Qualitative research study about Witcher 3

[KeldornOfLatria]

1 - What languages do you speak?
German, English, Polish

2 - What cultural background are you coming from?
Growing up in Poland till I was seven years old, then moved to Germany, but still speaking Polish in family and when possible.

3 - What language did you select when playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
Polish.

4 - If you played in more than one language, did you notice any change in cultural aura of the game between the different translations?
English is a different atmosphere, but tries (and often succeeds) to catch at least a similar vibe. German just doesn't work out well, often the dialogue is just a "summary" of the plot, but characters have no charm

5 - How present was the Slavik folklore in the game in your opinion?
Very present, but not only the folklore, but something of a polish/eastern european "world view", too. It's what gives the game(s) its uniqueness.

Will you be posting your study here? Would be interesting.

 

[SigilFey]

1.) English.
2.) US + Middle East expat.
3.) English and Polish (for one partially finished run).
4.) Yes -- I immediately noticed that many characters were played much more naturally in many aspects. Whereas the English version seemed to create characters that were entertaining and very balanced, I found the Polish felt a little more like people going about their daily business. Not so much "performance" and more "honesty". Granted, this is an impression of someone who doesn't really speak a word of Polish. Just the impression I'm left with.
5.) Tough to answer, as I'm not intimately familiar with Slavic mythology. (Almost everything I know of I learned from The Witcher. ) I will say I found very few things that felt like English or American mythology / folklore.

 

[Riven-Twain]

1. What languages do you speak?
2. What cultural background are you coming from?
3. What language did you select when playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
4. If you played in more than one language, did you notice any change in cultural aura of the game between the different translations?
5. How present was the Slavik folklore in the game in your opinion?

1. English, German, and French. I'd include Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and Old Norse, but they're not applicable. (I'm a mediaevalist and part-time linguist.)

2. Western United States, generally, but with notable British and western European influences.

3. German and English.

4. Between German and English, I feel the English script is more colourful, lively, and makes conscious use of foreign and British accents (for a few examples, Dutch for Nilfgaard, Welsh for some monsters, Danish for Toussaint, and Northern Irish for Skellige). We've the talents of the lead English adaptation writer, Borys, to thank for much of this. The English also uses colloquialisms, and a broader range of language registers than the German, which only uses a few contractions of speech, and is, for what I can tell, mostly in standard High German. This vitalises the cultural, or at least linguistic, differences between the various folks and classes more noticeably than in German (and, from what I've been told, even the Polish).

Other notable differences were personal and monster names, which are occasionally at odds with the English forms, and even the original Polish (examples: 'Ermion' for Maussack, Rittersporn for 'Dandelion', Waldschrat for Leshen). Personally, I prefer the German for presentational -- or shall we say 'aesthetic' -- reasons (as it can feel more 'authentic'), but enjoy the English for its more nuanced character.

5. As a student of folklore and mythology, I've always recognised more themes and motifs in the games common to all of Europe, rather than specifically Poland (although there are a few specific references to Polish tales, such as the Dragon of Krakow). Many of the creatures the Witcher encounters are also found in diverse places in mediaeval tales and folklore.

From my perspective, overall, I'd say that Polish folk art (including music, and, occasionally, costume) is much more noticeable in the game's atmosphere, scenery, and architecture than in other aspects. Neither when playing in English nor in German have I ever had the overwhelming impression that the game was more 'Polish' in flavour, but rather pan-European, as it depicts scenes, places, and costumes recognisable throughout the mediaeval world. This has been my experience with the previous Witcher titles as well.

Addendum: One exception to the above was the wedding party from Hearts of Stone, as it exhibited what appeared to be very localised Polish customs and dress for the celebration.

Good luck with your research!

 

[Riven-Twain]

Second addendum: As a few players have already noted in passing, there are some visual elements of the game which are uniquely Polish -- or, more broadly, Slavic -- regardless of the language in which we choose to play. These elements are perhaps the most obvious -- if often imperfectly understood -- cultural differences, as they transcend the selected localisation, and lend the game a sense of otherness (or even fantasy?) for non-Slavic players: Namely, the runes, which relate to per-Christian Slavic deities, and the Glagolitic alphabet, which the developers adopted for the texts of signs, graffiti, and notices throughout the lands.

 

[MauricioMM]

1. Spanish, english and a tiny speck of italian.
2. I’m from Central America (hyped to become one of Silverhand’s kills in the coming Central American Wars, wooh!... jk )
3. English voices and spanish texts.
4. Haven’t tried any other language configurations yet.
5. Even though I’m not really a connoisseur on the matter, I’d say they did, very much. That’s actually one of the things that drew me towards the games and the books, their take on slavic mythology and arts.

 

[Snowflakez]

1. English
2. American
3. English
4. I haven't tried the Polish version, but I have watched playthroughs/gameplay of it. Very cool.
5. I thought there was quite a bit of Slavic influence, especially in the monster designs.

 

[Shavod]

1. What languages do you speak?
2. What cultural background are you coming from?
3. What language did you select when playing Witcher 3: Wild Hunt?
4. If you played in more than one language, did you notice any change in cultural aura of the game between the different translations?
5. How present was the Slavik folklore in the game in your opinion?

1. English and Polish

2. Polish.

3. Polish, but I watched playthroughs in English.

4. English versions utilizes various accents to reflect on characters backgrounds, Polish version relies more on a proper stylization of the characters ways of speaking to reflect that, which often can't be properly translated to English. According to the developers the reason behind that is that apparently only English speakers find accents in a voice overs appropriate, while people who play the game with other voice overs, like Polish, find them to be rather silly and too distracting.

