CD Projekt Red have boiled down everything they learned from The Witcher and come out with narrative being the main ingredient in what they wanted its sequel to be known for. Showing off a few scenes from The Witcher 2 at E3 last week, producer Tomasz Gop described just how the storyline weaves through almost every element of the game. Read on for our demo impressions and preview, and find a detailed, in-depth interview with Tomasz Gop below that!

The development team feels that not all RPG fans like combat. They've entered into the game to experience playing a role, and by taking on that role being a key part of a story is the real draw for them. In this sense, they've made it so that the combat in The Witcher 2 isn't obligatory, you can slide the difficulty all the way down to keep the plot as the main focus of your experience.

The Witcher 2 is built on a new engine that is currently full of secrets as far as its graphical power is concerned. But the combat is redesigned, and there is a new dialogue tree system that will lead the story down different paths. The background characters have been redesigned so that they react to everything you've done throughout the game, and that power even stretches back into the original game if you choose to import your original character.

Tomasz Gop is the Senior Producer for the Witcher 2 at CD-Projekt RED Studios.

The demo shown in Atari's private booth hidden away at the back of E3 is the same one that has been shown several times before. It began with some general combat, showing Geralt working his way through a forest towards a town (Flotsam) that was his target. A magical barrier followed Vernon Roche who took semi-conscious sorceress Triss, and Geralt stuck around to fight the enemies that ranged from aggressive to those you could sneak up on with a more tactical approach and kill with a single hit.

When he arrived at the city gate's, a fantastic new feature was showcased. Geralt pushed through a door and entered into the city without any load time. It's now a fully-open world for the player to make their way through. This set off a scene in a marketplace in which Geralt comes into the town square just before an execution.

Geralt was interested in saving two of the individuals up for execution (and yes, those are pretty familiar faces!) and it would take the use of the new dialogue choice system to set the story forward. He could either aggressively rush his way forward, or try to win the gathered townsfolk to his side by accusing the executioners of turning the town into a version of a more barbaric nearby town. With this non-aggressive approach, he was able to move the story forward, but eventually had to charge the stage in order to stop the executions. The crowd then parted and a new character (town chief Bernard) was introduced as they strode their way onto the platform. The dialogue was extremely well crafted throughout the demo and is definitely one thing players should be excited for. The details of the conversations were matters that spoke to the larger story, but the way the new character was introduced and the options Geralt had to rectify the situation showed the new angles of the sequel.

Tomasz noted that they, "don't script [the dialogues], we direct them.” Meaning that the freedom of choice and ability to react to world events makes them more pliable as narrative instruments; reflecting what's happened in the game and how Geralt has dealt with them. Depending on how you deal with different situations and characters, new quests may open and other options may come into play later.

This town square showdown led into Geralt being charged with fighting a giant monster outside of town, though the time in between the scuffle on the execution platform and the boss fight was skipped for brevity's sake.

The boss fight was fantastic. Geralt approached a clearing in which an aging, enormous octopus-type creature (the tentadrake) swatted at him with enormous tentacles. The monster was barred in a valley by a magical barrier (which an NPC created as part of the story) and Geralt needed to bring the beast down. To accomplish this, he dodged nimbly out of the way of the tentacles, stunned them, and then chopped away at them with his sword until they were severed. After several lost limbs, the monster attempted an escape but only managed to loosen a giant, wrecked bridge. From here it was a matter of leaping onto its flailing tentacles, hitting a button at the right moment, and causing the beast to topple the ruined bridge on its own head. Quite a sight for an early boss fight in the game. With such scope, it'll be a wonder to see what else they have in store for the final product.

CD Projekt Red insists the game has not become a hack and slash experience. Every element of the gameplay is aiming to tie itself into the story, from characters entering the picture to romantic encounters and everything else in between. This narrative-heavy game is heading towards release in the first quarter of 2011.

Witcher Vault: How do you feel about Witcher 2 being compared to Mass Effect trilogy in terms of dialogue, cutscenes, moral choices and story depth? Could you provide examples of how Geralt's decisions cannot be simply linked to good/evil responses in dialogues? 

Tomasz Gop, Senior Producer for Witcher 2: Well, you've seen the Marketplace encounter - during this encounter, the choices weren't defined by their impact in morality, but rather about the way to approach the situation. This is another area in which the Witcher 2 attempts to showcase the far-reaching consequences. 

Witcher Vault: You've mentioned several times that your new engine is specifically tailored for heavy-duty nonlinear roleplay. But it's also nice graphically speaking. Could you provide a brief rundown of the graphics features for the initial PC version? 

Tomasz Gop: It's still too early to say anything in that regard. But one thing is certain: our new engine allows for a much greater variety in feel and atmosphere of the locations. We've got things like day/night cycle and weather effects, that much I can already tell you. 


Witcher Vault: We've seen two boss fights so far, and they look impressive, but seem highly scripted. Is it true that most "giant with hands on the ledge" encounters you provide can be solved in scripted manner, but in more than one way altogether? 

Tomasz Gop: You've seen the tentadrake fight, and there's definitely more than one ways to approach that fight. For example, you could do a sidequest, in the course of which you'd obtain a new, unique trap that lets you cut the tentacle in half immediately. This will shorten the fight, and is completely non-obligatory. 

