The Witcher 3 Controversy

If you're like me and a big fan of The Witcher series you've undoubtedly been sinking a lot of hours into the grand epic that is The Witcher 3.  If you're someone who follows gaming news you also know that there has been some controversy related to it.  There are many people who feel that they were misled by an early gameplay trailer that showed a much higher graphic quality than what was actually released in the game.  I would like to say that I'm also outraged...but I'm not.

I am not one of the uber-tech gamers who is into calculating framerates and who is brutally upset if I can't play a game on max settings at max frames.  I'm just not.  I am excited if a game looks nice and runs well and most importantly....is fun and engaging.  It's fine with me if people are into all the technical settings and maybe they do have a right to be upset, but part of me wants to say that their outrage seems silly.

The wide, open world in The Witcher 3 is gorgeous and gives the game a very satisfying atmosphere.  I have spent a lot of time exploring Velen and love the transition from swampy, monster-infested bogs to light forests.  I love stumbling onto a battlefield that is scattered with the gory remnants of the war raging between Nilfgaard and the Northern Kingdoms.  I don't think having prettier trees or better shadows or higher resolutions would change this at all.  If they had to lower the graphic quality to create the huge world filled with this mix of natural beauty and ugliness...so be it.  I, for one, don't feel disappointed or misled at all.

Geralt prepares to journey down the "Trail of Treats" in Velen

A big part of my non-disappointment might come from the fact that it's CD Projekt Red that we're talking about.  They have proven to be one of the few game developers out there who seem to have gamer's best interests in mind.  Their games are DRM-free!  I have a hard time believing that they would willfully do something that would be harmful to the experience of their audience.  Maybe I'm being naive.

I do believe that companies should accurately represent their products, but I think this is just a case of people being a little too picky.  So far The Witcher 3 has been a grand adventure of decapitations and tracking down monsters and I have barely scratched the surface.  I think to de-cry it for something so minor is doing it a disservice.

(Here is a link to a recent PC Gamer article discussing these issues--"CD Projekt adresses Witcher 3 graphical downgade complaints")