GB Feature: Ossian Studios Interview

Formed by former BioWare producer Alan Miranda in 2003, independent developer Ossian Studios has worked on many of the titles we’ve covered here, including Neverwinter Nights: Darkness over Daggerford, Neverwinter Nights 2: Mysteries of Westgate, The Shadow Sun, and the cancelled expansion The Witcher: Scars of Betrayal. And it’s these last two titles that are the subject of a new interview we’ve conducted with Alan, which you should definitely read if either pique your interest:

GB: What was its overall premise of The Witcher: Scars of Betrayal and what was Geralt’s role to play in the storyline?

Alan: Scars of Betrayal (SoB) was a stand-alone story that didn’t tie in with the main story of the original game. It was very much like one of the many monster-hunting adventures that Geralt had pursued in his extensive travels in Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. As reference, Marcin sent me a book of Witcher short stories entitled The Last Wish, and these are what inspired me to write SoB’s story.

Set in the Mahakam Mountains, to the east of Vizima, Geralt arrives in the small village of Kurcova, where trouble is afoot and not all is as it seems. This wasn’t going to be a simplistic plot of (go to the cave to find and kill the monster) – Geralt was to be caught in a web of intertwined intrigue and complex interpersonal relationships, with tough choices to make. I wanted to give it the same flavour as the best of The Last Wish short stories and stay faithful to the lore. CDPR was very pleased with our story, and suffice it to say it involved werewolves. 🙂