Extremely Fair Article About Witcher 3
Here is an interesting article. It's not from a gaming website, but likewise it is a bit more insightful than the daily click-bait you usually see. It's by a freelance writer whose focus is video-games.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture...ed-and-perfected-hardboiled-detective-fantasy
Overall, it praises the game. It praises Geralt as a "hardboiled detective " character. It acknowledges the game has flaws. But calls it a new standard for balancing world size with story telling. Best part is, it only spends two paragraphs on the male gaze and lack of colored people. YAY! (although I will admit his comment on the lack of colored people is insightful.)
One of the things this article highlighted that I found particularly insightful is how Geralt's detached stoicism lets the player fill in Geralt's personality with their own imagination; that is, it let's players read into Geralt's reactions the emotions they see him having in a scene.
I've always liked Geralt's personality, but it never would've occured to me that it's a tool for role-playing. It's just another insight into the world of game design!
Here is an interesting article. It's not from a gaming website, but likewise it is a bit more insightful than the daily click-bait you usually see. It's by a freelance writer whose focus is video-games.
http://www.newstatesman.com/culture...ed-and-perfected-hardboiled-detective-fantasy
Overall, it praises the game. It praises Geralt as a "hardboiled detective " character. It acknowledges the game has flaws. But calls it a new standard for balancing world size with story telling. Best part is, it only spends two paragraphs on the male gaze and lack of colored people. YAY! (although I will admit his comment on the lack of colored people is insightful.)
One of the things this article highlighted that I found particularly insightful is how Geralt's detached stoicism lets the player fill in Geralt's personality with their own imagination; that is, it let's players read into Geralt's reactions the emotions they see him having in a scene.
I've always liked Geralt's personality, but it never would've occured to me that it's a tool for role-playing. It's just another insight into the world of game design!
While some players might be put off by his detached manner this is actually a great strength of the writing, because by downplaying Geralt’s emotional reactions to things there is less of a sense that we as players are being told what to feel. This helps in the continuity of scenes, keeping Geralt’s tone consistent, which would be extremely hard to do convincingly if he was more of an extrovert. If we want him to be angry, he can be angry, if we want him to be friendly, he can be friendly, but until we decide one way or the other he remains inscrutable.
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