Yen Or Triss?

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Imo, TW3 has the best facial animations I have seen in a video game. They are conveying character emotions very realistically and it especially goes a long way to enhance the scenes with the main characters. It's a massive improvement over the previous games. For me, Triss has the most expressive face when it comes to showing emotions, I'm not sure what exactly is it about her face that makes her stand out, but you can easily read how she feels at any given moment and she shows a wide range of emotions throughout her scenes: sadness, concern, happiness, surprise, insecurity, anger, love...Her romance with Geralt is packed with non verbal emotional expressions, it's one of the things I really like about it.


I don't think that Yen is very much behind though. I mean, her face if Geralt chooses to say it's over during The Last Wish is heartbreaking. Also, her expressions when she greets Ciri for the first time at KM, how she looks at Geralt and Ciri during the boat trip or trashing of the lab and even when she furiously teleports Geralt to the lake are all well done, but overall, when it comes to facial animations I would give the edge to Triss.


However, I got a far better emotional reading on Yen based on her voice compared to Triss, where it's mostly visual. Yen's voice actress did a wonderful job really. I love Triss' voice(her Polish one is my favorite), but Yen's English VA is pretty much perfect for the role. Her performance does wonders for the character and it's probably the best performance out of all the characters.
 
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Guest 3847602

Guest
To each his own... For me, the last thing Yennefer needed in the game was going all gooey around Geralt. That's the ultimate turn off. :sick:
I'm really glad they managed to stay away from it (for the most part) in her case.
 
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Not sure maybe when you romance her. But in my playthrough Triss expresions seems always the same...
There is certainly a bias from my side, considering I do like Triss a lot and I'm probably reading too much into it, but I think her facial animations are perfectly suited for each of her scenes and have a subtle addition to the scene quality and her character perception.

Most of her scenes are with Geralt and that's where it shines most, but I do think it can be seen in a few scenes that are not exclusively part of her romance. For example, the mixture of surprise and excitement, followed by a brief moment of sadness when she and Geralt first meet. In just a few seconds her face manages to realistically show several emotions and establish how she feels about him without saying a word, even Bedlam comments on it. Also her facial expressions when she asks Geralt's advice on who to save during Now or Never, when she kills Menge, when Dijkstra mentions her and Geralt, her reaction to Geralt offering to retrieve the parcel or when he threatens the peasants, her sadness during Vesemir's funeral, the look she gives to Ciri after they save each other during KM battle, her reaction to the crystal...I feel she shows a decent variety of emotions.

I just feel CDPR did a perfect job in that department with most characters(Geralt especially), but there is just something about Triss that stands out for me. I find her face the most readable.
 
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To each his own... For me, the last thing Yennefer needed in the game was going all gooey around Geralt. That's the ultimate turn off. :sick:
I'm really glad they managed to stay away from it (for the most part) in her case.

I agree. But you can weave in more emotion that doesn't involve being all lovey-dovey.. The cheesy/gooey romance with Triss works, but would never work with Yen. I was referring more to book chapter, where Yen makes it absolutely clear to Triss what she thinks of Geralt (and triss's attempt at stealing him), just short of a cat fight. At least give the player a notion of where Yen's mindset is with Geralt, in a very Yen-like fashion.
 

Guest 3847602

Guest
I agree. But you can weave in more emotion that doesn't involve being all lovey-dovey.. The cheesy/gooey romance with Triss works, but would never work with Yen. I was referring more to book chapter, where Yen makes it absolutely clear to Triss what she thinks of Geralt (and triss's attempt at stealing him), just short of a cat fight. At least give the player a notion of where Yen's mindset is with Geralt, in a very Yen-like fashion.

The game did enough to show how much she is into Geralt before The Last Wish quest without resorting to cheese and catfights with Triss:

- "PS I still have the unicorn"
- She kisses him in Vizima before they part again
- "How could I forget Thanned, you were there, I also remember what happened after the banquet..."
- "I don't need everyone to like me, I value opinions of those I care about - you, for example..."

Those catfights between her and Triss in the books were between the two of them only. Geralt never heard a word of it. If that's your thing, you can still headcanon they had some kind of argument once again before Geralt returned to KM with Ciri. :)
I generally hate catfights in games, see them as a very cheap way of inflating the player's ego, not for developing characters involved or their relationships with PC. That being said, I would've liked to see Yen and Triss interacting with each other more, just as long it's not about Geralt, love triangle, jealousy, all that soap opera business...
 
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Imo, TW3 has the best facial animations I have seen in a video game.

I would also add The Last Of Us there, that game has amazing and deep facial expressions. Without saying that the game is beautiful overall.

