Original The Witcher books Author Andrzej Sapkowski

[SageFox.326]

Original The Witcher books Author Andrzej Sapkowski

The Witcher 3 is a major success in the games industry with countless game of the year awards to its name, but The Witcher book author Andrzej Sapkowski isn’t too thrilled by its popularity. In a recent interview with Tygodnik POLITYKA, as translated by gbursztynek on Reddit, he voiced some surprising frustrations.
Chief among those was the assertion that “working on its own success, the game, unfortunately, harmed my books.” To Sapkowski specifically, it’s a matter of art appropriation. “Seeing a picture from the game on the cover of my book, many fans assumed that the game was first. And respectable fans of sci-fi and fantasy hold such derivative books in contempt … I have to keep explaining to the fans that I wrote the book 12 years before the game was made and that the Sandworm is from the game, not the books. You couldn't find a Sandworm in the books even if you tried.”
In the latter instance, Sapkowski is referring to the modern U.S. cover of The Time Of Contempt, which features CD Projekt RED’s vision of Geralt battling a creature that looks like a Sandworm from Dune. The events are not relevant to how they appear in this author’s mind. Rather than be faithful to source material, he further claims that great game writers “write game-related stuff exclusively for money. And surely they write in a sloppy manner, half-heartedly.” In his mind, “one can pass on them.”
Yet, despite Sapkowski frustrations with game art, he didn’t have all bad things to say about The Witcher 3 in specific. “The issues that I have thanks to the games are not at all caused by the game itself,” he clarified. “I am not envious of the game's undeniable success, I'm far from it. … There is but one original Witcher. That one which belongs to me. And nothing will take it away from me.”
In addition to throwing a little flack at game developers, The Witcher creator also had to address some beef he recently threw at gamers in general. At the Polcon sci-fi convention in Poland, Sapkowski said he didn’t know anyone that had played the games because he “stay among intelligent fellows.” Having sparked a bit of Internet controversy, the backlash was downplayed by its source as an attempt “to cause a storm in a teacup” that’s best explained by “a chronic lack of sense of humor” from those that weren’t there to see everything in context.
The Witcher 3 and associated franchise books are available now.
Should Andrzej Sapkowski be more open to games like The Witcher 3? Does he have a point about art-related confusion?

Source:
http://www.idigitaltimes.com/witcher-3-success-harmed-my-books-says-franchise-author-andrzej-sapkowski-559274

 

[Qbson03]

The game promoted the books abroad and that's a fact. Sapkowski basically has a butthurt because CD Projekt Red gave him fixed amount of money for the rights to make the game. He had no faith in them so he didn't want a % from the sales. Now the game generated plenty of profit, and Sapkowski could get a share of it and that's where his attitude towards players comes from(Sapkowski said he didn’t know anyone that had played the games because he “stay among intelligent fellows.”)

 

[daneel53]

I think that one point must be clarified.

Instead of giving the link toward the short abstract of the interview found on the page on idigitaltimes.com it is better to link toward the original translation of the interview on Reddit : https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/54jojx/yet_another_sapkowski_interview_response_to_the/

There you can see that Sapkowski says that the issue related to the covers of his books comes from the publishers : "For some time I have been very actively fighting the custom of using game related visuals on my covers and I prohibit publishers from doing so. Wherever I can - in the USA, for example, I can't".

I write this because the abstract of Idigitaltimes may let think that Sapkowski is angry upon CDPR for the books covers, which is not the case. Do read the complete translation, and you will better understand the plot.

 

[meb9]

Sapkowski is often misunderstood. His approach to life is whimsical (as shown in his very original style of writing). Additionally, people of his generation often have no knowledge of computer games, or they might have a grandson who plays Grand Theft Auto which gives them a false view of the genre. I think CDPR did a terrific job of bringing The Witcher to life in a game, but the books are even more powerful. To my mind both are art forms of a different kind. Really good computer games (such as TW3 and a very few others) are the modern-day equivalent of opera. They bring together drama, visual beauty and memorable music. I don't suppose Sapkowski has had the opportunity to realise that. I can understand him feeling a strong ownership of the world and the characters he created - he has a right to that. It isn't all about money. I'm sure he is doing well from increased book sales. But he is a great writer, and has the right to feel sensitive about his creation.

 

[RageGT]

Well, he did had a hand in the movie The Hexer too, didn't he? Although I even like it.. it's a lot worse than any game could ever be... lol

 

[mulzi]

Sapkowski is often misunderstood. His approach to life is whimsical (as shown in his very original style of writing). Additionally, people of his generation often have no knowledge of computer games, or they might have a grandson who plays Grand Theft Auto which gives them a false view of the genre. I think CDPR did a terrific job of bringing The Witcher to life in a game, but the books are even more powerful. To my mind both are art forms of a different kind. Really good computer games (such as TW3 and a very few others) are the modern-day equivalent of opera. They bring together drama, visual beauty and memorable music. I don't suppose Sapkowski has had the opportunity to realise that. I can understand him feeling a strong ownership of the world and the characters he created - he has a right to that. It isn't all about money. I'm sure he is doing well from increased book sales. But he is a great writer, and has the right to feel sensitive about his creation.

The problem with this is he sold the rights. He was well within his rights not to sell the witcher rights to anyone, then he would have exclusive control. But he was always reaching for the exrta money, and when the games exceeded the expectations, he feels a little remorse. Sapkowski seems okay with the game in general, he really takes offense when people reference the game as 'canon', or when publishers put a picture of W3 triss/geralt/Yenna on the cover of his translated book. But the contract he signed with these publishers gave them the right to do this (and for the game to tweak his universe).

That being said, I wish he would be a tad more accepting. The books are great in their own right. To squabble about other outlets that tweak his universe, after he gave permission for them to do so for a montary course, just makes he appear to be a petty, bitter man.

 

[jmcc84]

The games are the only reason that made me interested on the books, and I think a LOT more people fits in the same case, specially outside Poland. Unfortunately Mr. Sapkowski despise the games considering it non-canon (the first game carry on from the events of the last book, so I don't see reason why it is'nt) and saying some bad things about it.

 

[Gwydden]

I would question the idea that the games harmed his book. CDPR basically paid him for the privilege of giving him publicity, and I very much doubt his books would be more popular without the game. Quite the opposite, in fact. What he is claiming amounts to saying that The Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones harmed their source material because more people have watched them than have read the original, while ignoring the fact that those who are not interested in checking out the book likely would not have even heard of it without the adaptation to begin with and would have had no reason to read it even if they had.

Are there some people who will operate under the misconception that The Witcher books are based on the video game and therefore not read them? Sure. But I am certain the number of those who will purchase the books because of the games is far greater. Not that I cannot understand his perspective. He is protective of his creation. I imagine it must be frustrating to see a version of your story made in a medium you do not enjoy, respect, or even understand become more popular than your own.

Even so, I find the constant dismissal of the games on the basis that 'the books were first' tiresome. Yes, the books were first, but 1. the games are only loosely based on them and most of the material is original — the books and the games are, as the cliche goes, different beasts —, and 2. the books technically being fanfiction takes nothing away from them. The Aeneid, Paradise Lost, Wide Sargasso Sea, almost everything ever written within the Arthurian legend... What do they all have in common? On top of being literary classics, they are all what we would now understand as fanfiction, arguably as good and sometimes even better than the source material.