5. There is a lot of references to the Slavic culture, especially Polish, some of which were localised in English. Most of them being present in Hearts of Stones story (Pan Twardowski, Wyspiański's Wedding, Sienkiewicz' trilogy, etc.) and Velen (legend of the Popiel), while in White Orchard and Novigrad they are present more in visual design and background references.

 

[slavchen]

Always happy to assist a fellow researcher
1. Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, English, a bit of German and French.
2. Ukrainian (so Slavic) background
3. I have played Witcher 1 in Russian and Polish (also tried and dropped English and French walkthrough), Witcher 2 and Witcher 3 in Polish.
4. I haven't noticed any differences in the Witcher 3 since I was playing in Polish only, but I know there were differences like Janek's Name change or different accents for dwarves (e.g. Scottish accent in English version).
5. While Witcher 3 (and other games in this series) adopts elements from different cultures (Celtic, Norse, chivalric culture of medieval Europe), the Slavic influences are the most apparent: in character names (currently Vesemir and Zdravko come to mind, but there are many others), monster names (Leszy is the most significant example here, but there are also Poludnica and Polnocnica), runes named after Slavic deities (Morana, Tryglaw, Swarog, etc.), music, and quests (like "Dziady" in Velen - which incorporates text from Adam Mickiewicz's poem of the same name).

 

[Suhiira]

According to the developers the reason behind that is that apparently only English speakers find accents in a voice overs appropriate, while people who play the game with other voice overs, like Polish, find them to be rather silly and too distracting.

It's more that English is spoken across a much larger geographic area then any other language (maybe Spanish?) and regional dialects developed in the centuries prior to radio communication. So English speakers sort of expect an accent when they listen to anyone from outside their native region. However I've noticed that with widespread internet and and news outlets like CNN (that are pretty much international) that regional accents seem to to fading. They certainly seem to have become less distinctive in the last 50-60 years anyway.

A study of this trend would probably make for a great Masters or Doctorate thesis.

 

[CyberBrett]

It's more that English is spoken across a much larger geographic area then any other language (maybe Spanish?) and regional dialects developed in the centuries prior to radio communication. So English speakers sort of expect an accent when they listen to anyone from outside their native region. However I've noticed that with widespread internet and and news outlets like CNN (that are pretty much international) that regional accents seem to to fading. They certainly seem to have become less distinctive in the last 50-60 years anyway.

A study of this trend would probably make for a great Masters or Doctorate thesis.

That`s something i have noticed here in Australia , we live in a much smaller populated country compared to the US . With more national TV shows and more people moving from state to state each states way of speaking is being blurred into one way .

 

[Snowflakez]

It's more that English is spoken across a much larger geographic area then any other language (maybe Spanish?) and regional dialects developed in the centuries prior to radio communication. So English speakers sort of expect an accent when they listen to anyone from outside their native region. However I've noticed that with widespread internet and and news outlets like CNN (that are pretty much international) that regional accents seem to to fading. They certainly seem to have become less distinctive in the last 50-60 years anyway.

A study of this trend would probably make for a great Masters or Doctorate thesis.

Well put.

When Shavod first said that, it seemed weird. Why would English speakers enjoy/expect accents over any other language's speakers? But this makes a lot of sense. I learned something today.

 

[SigilFey]

With more national TV shows and more people moving from state to state each states way of speaking is being blurred into one way .

This is something happening in the US, too. When I lived in North Carolina back in 2006, the classic "Southern" accent was very prevalent. Couldn't go anywhere without hearing it. Now, I hardly ever hear it. Even people born and raised in NC are speaking with a "New England" accent.

 

[CyberBrett]

This is something happening in the US, too. When I lived in North Carolina back in 2006, the classic "Southern" accent was very prevalent. Couldn't go anywhere without hearing it. Now, I hardly ever hear it. Even people born and raised in NC are speaking with a "New England" accent.

That`s a real shame as an outsider i love to hear that southern twang .

 

[EngryEngineer]

1. English
2. American & Lithuanian
3. English
4. NA
5. When dealing with the world the game feels much more like folklore than fantasy, when dealing with other characters this is...less true. As far as specifically Slavic folklore I'd say I can see the inspiration there, but it feels more like a modern retelling than a direct adaptation of the lore from a given historical snapshot (though imo evolution is the best part of folklore).

 

[gogmeister777]

English French
European (English, French, Italian)
English
N/A
Well, I don't know much about Slavic folklore but what the Witcher presented to me was done with enough conviction and skill to make be believe it was authentic It certainly had its own character and seemed in many ways original. I'll add that it was also the general feel and atmosphere throughout many areas of the game that felt Slavic.

The only things that seemed different were Skellige, which due to the accents seemed Celtic, and Toussaint which felt French, presumably by intention.

Oh, and Olgierd from Hearts of Stone was David Beckham so he didn't seem Slavic at all

 

[DaniellaGiovanna]

1. Dutch, English
2. The Netherlands, but I'm also somewhat inclined to say "Europe" because I know a lot of people from other countries on the continent
3. English (there is no Dutch but even if there was I would've chosen English - Dutch translations usually suuuuuck)
4. -
5. Hum, I don't know to what extent things were specifically Slavic. I mean, even the whole thing about the White Frost is somewhat comparable to myths and things in other cultures (Ragnarok, anyone?). I probably would've seen more Slavic influences if I would've known more about Slavic culture to start with. I did notice plenty of Dutch influences in Novigrad (like the buildings and general atmosphere) and many names (DIJKSTRA but also other ones). The thing that made it feel most specifically Slavic I'd say was the music! LELE LELELE