With Triss, its the complete opposite. I wish they had a scene or two where Yen actually 'fights' for Geralt, whether confronting triss, or some dialogue with Geralt to make it clear where she stands (like the books). The books had a whole section where there was no misunderstanding on how Yen felt about Geralt, and Triss's attempt to steal him from her...

REALLY missed this in the game. Looking at the bigger picture, I have no idea of why they putted Yen on half of a game, such a deep and complex main character... Instead they chosed a secondary character to be his main romantic pair. Of course that would have some holes in her character giving her tiny screen time and development in the three games. They said they were afraid of bringing Yen to the games cause of her complexity, another reason to give her more attention and time.

Of course I hope that you'll reply to me and accidentaly mention some mods that you particularly like

Sorry for the late reply, but there you go:

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The game did enough to show how much she is into Geralt before The Last Wish quest without resorting to cheese and catfights with Triss:

- "PS I still have the unicorn"
- She kisses him in Vizima before they part again
- "How could I forget Thanned, you were there, I also remember what happened after the banquet..."
- "I don't need everyone to like me, I value opinions of those I care about - you, for example..."

Also, when you arrive at kaer trolde and during the feast where you steal uroboros' mask, they tiff at each other lovingly like they've known and loved each other and have been married for decades. I felt that was the perfect way to express their feelings for each other.

I explicitly paid deep attention to the dialogue between triss and geralt in novigrad in my last playthrough. Unless Geralt brings it up himself, Triss does NOT make a move. This shows regret over what she did (stealing geralt from yen) and that she knows she was wrong, and does nt want to interfere anymore. However, when she gets drunk, she kind of forgets this, and she goes all girly. But still, Unless Geralt makes a move, she does not initiate.
 

Thank you!! :D


I explicitly paid deep attention to the dialogue between triss and geralt in novigrad in my last playthrough. Unless Geralt brings it up himself, Triss does NOT make a move. This shows regret over what she did (stealing geralt from yen) and that she knows she was wrong, and does nt want to interfere anymore.

Regret, or she know it's over and she can't do a thing to change that, or both.
 
Regret, or she know it's over and she can't do a thing to change that, or both.

Exactly. Imho, the Triss romance is completely fueled by Geralt alone. While this is not the case with Yennefer.

Although I admit you have to have quite a bit of book and lore background to see that in the game. Which makes me appreciate the storywriting of CDPR even more! :D
 
Exactly. Imho, the Triss romance is completely fueled by Geralt alone. While this is not the case with Yennefer.

Although I admit you have to have quite a bit of book and lore background to see that in the game. Which makes me appreciate the storywriting of CDPR even more! :D

While CDPR is not Sapkowski I'm still amazed by their writing. If it comes to Yennefer it makes sense. They have so much history together and for those who read a books.. Let's just say that I didn't need a "first love" theme again. I was satisfied with their interactions. To be honest you really lack something if you didn't read a books if it comes to Witcher 3. Let's take Eredin for example. You can't fully understand what his motives are without knowing his backstory.
 
I wouldn't say Triss was drunk, but she was definitely tipsy. I don't think she pretended, although she did play on it. When they arrive at the ball, Ingrid tells them to wait until the guests get drunk before taking Albert. It is safe too assume that lasts more than the few minutes it takes in game and that they spend at least a few hours at the ball. She probably had a couple glasses of wine during the evening while they were mingling or while Geralt was playing Gwent. It just doesn't make sense for the game to show it all. It's not like she literally took two sips of wine and got drunk.

The main argument I see people mention as proof she pretended is how she immediately sobers up if you reject her kiss. The way I see it, she is disappointed and embarrassed, which makes sense considering the situation, but you can still feel those things if you're drunk, let alone tipsy. Just because she got serious doesn't mean she immediately sobered up and that she was faking it, drunkenness doesn't necessarily equals happy feelings and goofing around.

I think the scene sets up her being tipsy and I see no reason to doubt what is shown to me. I don't think Triss' real plan for the evening was to lure Geralt by acting drunk and seduce him, not every action from Triss is part of some master plan to seize Geralt. Her actions that evening were imo spontaneous.
 
actually the way she sits Geralt on a bench alone with wine and then starts running to make him chase her doesn't seem that spontaneous to me

I don't see that action as spontaneous either. Still it's nothing wrong. Even a bit of alcohol can make you more confident. Imo, in that scene she doesn't try to hide what she truly feels. You could say that she doesn't push Geralt away.
 
actually the way she sits Geralt on a bench alone with wine and then starts running to make him chase her doesn't seem that spontaneous to me
Well, here's how I see it. When I say it felt spontaneous to me, I meant it happened naturally throughout the course of the evening and wasn't planed by Triss up until the moment it happened. It wasn't her plan to do any of that prior to the party.