Witcher Vault: Which features of the original lore are you keeping in W2? We've not yet seen most of Sapkowski's nonhumans, just a few of the pivotal characters from the books are there (just the secondary or backdrop characters in the books, who become vital in the game, like Zoltan Chivay), only a fraction of the world that Geralt traversed many times over when looking for Cirilla.... Does it all show up more in the game this time (ask for examples if possible)? 

Tomasz Gop: We've got more monsters in the sequel than we've had in The Witcher - pretty much all of them did not appear in previous game. The area of the game is way larger than previously - none of the locations are taken from our debut title. Quite a number of new characters. More story branches, more associations. Do you really want me to spoil it for you? Nah... 

Witcher Vault: A lot has been already said about new mature and sexual content in Witcher 2, but some things are still uncertain... Does using context-bound mature and piquant content mean there's not going to be flirting from e.g. prostitutes on the streets? Will we be able to feast our eyes on the gorgeous (even though not entirely truthful to Sapkowski's vision) nude or semi-nude shapes of the Lady of the Lake, Dryads and Naiads like in TW1, or only if and when the plot dictates so? 

Tomasz Gop: I won't talk about Lady of the Lake nor Dryads and Naiads, but regarding the context, well... Binding adult plots to the storyline does not necessarily mean we've got no room for short romance. It's pretty much up to the player how he sees it - mature presentation means no cheap tricks, but what you make out of it is pretty much up to you. Even if some sex scenes will not be a long-lasting relationships, we don't want anyone to find it offensive. Story of Geralt is not really about serious relationships, so you don't have to worry about variety [laughs] 

Witcher Vault: We've heard mention of the kingdoms Geralt will travel to in the game: Temeria, Aedirn and Kaedwen as well as legendary Dol Blathanna. Can you briefly describe the landscapes to be witnessed in those kingdoms? How far along with the Valley of Flowers' design are you - and wasn't it a bit scary to try and recreate the location that's supposed to be, well, beyond beautiful? 

Tomasz Gop: There's a whole lot of new landscapes to see, and - in regard to Valley of Flowers... Well, we've got VERY talented artists and they can now work in a much more streamlined fashion. During the development of the Witcher 1, they had to jump through the hoops in order to design anything. It took designing a whole location in 3DS Max and then import it into the game. This time around, our new engine allows a much greater flexibility; designers and artists can tweak things on the go, can implement designs into the live game and walk around the scenes. 



Witcher Vault: Could you describe briefly and provide examples of the "Lore" skills and "Character" skills that are unlocked automatically during the exploration and dialogues? 

Tomasz Gop: The knowledge that Geralt has is not only limited to monsters, but obviously it also regards alchemy, herbs and weapons. We utilize this aspect more in The Witcher 2. I don't want to give too many examples, especially to the Vault Hunters who know quite a bit and draw long-distance conclusions. But ok, by killing monsters you learn more about them. At first it of course regards you with better loot, but in the long run, you will be able to discover new gameplay possibilities. I think I've already mentioned the monster ecosystem and how we've extended this topic...draw your own conclusions, mmmkay? Regarding the "Character" skills - The Witcher 2 features some of the skills that are meant for use outside combat, and those will be really fun. Still however, I'd rather leave further details to all those who don't want to have their gameplay experience spoiled. At least for now... 

Witcher Vault: Could you provide examples of the mutagenes that can be brewed by Geralt using the new alchemical apparatus only, and compare them to some potions that can be brewed before any fight during the simple meditation? 

Tomasz Gop: It's primarily about stats of the potions you create. You get better ones if you engage more into the process itself. 

Witcher Vault: Any examples of actual crafted armor and weaponry that Geralt might attempt crafting? When would Geralt want use such item(s), what combat/exploration advantages does it offer? 

Tomasz Gop: Except for weapons and items that you can craft, Geralt's apparel has many parts right now (from shoes to jackets). Depending on the item/part that you craft, the advantage might be defensive or offensive - increasing your stats. But the important thing is - crafted items are always better than the "raw" ones you will be able to find, so we encourage players to explore this feature! 

Witcher Vault: Several previews in Polish press hinted at the plot lines that might be mutually exclusive during the walkthrough of the game. Is it true, will players only be able to solve one of the major plotlines when playing through the game? 

Tomasz Gop: Quite accurate. It's all still in the World of The Witcher, but the way you shape it (together with developing your character and the storyline) is really up to you. What I'm getting at is, depending on all sorts of choices that you make throughout the game, you meet different people, see different places and, eventually, find yourself on potentially opposite sides of the things that happen - conflicts, alliances. We definitely aim towards big things - the World is going to change way more than it did in The Witcher. You not only can try to find out why, but who knows, you could either try to fight it or find yourself as one of the reasons. 

At this point, our alloted time at E3 ran out... but we've still managed to learn quite a bit about the game - and it looks FANTASTIC! 

Don't forget to check our previous Witcher 2 debut interview, where we asked some of the in-depth questions about Witcher 2 for the first time back in March!