HI,
I wanted to post a topic regarding the story of Witcher 4. Yes I did post it before under story but i felt it was getting drowned out a bit there in between other messages and I really wanted to discuss this.
since the trailer went up, there have been huge online discussions and arguments about W4. And I fear this will increase and divide people much more for the moment first gameplay footage will come out and more gets known about the game. And to be honest, both sides on the arguments are understandable, given from what perspective they come.
specifically over the trial of the grasses being capable to do for Ciri as a woman, being friendly lorewise etc etc. Therefor I wanted to post a suggestion that I would think is a compromise people on both sides of the debate.
here is a proposition now that could satisfy both ends of the debate and a compromise, and in the end save a lot of remaining players who would have left if they don't see the game they want:
Since a lot of the game is supposedly based upon choice and effect: how about in the beginning of the game you get to chose with ciri if she wants to take the trials of the grasses or not?
Consequences of not taking them: a much more magic based playstyle with a lot more side content involving teamwork with Geralt for specific monsters. she is less of a tank due to not having mutations and you'd have to play her more strategically with her magic abilities. This would be the lore friendly option. Yes I admit i am on this side of the lore because I'm no fan of having Ciri taking the trials of the grasses. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to discuss it in a civil way. It also would make sense to have more interaction with geralt in this one, because in this his wishes of not continuing the trials on anyone anymore would be respected and this would result in a better relationship with Geralt.
Choice 2: take the trials while not censoring out the morality impact of experimenting on children needing to be done in order to reach a breakthough to make it more safe for women to pass it. it is a part of the lore that is key to understanding how witchers are seen by the rest of the world around them. They are a necessary evil. It also adds to the gravitas of the decision to become a witcher deliberatly for Ciri in contrary to Geralt being forced to be one as a child. Become your fullon witcher with a much more melee focused build. Geralt is not completely gone but is less present overall since she needs him less. And maybe also because of conflict about her taking the trials disregardless of how he feels about them. Plus if you take a side branch off in a quest (a short one preferably) there is a chance of ciri dieing during the trials. Have her make an option of which witcher school she chooses. And one being a very bad choice due to their poor research capabilities and result in death during the trials.
Of course the overarching story for both core choices would remain the same. No-I'm not asking to redesign the entire game...But a lot of side branching quests would open up. also with different paths to take depending on your core choice of taking the trials or not.
I think a solution like this would be a good compromise satisfying both ends of the debate, place the focus really on player choice, and add a lot of replay ability. And in the end add a lot more happy customers.
This is of course a very rough Idea but you folks should get the gist. It's definitly also up for tweaking. but the main gest is to give the both sides some of what they want. After all this is a game about agency and player choice. Plus CDPR had already been saying they would be doubling down on the player's agency when compared to W3. They wanted to make this game the most ambitious.
So why not start with the core choice of all choices? A: become a more lore friendly Ciri and be the magical proginy as in the books, but don't take the trials of the grasses. Or B: become youf own favorite witcher with trials and consequences at all.
I wanted to post a topic regarding the story of Witcher 4. Yes I did post it before under story but i felt it was getting drowned out a bit there in between other messages and I really wanted to discuss this.
since the trailer went up, there have been huge online discussions and arguments about W4. And I fear this will increase and divide people much more for the moment first gameplay footage will come out and more gets known about the game. And to be honest, both sides on the arguments are understandable, given from what perspective they come.
specifically over the trial of the grasses being capable to do for Ciri as a woman, being friendly lorewise etc etc. Therefor I wanted to post a suggestion that I would think is a compromise people on both sides of the debate.
here is a proposition now that could satisfy both ends of the debate and a compromise, and in the end save a lot of remaining players who would have left if they don't see the game they want:
Since a lot of the game is supposedly based upon choice and effect: how about in the beginning of the game you get to chose with ciri if she wants to take the trials of the grasses or not?
Consequences of not taking them: a much more magic based playstyle with a lot more side content involving teamwork with Geralt for specific monsters. she is less of a tank due to not having mutations and you'd have to play her more strategically with her magic abilities. This would be the lore friendly option. Yes I admit i am on this side of the lore because I'm no fan of having Ciri taking the trials of the grasses. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to discuss it in a civil way. It also would make sense to have more interaction with geralt in this one, because in this his wishes of not continuing the trials on anyone anymore would be respected and this would result in a better relationship with Geralt.
Choice 2: take the trials while not censoring out the morality impact of experimenting on children needing to be done in order to reach a breakthough to make it more safe for women to pass it. it is a part of the lore that is key to understanding how witchers are seen by the rest of the world around them. They are a necessary evil. It also adds to the gravitas of the decision to become a witcher deliberatly for Ciri in contrary to Geralt being forced to be one as a child. Become your fullon witcher with a much more melee focused build. Geralt is not completely gone but is less present overall since she needs him less. And maybe also because of conflict about her taking the trials disregardless of how he feels about them. Plus if you take a side branch off in a quest (a short one preferably) there is a chance of ciri dieing during the trials. Have her make an option of which witcher school she chooses. And one being a very bad choice due to their poor research capabilities and result in death during the trials.
Of course the overarching story for both core choices would remain the same. No-I'm not asking to redesign the entire game...But a lot of side branching quests would open up. also with different paths to take depending on your core choice of taking the trials or not.
I think a solution like this would be a good compromise satisfying both ends of the debate, place the focus really on player choice, and add a lot of replay ability. And in the end add a lot more happy customers.
This is of course a very rough Idea but you folks should get the gist. It's definitly also up for tweaking. but the main gest is to give the both sides some of what they want. After all this is a game about agency and player choice. Plus CDPR had already been saying they would be doubling down on the player's agency when compared to W3. They wanted to make this game the most ambitious.
So why not start with the core choice of all choices? A: become a more lore friendly Ciri and be the magical proginy as in the books, but don't take the trials of the grasses. Or B: become youf own favorite witcher with trials and consequences at all.