LogInCasual gaming at its finest.
As we all know, all gamers across every platform and genre can generally be split into three categories: casuals, tryhards, and those who do take gaming seriously but without going overboard. But did you know that CD Projekt's original 2007 The Witcher was actually designed to cater to the first group and meant to be played while enjoying a cold one? Well, according to The Witcher's Lead Story Designer Artur Ganszyniec, that was precisely the philosophy guiding CDPR's design choices at the time.
As Artur revealed in the first episode of his "The Witcher with a designer's commentary" series, the game's combat system turned out the way it did because Michał Kiciński, CDPR's Co-Founder and The Witcher's Creative Director, wanted for the title to offer an experience so casual that you could literally play it with one hand while holding a beer in the other.
To realize that vision, the devs had to come up with an approach that would have a tactical feeling without being too demanding, and thus, the system where you have to "find your rhythm" to get better attacks and defeat your opponents was born. "When you get used to it," Artur noted, "it's pretty pleasant. I like it. And we had those grizzly finishers because it was a game for a mature audience in 2007 – you needed a lot of blood and a lot of violence."
For more behind-the-scenes insights into The Witcher's development, we highly encourage you to check out the full series – currently boasting 8 episodes and counting – by visiting Artur Ganszyniec's YouTube channel.
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