If you - as a dev - "manipulate" a player into some emotional reaction …

… THEN you - as a dev - must have a kind of prediction of the reaction or of the gamer's mind.

In principle, it's like Chess: You try to predict how the next one moves.

If you're good at psychology, you might even "play" with the feelings and emotions of peopple - and the most dangerous tricksters and schemers do that.
If you're an author - and The Witcher originally stems from a series of books, as I heard - then you can basically do the same with readers.

Build expectations … and then fulfill them - or not.

It's a bit like the oman coming and "rescuing" Brian.

Imho writers of horror novels are able to do this at best. They are "playing" on the emotional reactions like a piano-player on his or her piano.