Summary
The “secret sauce” when it comes to CDPR quests in games likeThe Witcher 3andCyberpunk 2077is empathy, according to Pawel Sasko. Sasko served as a quest designer onThe Witcher 3, the lead quest designer onThe Witcher 3’s DLCs, a lead quest designer inCyberpunk 2077, the quest director inCyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, and now serves as the associate game director ofthe nextCyberpunkgame. Needless to say, if there’s anyone with a strong insight into CDPR quest design, it’s Sasko.
SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE WITCHER 3 AND CYBERPUNK 2077: PHANTOM LIBERTY
Sasko took the stage at Gamescom LATAM to discuss how CD Projekt Red develops quests, discussing it at a very high level from day one to launch and post-launch. Afterward, Game Rant sat down with Sasko to learn a little more about these processes. He mentioned that, when it comes to game design, quests should focus on “play, show, then tell, always in that order.” This means that players should be able to interact with as much of a quest as possible; instead of there just being drama in a scene, there should be drama in gameplay. After that, it’s about showing players instead of telling them, and relying on that latter point only as a fallback. When discussing the “show” element, Sasko discussed how important empathy is in quest design, citingThe Witcher 3andCyberpunk 2077.
His goal, he explained, is to make players stop thinking about the logic of events and start feeling because it establishes a connection between the player and the quest. That makes them more immersed in games likeCyberpunk 2077andThe Witcher 3when they genuinely feel like they’re part of it or can relate to major story beats, despite the two games being far removed from reality. “I always tell my designers to try to get that player to be empathic because there are so many different things that can touch players,” Sasko said. He gave two examples of how empathy can touch players: the first being when So Mi is dying on the train inPhantom Libertyand when the Bloody Baron carriesthe Botchling inThe Witcher 3. Both are strong emotional sequences, things that can pull on a player’s emotions, and years later, Sasko still recalls a letter he received regarding the Bloody Baron story.
The Witcher 3, Cyberpunk 2077 Rely Heavily on Empathy in Quest Design
In short, a man reached out to CDPR to express how deeplythe Bloody Baron storylineaffected him, emotionally, after losing both his wife and child during childbirth. The letter explained how difficult this quest was and how “he felt like he was the Bloody Baron, carrying that child. He really wanted it to work.”
It’s important to Sasko that quests are built with this empathy in mind.The Witcher 3is about fatherhood, but he’s not a father. That doesn’t mean he can’t make an authentic experience thanks to his empathy and talking with other fathers to create an authentic, if fantastical experience. Understanding how some folks may react to a video game quest is an important step in developing that question:
“Even though it’s fantasy, it’s some Botchling thing, there’s a component of authenticity and realism that will touch people because you don’t know what they went through. You have to approach quests with deep care and consideration.”
Using empathy in designing quests, leveraging a player’s empathy, and approaching every quest with deep care and consideration may seem like small steps in a grander process, but it’s the little things and details that are the difference between a good game and a great game. Empathy is an important element of that, with Sasko summing it up simply,
“Show is about trying to talk to your empathy and trying to show things that can move you. For me, it’s almost like a secret sauce for making really good quests.”
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
WHERE TO PLAY
You are Geralt of Rivia, mercenary monster slayer. Before you stands a war-torn, monster-infested continent you may explore at will. Your current contract? Tracking down Ciri — the Child of Prophecy, a living weapon that can alter the shape of the world.PLAY AS A HIGHLY TRAINED MONSTER SLAYER FOR HIRETrained from early childhood and mutated to gain superhuman skills, strength, and reflexes, witchers are a counterbalance to the monster-infested world in which they live.Gruesomely destroy foes as a professional monster hunter armed with a range of upgradeable weapons, mutating potions, and combat magic. Hunt down a wide variety of exotic monsters, from savage beasts prowling mountain passes to cunning supernatural predators lurking in the shadowy back alleys of densely populated cities. Invest your rewards to upgrade your weaponry and buy custom armor, or spend them on horse races, card games, fist fighting, and other pleasures life brings.EXPLORE A MORALLY AMBIGUOUS FANTASY OPEN WORLDBuilt for endless adventure, the massive open world of The Witcher sets new standards in terms of size, depth, and complexity. Traverse a fantastical open world: explore forgotten ruins, caves, and shipwrecks, trade with merchants and dwarven smiths in cities, and hunt across the open plains, mountains, and seas. Deal with treasonous generals, devious witches, and corrupt royalty to provide dark and dangerous services. Make choices that go beyond good & evil, and face their far-reaching consequences.
