Time is short, even in a 60-plus hour RPG, so the team at CD Projekt Red needed to think carefully about how to introduce Ciri to players elegantly and efficiently. “Ciri has a very rich backstory – a princess, child of Elder Blood, heir to the throne of Nilfgaard, a bandit, a magician,” says principal writer Jakub Szamalek in reference to just some of Ciri’s adventures in the Witcher Saga. They couldn’t impart each of these formative stories, Szamalek says, knowing that it would be a deluge of backstory.
Instead they chose two focuses: her relationship with Geralt and her ability to traverse through space and time. “The former was key to establishing an emotional connection between the player and the character [they were] supposed to chase after for upwards of 60 hours,” Szamalek says. “The latter explained Ciri’s special role in the universe and allowed us to make Geralt’s investigation a little bit more mysterious and convoluted.”
This story is from the Christmas 2019 edition of PC Gamer.
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This story is from the Christmas 2019 edition of PC Gamer.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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