The Witcher 3 gameplay designers leave to join indie mobile studio

[gregski]

Some answers from Maciej and Marek, taken from Polygamia(my rough quick translation):

Maciej Szcześnik: Witcher 3 is going to be the best of the series, so fans can stay calm. Design is already finished and work is going full steam. CDPR is full of talented people and that will make the game successful. My decision to change studios in the middle of the project was very difficult to make, but together with colleagues from CDPR we took care about my leave not affecting the quality. I worked on the Witcher series for 10 years and wanted to take on new challenges for quite a long time. 11 bit studios offered me working on games that I wanted to work on for some time now. I am a fan of independent productions and that's what I will be working on now. I will also have an opportunity to work on games from beginning to end and be able to influence all of their aspects. It will let me to realize my potential to a greater extent and work on games from other genres. I hope you will like them!

Marek Ziemak's part:

Why did you decide to leave CDPR?

MZ: There were lots of professional and personal factors. Makind such a decision was of course very difficult and cost me a few sleepless nights. In the end the comfort of working in a company that I grew up in and that I know quite well lost with temptation of starting a new adventure, in a new environment and based on new rules. Besides, makind indie games - which I will be doing now - is interesting for me both as a player and as a game producer. Development of such games is based on different rules than making AAA games and I want to try that. I believe that the experience I will gain in my new position will let me develop new skills and look at game development process from a different, more global perspective.

What is it that you will be doing at 11 bit studios? Is it going to be a bigger game than what the studio made so far?

MZ: We won't be making a huge AAA shooter for sure. The way I see it, the scale of the game is not defined by the number of people working on it, but the number of people it can enchant with it's world. That's why both The Witcher and Prison Architect are big games. What I'm working on at 11 bit studios has a great potential

You're abandoningThe Witcher 3 at the end of the production process, right before the release. Don't you regret it?

MZ: I don't want to consider this as abandoning anything. My adventure with Witcher games took a long time(since 2006). I think it was a period of hard work, that let me learn and achieve a lot. I'm leaving The Witcher 3 project after 2 years of intense development at a stage I feel comfortable with and that will not hurt the end of the project. Our decision was not a surprise to the company and the exact date of our leave resulted from development schedules and time we needed to pass on responsibilities to our colleagues. I don't regret it. Though I won't be @ CDPR on the day of release, I still feel as a co-author and I will have personal relationships with many members of the dev team. I am extremely happy that I had an opportunity to be a part of this talented team and that I will use this experience I gained in my future career.

 

[501105]

It is somewhat strange, the whole thing makes clear that the game has really reached the final stages before release and yet it still feels so far of.

 

[ReptilePZ]

They still need to... polish it.

 

[Flitters]

@gregski Thanks.

 

[Mothra]

pretty much sums up what I guessed:
long time working, new endevours, pre-discussed with team, scheduling led to the exact date, project at a stage it can be left, etc etc

They are at the long stage of polish and adding all elements together, design/story/structure is done. Now come months of handcrafting/polish, translations, sound effects/music/ambience, voice overs, animation matching, bugtesting, ....

yes, still feels a long way off

 

[Aaden]

To calm the people who think it's strange to leave "mid-project": Game development is a very pipelined process, meaning that the game goes through many stages sequentially, not simultaneously (a very obvious example for people not involved in game development probably is: first have a story/game world draft, then create concept art, then create 3d assets. because you can't do the latter before or while the prior). When a team finishes their job on a project, usually there already is a new project in the making to provide them with new work, while the first project goes through its further stages till release.

So, if someone wants to leave a team, the best time is when their job on a project is done, not when the project is self has reached completion. We should take this as a good sign for TW3 making great progress, not as an indicator for any internal troubles. :victory:

 

[daddy300]

Ha maybe 11 Bit studio will pay them better or more flexible contract etc. simple as that.

 

[gregski]

Interestingly, after a strong start in the morning, CDPR shares dropped by over 1% in the end of the day, while the whole Warsaw Stock Exchange grew over 2%.