Since the moment they arrive, it is evident that Triss is swept away by the atmosphere and she openly shows that and even comments on how much she enjoys it. Considering her situation in Novigrad, it must feel good to be away from all that even for a night and she lets herself enjoy the moment. She is there with a man she loves, and prior to that mission Triss has been restrained in the way she acts around Geralt, probably thinking it's over between them and trying to move on, even when Geralt gave hints about them as a couple or complimented her. Considering the way she acts if Geralt does decide to pursue her romantically though, it is clear that she hasn't really moved on and is just trying to spare herself further pain and possibly feeling regret over the way she started a relationship with him.

But under the slight nudge of alcohol and the atmosphere she opens up and gets a bit flirtatious with Geralt despite them being there on business. In a way it's a moment of weakness on her part, but also a perfectly human reaction and Geralt can reciprocate quite openly if the player chooses so, turning it into a nice romantic evening for the two. Even if you choose the least pleasant dialogue options during that bench talk, Geralt still hugs her and responds in a fairly friendly tone to her behavior. Of course, her making him chase her and clumsily falling into his arms are probably part of her seduction tactics and there is nothing wrong with that imo, but I just don't think they were planed up until the moment they sat on that bench and they came spontaneously imo.

I don't doubt she was at least tipsy and her coming up with a plan to pretend to be drunk just so she could make a move on Geralt is not something I believe.
 
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Neither does to me, in the end of the day she is a sorceress

t's like implying that if someone is a sorceress it means that surely she must have have a hidden agenda. I think that @Hamilton1358 summed everything pretty well. With all the death and despair around her I'm sure that she didn't have an unholy plan to seduce Geralt. You could call it a moment of weakness. It was posted many times before but you must admit that she was sure that Geralt and Yen are together again. Even if you choose to kiss her you said yourself: she had opportunity to move things further, instead she does nothing. Yeah, I said move on, but... :p Thanks for mods again by the way :)
 
t's like implying that if someone is a sorceress it means that surely she must have have a hidden agenda


I don't think Triss' real plan for the evening was to lure Geralt by acting drunk and seduce him

No, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that they are not known for being ingenuous and that particular behaviour in that particular moment does not seem very natural to me. I can't imagine so many things off screen like Hamilton said he does, though that's the best way to play it. Maybe he is right, but she really sober up quickly if you don't kiss her. She was embarassed? Well, I must admit I got drunk countless times and have seen a lot of people drunk and they don't sober up super fast cause they did something embarassing. When you get to the point of do something like that you don't really care because you don't really know what are you doing. You have no idea of the consequences. I don't believe she got drunk to the point of keep calling Geralt, lure him to the fountain and fall is his arms accidentally. I think she's got a little lively with the glass of wine and used as an excuse to overreact and let it out everything she was feeling, so she forced that situation. Yeah, a moment of weakness.

But I gotta say I loved this act when I picked Triss and I still like it, in another way of course. She is beautiful and very warm.


Thanks for mods again by the way

Don't mention it. :D
 
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No, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that they are not known for being ingenuous and that particular behaviour in that particular moment does not seem very natural to me. I can't imagine so many things off screen like Hamilton said he does, though that's the best way to play it. Maybe he is right, but she really sober up quickly if you don't kiss her. She was embarassed? Well, I must admit I got drunk countless times and have seen a lot of people drunk and they don't sober up super fast cause they did something embarassing. When you get to the point of do something like that you don't really care because you don't really know what are you doing. You have no idea of the consequences. I don't believe she got drunk to the point of keep calling Geralt, lure him to the fountain and fall is his arms accidentally. I think she's got a little lively with the glass of wine and used as an excuse to overreact and let it out everything she was feeling, so she forced that situation. Yeah, a moment of weakness.
I don't think her changing mood equals sobering up. My point is, you can still feel disappointed and act serious when you are drunk and it's not like she is wasted, she is just slightly buzzed. To lose the perception of consequences, a person would have to be fairly intoxicated, Triss had a glass or two of wine and no matter how light weight she is it's just not enough to reach that stage. For me, her behavior if Geralt refuses the kiss is in no way an indication of her becoming sober in a second, it's just a mood change that has little to do with alcohol and a lot more to do with her getting rejected.


I also don't think her actions that evening were fueled completely by alcohol, but combine it with festive atmosphere, her being in a good mood and having fun, being there with Geralt, and she got comfortable, dropped her guard and allowed herself to act more freely. As far as her behavior being atypical for a sorceress, it's an intimate moment with a close person and her being a sorceress doesn't mean she shouldn't allow herself an occasional carefree, silly moment. I think that Triss is slightly different than the other sorceress in this regard anyway, just take this description from The Sword of Destiny "Triss Merigold, chestnut hair, cheerful, ready to burst into laughter for no reason at all, like a child. He liked her. It had been mutual."
 
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