have left.
I'd quite like to see a combination of the battles that ravage the land and what happens to the people afterward.

I think we will get that since The Witcher books covered that topic quite extensively and CDRP were always faithful to the source material.

I haven't read the books, but it's something I'd like to eventually.

 

[Farther than stars]

Ah, fond memories of Fallout 3, where every little community had something wrong with it. From vampires and cannibals to slave drivers and insane religious cults.

I expect cannibalism, like the poster above and a fair amount of conflict within the individual villages, as the survivors fight over the food they have left.

Dito.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

Yep, hillbilly cannibals. It's so expected I'd be disappointed if it didn't make an appearance.


Now, who wants a delicious Iguana on a stick?

 

[Keiichi Morisato]

Yep, hillbilly cannibals. It's so expected I'd be disappointed if it didn't make an appearance.


Now, who wants a delicious Iguana on a stick?

is it irradiated? because I love the tang the meat gets with a little bit of radiation.

 

[Silverbeard]

Both regions, in addition to the Skellige Islands, represent the developer's desire to create a game that, according Szamalek, isn't just "huge" but also "very diverse." The various regions can also be experienced in any order. "If you become tired, or bored, you can always go to a different place. What's exciting about The Witcher 3's main storyline is that it's not linear structure branching, it's actually a collection of elements which you have to find, combine and then get a full picture in your head."

This bit concerns me. I cannot help but think of several dozen plot elements, each one only vaguely connected to the next and scattered about the map. Since players can take them in any order they choose, we may never see a momentous decision akin to the final part of act 1 in Witcher 2 that alters the course of the entire game.
Makes me nervous, this does. Quite nervous.

 

[1337mokro]

I love living in the city of Amdsterdam. Though we natives just call it by it's actual name Amsterdam, without the spelling error.

Though the funny thing is Slavic cities often copied Dutch design. The same brick structures were very popular in that region so it makes sense to go for that choice.

If they pull this off this game might end up being the best RPG up to date. Until CD RED releases Cyberpunk 2077 of course.

 

[Kahani]

burned everything...

covered by... primeval forests.

They burned everything... for sufficiently small values of everything. Wood isn't flammable, right?

 

[RyQ_TMC]

So, we're getting a territory through which foreign armies have marched to and fro, burning, murdering, raping and stealing everything not nailed down?

Good to be a Polish game company, you don't have to travel for research.

And I have to say the same thing as I say in every W3-related thread: every bit of news makes me more excited and more in need of an excuse to buy a new gaming PC.