Collecting questions for an upcoming Dev Spotlight feat. Damien Monnier

[Kinley]

Collecting questions for an upcoming Dev Spotlight feat. Damien Monnier

Hello everyone!

Developer Spotlight No. 2 is in the works and it will feature Damien Monnier - Senior Gameplay Designer!

So if you have any quandaries regarding gameplay, this is the place to ask your questions! Also do not shy away from the really in-depth questions, we all know we like those.

Questions that have nothing to do with gameplay or posts that are off-topic for that matter may be deleted, to keep the thread nice and tidy.

Thread will stay open for a day or two, depending on the amount of questions coming in. I will give ample warning when I'm planning to lock, so don't worry.

Thank you, and let the questions flow!

 

[wichat]

Which field are relationated with the gameplay design exactly?

 

[sidspyker]

Gameplay I would imagine anything that needs you to do something I guess

 

[Kinley]

Which field are relationated with the gameplay development exactly?

Systems like alchemy and combat, mini-games like Gwent. Anything that requires player input within the game falls within the category of gameplay I believe.

 

[scratcherpen]

Will there be the legendary loot like Mkhakam Sihill, Moon blade, and Aerondith with Ravens armor in Witcher 1 or Vrans/Elders blood set in Witcher 2? And hwill we see another witcher schools or their ruins in the Witcher 3?

 

[JasonShepard]

Can we still just cast Quen and tank damage till the end like in The Witcher 2? How do different abilities affect signs and Geralt's moves in combat? What were some difficulties you encountered during balancing the gameplay? I'd like to hear more about the alchemy system and why you chose to have refillable potions with multiple uses instead of the older potion systems?

 

[RyukenQ]

It's been stated that there will be different types crossbows and bolts, could you give a small example of how this could affect combat besides just doing damage?

 

[wichat]

When the player enters into meditation mod, the potions are filled itself or we need to selected which must be re-filled?, If you have three bottles of alcohol and 4 empty differents potions already crafted ... which of them will be the three potions auto-filled? I mean, will they be selected automaticly by the game or we can control that?

 

[web-head91]

Neat, here goes !
So Damien, here are my questions to you

about yourself:
- How does one become a gameplay designer ? in your case how did it happen ?
- Could you please tell us more about your academic background and your career path ?

about the game:
- What references did you take for designing the gameplay mechanics in the witcher 3 ?
- could you explain more the leveling experience to us as well as the skill tree in TW3 ?
- could please describe in detail the alchemy system ? alot of us are still wondering about it and don't have a clear picture of the whole thing.
- it was also stated that the alchemy system would have an "auto-refill" feature. can you go more into details ? can this feature be disactivated ?
- CDPR stated that they took some elements from other games such as the gothic series. how so from an RPG mechanics standpoint ?
- were there any features that were cut-off from the game ? if so, could you tell us more about them and why they got cut in the first place ? is there a chance we might see them as free DLC post launch ?

Now for the silly questions:
Do you think a mechanical engineer has a shot at getting recruited for CDPR ? -hints at himself-
What games do you love to death and consider legendary ?

Thanks in advance to both you and kinley :angel:

 

[silversteel420]

In The Witcher 1, many gameplay systems such as alchemy adopted a more classical RPG approach. For example the need to collect books to learn about certain herbs, and the skill tree included a immense amount of different abilities that modified Geralt's stats. Also it was possible to mix different ingredients (rubedo, aether) and experiment and create your own "unknown potion" whose effect was unknown until it was taken, a feature sadly removed in TW2.The bestiary and journal was more detailed in general compared to TW2 as well. Therefore will there be something for those old-school RPG players who really like to get deep into gameplay systems such as alchemy, crafting, herb collecting, and so forth?

EDIT: Added comment about TW1 alchemy.

 

[Agent_Bleu]

1. How have you made sure the WItcher Senses don't end up turning into a «Press X to win» kind of feature?

2. Can the player dispense with WItcher Senses altogether and gather relevant info by interviewing sources, piecing clues together and using logic?

3. Compared to TW2, more puzzles this time around?

 

[wichat]

With accurate details like the beard growing...Will hair of characters be wet under the rain or in the water? And clothes? I mean, will we able to appreciate subtle differences between dry and wet?

 

[Vigilance.492]

Can we get a better idea of the full functionality of boats?
Obviously we know Geralt's dinghy can take him from point A to B, but what other capabilities does it have, if any? (Like using it to ram into something, standing up on it and firing Geralt's crossbow, casting signs, lobbing a bomb at a nearby boat/enemy, can it get attacked or if we run into something will it take damage and eventually be destroyed etc)

 

[Ifrit30]

Yes! Damien You Rock.
:cheers:


As for Questions:

1. Can you elaborate on how the Alchemy system really works, because it seems like it's more than a bit simplified compared to Witcher 1 and 2, where you just look now for ingredients and after you created the potion it always auto-refills after meditating. That sounds disappointing to be honest, in terms of RPG.
2. Regarding the Armours and active Skill-Slots, do they really affect your gameplay (fast, aggresive, defensive, group style) and how much do they differentiate one another, gameplay-wise?
3. Are there any traveling NPC in the open world outside the (main) roads, like in forests, dungeon, caves... you can come across with, who are doing their own Quest/Adventure so to speak?
4. Can you keep going to your (Geralts) friends and family like Triss, Yennefer, Zoltan ... whenever you like and chat with them or do they disappear after a short while (like in Witcher 2)?
5. Does the Game have any statistics you can see like how long you played, how many quests you did ... ?

7. This is not really a question about gameplay, but since the game will be finished ~ 1 month before release and the game discs will be made, is it possible that there will be a small benchmark?


/e/: lol, when I came there were no replies, now I'm on page 2.

 

[moonknightgog]

Hi Damien. Can you explain to us how the alchemy system works, if it is deep and complex, and how it affects the combat system?

 

[Scryar]

I have two questions:

1) I would like to know more about Gwent.
Do we start with a predefined deck or do we collect cards and build our deck through the game? How do we obtain new cards? Through loot? Purchase? Can even win new cards from the enemy in a Gwent match? Will there be a long quest, which sends us through the whole world? (like fist fighting or dice in Witcher 1/2)

2) How do you balance the game? How do you prevent that someone who focused on the sidequests won't heavily outlevel the enemies when he continues with the main story?

 

[scratcherpen]

Not really a gameplay question, now is it?

My bad.
Well, actually i wanted to ask about crafting and how it works, what elements of armor and weapon can we upgrade and how much levels did that get. How it affects the combat too as it was told. And can we detach previous weak parts of armor upgrades to change it in more powerfull. Also i wanted to ask about auto refill potions in alchemy, but wichat.571 already did that.

 

[OliverDK]

removed the questions as in my eager I overlooked that only gameplay related questions were relevant.

 

[scratcherpen]

Also how complex Geralt relationship with womens will be. For example if Geralt have sex with one girl or prostitutes and others will finds out? Can it get Geralt or other characters in troubles? And will they remember that relationship and will that affect the game as well ?

 

[frynse]

It has been said many times that the Witcher 3 is going to focus on preparation for fights being more important than ever before. That said, with the new potion system the timers for potions appear very short and they can be consumed in the middle of combat which seems to encourage using them during fights.
How do you think this correlates with the statements about needing to be more prepared for the gameplay?