Shares started to drop around 12.30, around half an hour after the news started to spread.

If that trend continues, maybe CDPR should think about reassuring investors that the game is in good hands and won't miss any milestones etc.

 

[ReptilePZ]

Sure as hell wouldn't expect them to rise in this circumstance.

 

[Aes Sídhe]

@gregski; wont numbers like that just be short sellers changing assets while chasing the profit curve ?

I mean to say just floater investments.. floating...

 

[gregski]

@gregski; wont numbers like that just be short sellers changing assets while chasing the profit curve ?

I mean to say just floater investments.. floating...

Yeah, you might be right. I just noticed that correlation.

 

[whiplash27]

Sometimes people change jobs because they're getting a better position and more money not because they hate where they're working now.

 

[Geralt_and_Ciri]

Maybe they are looking for a less stressful job, almost the same or more income, a smaller team where your decisions are more important, well, we can only speculate, but still a big change for CD Red.

 

[Reod]

Marek Ziemak leaves CD Projekt RED

View attachment 1750
http://polygamia.pl/Polygamia/1,107162,15408212,Transfer_miesiaca__tworcy_Wiedzmina_przeszli_z_CDP.html?bo=1#BoxTechTxt
Google Translate:

I would like at the outset to reassure fans of The Witcher - the third part of the saga will surely be the best game of the series. Design is long closed and works are in full swing . In the CDP has a team of extremely talented people , and it will ensure the success of the game . The decision to change the course of studies in the project was very difficult for me , but together with colleagues from the CDP we made sure that my transition did not affect the quality . I worked on the series The Witcher nearly 10 years. For a long time I wanted to take other challenges. 11 bit studios offered me a job on the games , which has long dreamed of . I am a fan of independent productions and accurately over such I now have a chance to work . I also have the opportunity to create a game from start to finish and have an impact on all aspects of them . This allows me to better realize , take bothering me topics and issues . I can also create games of other genres , he always dreamed of . I hope you will like it.

Rest of interview in link but in polish.

His going to 11 Bit Studios to make indie games.

I wish him good in new path and thank him for his hard work on Witcher series.

Thank you

 

[gregski]

@reod - threads merged, as the news was already posted. Please spend some time browsing the forum before you start a new thread.

 

[Aes Sídhe]

Its glad to meet and sad to part its years ago and yet,
the memory of our old Geralt is harder to forget,
although his face is lined with wear and the sands of time near done,
we mind this richly gifted pair on the path that they have gone
yes we mind this richly gifted pair and all the work that they have done... hey !

 

[Reod]

Yeah my bad , with new colors on forum i cant fully focus to on title threads (personal taste / behavior).

I wanted in my thread to Thank him for his hard work past 10 years instead of focusing on devs that leave CDPR.

Once again :

Thank you Marek for making with other CDPR members Witcher series so awesome.

 

[Blothulfur]

Wish you luck lads and thanks for some of the best entertainment i've ever had outside the bedroom.

 

[Sagitarii]

Thanks for everything guys! You made tremendous games, I wish you good luck in 11Bit!

 

[vivaxardas2015]

Interestingly, after a strong start in the morning, CDPR shares dropped by over 1% in the end of the day, while the whole Warsaw Stock Exchange grew over 2%.

Shares started to drop around 12.30, around half an hour after the news started to spread.

If that trend continues, maybe CDPR should think about reassuring investors that the game is in good hands and won't miss any milestones etc.

Yeah, probably, they should. I wish the guys luck, but it is still weird. CDPR is about to release a real AAA project, and may be to snatch an RPG crown from Bethesda. It is time to join CDPR, not to leave, especially two major guys at once. Leave CDPR for some minor Polish indi studio? Well, who knows, may be they are idealists or something. I just hope TW3 will turn out to be everything that was promised, and at least as good as TW2 from story-telling perspective.