Part III is now available!
http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-iii.html
http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-politics-of-witcher-3-part-iii.html
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This is a big term of dispute. Many of the things you talk about in your articles are about things that occurred in the past. I suggest you look at political threads by KnightofPheonix to see the difference and on top of that way politics are presented to us the player is in a very simplistic, narrow minded way.
I'd argue that Assassins of Kings actually has a very simplistic view in some respects of sides and right and wrong. Whereas, in fact, you never quite know who is on anyone's side in Wild Hunt.
I'd happy to check out those threads, though.
Geralt can, for instance, always choose to effect the outcome of events he's involved in as well as decide which side to side with. When in, Wild Hunt, he's often in the center of events much bigger than him and just has to deal with the consequences thereof.
Likewise, there aren't as many idealists as there are in AOK with the positions like Roche and Dijkstra's being very-very different but equally valid. I'd argue a big problem with Reasons of States ending is that it was less about choosing submission versus conquest than it was about, "Do I think Dijkstra is an enormous jackass for attacking Roche or not?"
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I'd argue very very differently. TW3 has a very clear right and wrong perspective: Radovid is evil, Dijkstra is a scumbag for betraying Roche. Attempting to make it seem more complex then it actually is won't change how much dogshit there is in TW3.
Dijkstra is forever ruined as a character by Reasons of State.
The threads of TW2 politics are all here: http://forums.cdprojektred.com/forums/39-Plot-and-Quest-Discussion
They do not come anywhere close to comparing.
I'm glad you have a very strong opinion on the issue of Dijkstra, Radovid, and Roche. I think it shows the game did a good of getting you invested. However, I would argue you feel a bit about him the same way I feel about Emhyrs.
I.e. an opinion not everyone may share.
THANKS FOR THE SHARE! I'll check out all these threads!
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I don't entirely disagree because, bluntly, there's not a damn reason why he should kill them other than....so they won't kill him when he invades Temeria?
Not exactly a coherent A to B bit of logic.
Really, all they needed to do was have Dijkstra walk in and say, "You know, screw it, I'm going to fight on."
Weirdly, it would make more sense if ROCHE attacked DIJKSTRA to preserve the peace treaty.
THAT would be a ploughing moral dilemma.
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There's already a politics of TW3 thread. Might have posted this there instead of making a new thread.
http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/42393-Politics-in-TW3
I've read your essays. I don't really agree with much of what you've written. You make the politics of TW3 seem better than it really is.
http://forums.cdprojektred.com/threads/42393-Politics-in-TW3
I've read your essays. I don't really agree with much of what you've written. You make the politics of TW3 seem better than it really is.
Well, at least you're honest.
I'll repost my stuff there and continue any conversation from there.
Thanks.
I only see the 'lodge Nilfgaard pardon' working out if Ciri is Empress.
It was a shame there was no lodge epilogue slide though. My gut feels despite his anger at Philippa, the lodge would fit in quite well in Dijkstra shadowy Redania.
Given the way Dijkstra was speaking longingly of Phillipa while the Mages escaped, I totally think he'd forgive her if it came with sex/romance.
I think Phil underestimates Dij's ability to mix romance and politics.
Philippa can wait 20-30 years until Dijkstra dies and then rule Redania once again. Long live Philippa Eilhart, a worthy successor to Raffard the White.
Honestly, I'm not sure what Philippa thinks she brings to the table with someone like Emhyr.
Then again, I'm not sure what head injury would inspire Ciri to want her as an advisor.
The same head injury that inspired Triss to trust Philippa? If Philippa does not succeed in Nilfgaard (as long as Emhyr lives, this is very likely), she can move to Kovir and use Triss.
I also find politics of TW3 well-developed and complex, with a better personal characterization of major players.
One thing I disagree with everybody: Radovid IS NOT INSANE. He may be called crazy in a sense we use in ordinary language, but clinically, even though he is disturbed and struggling, he is not insane. Insanity implies confusion in any of three areas - self, time and space, it precludes rational thinking, following of complex plans, future planning, and being generally organized. Cruelty in some policy, state-sponsored genocides, and other such things are not indicators of ruler's insanity. Sure, some world leaders are sociopaths, but sociopathy is not insanity.
Radovid's rational thinking is not impaired in any way. He is perfectly capable of a very complex thinking, and it is exactly what makes him a brilliant strategist. In essence, Radovid exhibited a perfect political/military aikido, so to speak, and won the war practically without unsheathing his sword. In essence, Emhyr did it for him - eliminated two (or three kings) in TW2, thus creating a power vacuum, and later destroyed the armies of Temeria and Aedirn, effectively reducing these states into disputed territories with no hope for their former independence. By annexing Kaedwen and forcing Emhyr to continue the war Radovid ensured that Emhyr bit more than he can chew because he was loosing support both among his troops and nobility. After all this brilliant clandestine/diplomatic work in TW2, Emhyr found himself in a situation when he was simply unable to win this war by military means, and had to resort to another assassination.
I actually like what they did with Radovid's personality in TW3. In TW2 he was sort of a golden boy, "all-american", you know. In TW3 he is struggling under pressure, obviously sleep-deprived and paranoid, carrying a baggage of childhood traumas of his father's assassination, subtle Philipa's manipulation, and disrespect. He does not trust anyone, and he is right about it. I actually feel for him, you know. When people are under a lot of stress, they do start think and talk crazy.
