Some say Hype; some, Anticipation; some, Excitement – I say: Yes, Please.
I’ve lurked long enough. The truth must be said: I’m so glad I found this place!
Though there are several games that I have discovered and heartily loved well after their official release dates (including all the Half Lifes, the first Bioshock, the Portals, the Telltales – even Kingdoms of Amalur and Alan Wake – amongst others,) only a few have had me in the Counting-Down-the-Days/Hours/Minutes stage: Undying, Morrowind, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, and now The Witcher 3.
I’m of the Pong Generation, the Atari 2600, the Commodore VIC 20 (never rich enough for the fancy Commodore 64…) and I moved to PC gaming exclusively in the 90s. (I’ve remained “that way” up until Bloodborne, because… well… obviously…) In my early PC gaming days, it was about Lemmings (oh, man, remember that? And no, I'm not embarrassed... no... I'm not...), Myst, System Shock, Doom, Planescape: Torment, Dracula: The Last Sanctuary, Undying and Morrowind. I never had tons of time (or cash…) for games, but I loved the thrills, the skills (the rhymes!) and the worlds – in other words: The Experience of Gaming. I’ve gone from games on cassette tapes, to cartridges, to 5.75/3.5 inch floppys, to CD-ROMs, to DVDs and Digital Distribution.
Many people had suggested, given my affinity for certain types/genres of games, that I try the Witcher series. I began with the first, and after feeling like such a dork for not being able to figure out the combat system, I put it aside after the Prologue. But it kept haunting me: “Come baaaaack to me… come baaaack.” Several months later, I said to myself, I said: “Just figure it out! Stick with it, man, and figure it OUT!” I did. (And then I felt like an even bigger dork, considering it wasn’t even that difficult after all…) And then I loved it; madly loved it; extremely loved it. The ~60 hours I put into that world, exploring every cranny and every nook, was magnificent. Each area within the world, the stories that were told, the choices I had to make, brought me further into The Experience. The Witcher 2 was an adjustment for me. Again, it took me a while to figure out all the workings of it, but then I went along the journey. Loved. Read the books. Expanded love. Replayed both games. Embiggened Deep Love.
I’m not the Best at All the Games (not by a long shot), but my passion for them is amongst the strongest. I guess I’m easy to satisfy. That’s why I feel so outsidery when I read/hear so many people ranting about “downgrade” this or “they lied to us” that. From my perspective, CDPR has made a game and world that thousands (millions?) of people will love, explore and journey into. I’ve kept my eyes/mind almost entirely spoiler-free – I’ve only seen the first trailer and know that Ciri, Yennefer and Emhyr are somehow involved, that it is sandboxy/openish, and that there’s some talk of beards… Being truly disheartened by the topics and tone of the Steam discussion boards, like so many others, I found this place and am so grateful I did. [ArRam: You’re my hero.]
Some wonderful folks here have equated their excitement to Christmas and I’m there with that! For me, it also feels like I’m going away on vacation or something. Those night-before jitters and excitement, the feeling of not knowing what’s in store for me along the journey, the travel nerves and anticipation.
So: In preparation for my Wild Hunt journey, I’ve cleaned my place thoroughly, done all my laundry, ran the errands, paid the bills, made some bread and baked some chickens (yes: plural), jugs of iced tea chillin’ in the fridge, cleaned my 1440p, gently emancipated any and all accumulated dust inside the Box, and will probably need to go run around the block a few times to practice my dodging and rolling. I’ve preloaded the game, am prepared to do the tweaking on my fairly modest system (just a scooch below the “recommended” specs), and am ready for the 200 hours of the Journey.
Thank you to everyone here on the boards for making this place one of respect, of great information and shared excitement. And I send my sincere gratitude to CDPR for enriching a valued part of my life.
---------- Updated at 10:07 PM ----------
And so it begins.
Congratulations to CDPR!
My thanks again to this board for helping me along and giving me so many wonderful things to read during my total Excitement Countdown!
