The Witcher Interview, Part Three

HC.Gamer has published the third portion of their interview with CD Projekt Red about the upcoming action RPG, The Witcher. A snippet, as usual:

Q: The fights are the most exciting part of the game. Please tell us about that and introduce some combos!

A: Fighting in the Witcher basically covers three main aspects: character development, arcade elements and magic use.As mentioned earlier, our hero develops six fighting styles, with five levels of experience in each – from novice up to master. By gaining a new level the witcher improves his attributes, but even more importantly learns a new move to be used within fighting sequences. Sequences will be discussed in more detail later, lets concentrate on skills for a moment. Besides the main Style levels and new moves, the hero can buy special power-ups (stronger versions of particular attacks triggered by double-clicking) and upgrades (additional attributes and abilities like a greater chance of stunning your opponent). A separate category gathers the alternates, or attacks made only when certain conditions are met which kind of substitute ‘normal’ moves.

Controlling the fight itself is easy – you just need two mouse buttons. The first click tells the hero to start with a basic attack, when all the fun starts. If we click again at the moment the attacks ends, the witcher will perform another move in the sequence – better and stronger than the previous one, with additional effects and unique animation. If, on the other hand, you choose to click the right mouse button, the hero will perform a defensive action – jump away or parry his enemy’s attack, depending on the chosen Style. When certain conditions are met, an alternate version of a given attack may be performed – the classical example here would be a stab in the back.

During combat the witcher can use simple spells called Signs, which are triggered by pressing and holding the right mouse button. While the Sings themselves are not powerful enough to seriously harm most enemies, they can be used to create very powerful combinations. You could for example blow an enemy down with the Aard Sign and then finish them off with a single blow.