By the way, because he is not insane, and understands full well what he is doing, he is perfectly responsible for his actions, which may be politically expedient, but evil. But one thing is clear for me - in a long run an opportunistic and treacherous s.o.b. Sigi D. is in no way better as a ruler.
One thing I disagree with everybody: Radovid IS NOT INSANE. He may be called crazy in a sense we use in ordinary language, but clinically, even though he is disturbed and struggling, he is not insane. Insanity implies confusion in any of three areas - self, time and space, it precludes rational thinking, following of complex plans, future planning, and being generally organized. Cruelty in some policy, state-sponsored genocides, and other such things are not indicators of ruler's insanity. Sure, some world leaders are sociopaths, but sociopathy is not insanity.
Radovid's rational thinking is not impaired in any way. He is perfectly capable of a very complex thinking, and it is exactly what makes him a brilliant strategist. In essence, Radovid exhibited a perfect political/military aikido, so to speak, and won the war practically without unsheathing his sword. In essence, Emhyr did it for him - eliminated two (or three kings) in TW2, thus creating a power vacuum, and later destroyed the armies of Temeria and Aedirn, effectively reducing these states into disputed territories with no hope for their former independence. By annexing Kaedwen and forcing Emhyr to continue the war Radovid ensured that Emhyr bit more than he can chew because he was loosing support both among his troops and nobility. After all this brilliant clandestine/diplomatic work in TW2, Emhyr found himself in a situation when he was simply unable to win this war by military means, and had to resort to another assassination.
I actually like what they did with Radovid's personality in TW3. In TW2 he was sort of a golden boy, "all-american"
, you know. In TW3 he is struggling under pressure, obviously sleep-deprived and paranoid, carrying a baggage of childhood traumas of his father's assassination, subtle Philipa's manipulation, and disrespect. He does not trust anyone, and he is right about it. I actually feel for him, you know. When people are under a lot of stress, they do start think and talk crazy. By the way, because he is not insane, and understands full well what he is doing, he is perfectly responsible for his actions, which may be politically expedient, but evil. But one thing is clear for me - in a long run an opportunistic and treacherous s.o.b. Sigi D. is in no way better as a ruler.
Yeah, that's why he went to see Philippa on foot, accompanied by several soldiers, without even blocking the street... You know, discussing politics of Witcher3 is like discovering a hidden philosophical aspect in looney toons.
It's a shame that the whole lodge business never came to anything, that meeting was pretty redundant in terms of its impact on the ending, though I appreciate that it was in the game seeing as it's something Phillipa would do: revisit the old plan of using Ciri to benefit her ambitions for the lodge.
I don't think Radovid is insane in the technical sense but he does seem to be suffering from paranoia, mood-swings, and several other minor conditions which added together make him a high-functioning but disturbed individual. I actually would have liked to have seen the source for Radovid's breakdown covered in greater detail, even if I do believe history has shown such degenerations as Radovid are very common. Really, the problem isn't Radovid's CONDITION in the game but that no one really provides any CONTEXT for it.
1. Radovid is only crazy-acting some of the time.
2. Radovid has changed the past year.
3. Radovid has started using Fisstech and/or drinking heavily.
4. Radovid has survived several assassination attempts on him due to Dijkstra, Philippa, or Emhyr.
5. Radovid has several very capable generals.
I think it would have been a good thing to also get into more detail, either in a in-game book or conversation point, as to how Radovid has united the North behind him as well. I like the dichotomy between the propaganda around Radovid as "The Liberator of the North" and what Vesemir thinks he is versus the man he's clearly become.
I also think that Radovid's racism against nonhumans kind of comes from nowhere and undermines him as a character. It's PLAUSIBLE given that just about everyone is racist against nonhumans and we have people like Henselt or Aedirn's monarch with an established history of distaste for them (due to the Scoia'tael's actions). However, it would have been nice if they'd focused, instead, on the religious fanaticism element over everything else. I'm honestly not sure whether Radovid believes in the Eternal Fire or is just using it for political purposes.
1. Radovid is only crazy-acting some of the time.
2. Radovid has changed the past year.
3. Radovid has started using Fisstech and/or drinking heavily.
4. Radovid has survived several assassination attempts on him due to Dijkstra, Philippa, or Emhyr.
5. Radovid has several very capable generals.
I think it would have been a good thing to also get into more detail, either in a in-game book or conversation point, as to how Radovid has united the North behind him as well. I like the dichotomy between the propaganda around Radovid as "The Liberator of the North" and what Vesemir thinks he is versus the man he's clearly become.
I also think that Radovid's racism against nonhumans kind of comes from nowhere and undermines him as a character. It's PLAUSIBLE given that just about everyone is racist against nonhumans and we have people like Henselt or Aedirn's monarch with an established history of distaste for them (due to the Scoia'tael's actions). However, it would have been nice if they'd focused, instead, on the religious fanaticism element over everything else. I'm honestly not sure whether Radovid believes in the Eternal Fire or is just using it for political purposes.
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