w00t! Something I can actually contribute to!
Well, a little bit at least. I can't really say more than has already been said, though I may shed a bit of light on the overall philosophy behind our implementation. Since Quests (and all things Quest related) are a huge part of what makes the world...well, alive, it is our responsibility to make sure that players do not feel like the world is "boring".
First things first though. While, from a technical point of view, it is not difficult to make a world large, actually making a large LIVING world is quite a technical challenge. As mentioned earlier, the bigger you make the world, the more you have to fill it with content and more content means more stuff for the game to load/render/show. Our goal here is to make every part of the world interesting however, so this is the challenge our teams face. This is accomplished by a number of things on our end (Quest Design).
1) Quests/Encounters
Obvious one coming from me, eh? Of course, having things to do in places that provide background and story to an area and its inhabitants is a primary form of making areas interesting. I am, here, referring not necessarily to the main story parts of quests, but the smaller, side missions that fill the world with meaningful life. This includes simple things that might not be in the traditional definition of "quest". Encounters, in this case, provide meaningful background to the world and make it feel like yes...these people "live" here.
2) NPCs
NPCs or a broader term, population of places. This is all the people that inhabit a place, the people one would call the population of an area. Important for us here is to keep things dynamic. People don't just stand at the same spot day in and out, or carry out the same work all the time. They move, they react to outside influences (Geralt for example
), and they are in different places at different times, doing different things. This is especially true for towns and, of course, cities such as Novigrad. Especially in Novigrad you don't want to feel like you ware walking through a) an empty city or b) walk around with everyone else just being stationary and static.
3) Monsters
Of course, a big part of the Witcher world. Can't really go into details about this except that there will be a lot and Geralt will have his fair share of Wicther-work. These of course help to set mood and keep the world alive as well. Both in terms of interaction with the other NPCs as well as providing work and lastly, in providing background and context for situations in certain places.
4) Locations/POIs
Points of interest and locations that tell stories by themselves. Ruins, abandoned buildings, particular land formations and more. Things that don't require NPC's to be there to explain it but by purely being there and maybe with some additional notes can breathe life into otherwise inanimate objects. Plus, great incentive to move about and explore, since undoubtedly you'll find something interesting, even if it is "just" a beautiful view or a long forgotten statue etc.
All of this is used to make sure that wherever you go in the world of Witcher 3, you feel like it is indeed, a living, breathing world. It's tough work, because none of the above mentioned things is automated. It is, indeed, all crafted by us to fit with the theme and mood of every location. Yes, even the "generic" NPCs standing around and filling Novigrad are placed bit by bit, given work, given schedules, given reactions and so on and so forth.
In the end, we want you to be able to fully immerse yourselves in this world. and to make sure that regardless of where you go in this world, it contributes to that immersion.
Just a little insight over lunch. Talk to you again later!