I’ve lurked long enough. The truth must be said: I’m so glad I found this place!
Though there are several games that I have discovered and heartily loved well after their official release dates (including all the Half Lifes, the first Bioshock, the Portals, the Telltales – even Kingdoms of Amalur and Alan Wake – amongst others,) only a few have had me in the Counting-Down-the-Days/Hours/Minutes stage: Undying, Morrowind, Skyrim, Bioshock Infinite, and now The Witcher 3.
I’m of the Pong Generation, the Atari 2600, the Commodore VIC 20 (never rich enough for the fancy Commodore 64…) and I moved to PC gaming exclusively in the 90s. (I’ve remained “that way” up until Bloodborne, because… well… obviously…) In my early PC gaming days, it was about Lemmings (oh, man, remember that? And no, I'm not embarrassed... no... I'm not...), Myst, System Shock, Doom, Planescape: Torment, Dracula: The Last Sanctuary, Undying and Morrowind. I never had tons of time (or cash…) for games, but I loved the thrills, the skills (the rhymes!) and the worlds – in other words: The Experience of Gaming. I’ve gone from games on cassette tapes, to cartridges, to 5.75/3.5 inch floppys, to CD-ROMs, to DVDs and Digital Distribution.
Many people had suggested, given my affinity for certain types/genres of games, that I try the Witcher series. I began with the first, and after feeling like such a dork for not being able to figure out the combat system, I put it aside after the Prologue. But it kept haunting me: “Come baaaaack to me… come baaaack.” Several months later, I said to myself, I said: “Just figure it out! Stick with it, man, and figure it OUT!” I did. (And then I felt like an even bigger dork, considering it wasn’t even that difficult after all…) And then I loved it; madly loved it; extremely loved it. The ~60 hours I put into that world, exploring every cranny and every nook, was magnificent. Each area within the world, the stories that were told, the choices I had to make, brought me further into The Experience. The Witcher 2 was an adjustment for me. Again, it took me a while to figure out all the workings of it, but then I went along the journey. Loved. Read the books. Expanded love. Replayed both games. Embiggened Deep Love.
I’m not the Best at All the Games (not by a long shot), but my passion for them is amongst the strongest. I guess I’m easy to satisfy. That’s why I feel so outsidery when I read/hear so many people ranting about “downgrade” this or “they lied to us” that. From my perspective, CDPR has made a game and world that thousands (millions?) of people will love, explore and journey into. I’ve kept my eyes/mind almost entirely spoiler-free – I’ve only seen the first trailer and know that Ciri, Yennefer and Emhyr are somehow involved, that it is sandboxy/openish, and that there’s some talk of beards… Being truly disheartened by the topics and tone of the Steam discussion boards, like so many others, I found this place and am so grateful I did. [ArRam: You’re my hero.]
Some wonderful folks here have equated their excitement to Christmas and I’m there with that! For me, it also feels like I’m going away on vacation or something. Those night-before jitters and excitement, the feeling of not knowing what’s in store for me along the journey, the travel nerves and anticipation.
So: In preparation for my Wild Hunt journey, I’ve cleaned my place thoroughly, done all my laundry, ran the errands, paid the bills, made some bread and baked some chickens (yes: plural), jugs of iced tea chillin’ in the fridge, cleaned my 1440p, gently emancipated any and all accumulated dust inside the Box, and will probably need to go run around the block a few times to practice my dodging and rolling. I’ve preloaded the game, am prepared to do the tweaking on my fairly modest system (just a scooch below the “recommended” specs), and am ready for the 200 hours of the Journey.
Thank you to everyone here on the boards for making this place one of respect, of great information and shared excitement. And I send my sincere gratitude to CDPR for enriching a valued part of my life.
---------- Updated at 10:07 PM ----------
And so it begins.
Congratulations to CDPR!
My thanks again to this board for helping me along and giving me so many wonderful things to read during my total Excitement Countdown!
