The Witcher - Music Collaboration Details @Game Zone

magerette

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Gamezone covers a press release from Atari Europe and CD Projeckt that goes into a little more detail on the musical contributions of the bands Vader and Nightwish to The Witcher soundtrack and a promotional CD:
Vader have recorded a track entitled ‘Sword of The Witcher’ which will feature on their forthcoming new album and DVD. The track will also form part of CD Projekt’s “Inspired by The Witcher” promotional album which features English language compositions by a host of Polish acts, from rock and folk all the way to electro, all inspired by The Witcher...
...Next into the limelight is symphonic metal phenomenon Nightwish, Finland’s most internationally successful rock band. With a massive following all over the world, they bring their force to bear on The Witcher in Germany with the inclusion of the video for their latest single “Amaranth” with the game when it launches in October.
More information.
 
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I know this newsbit isn't about the music composed in-game, but has anyone listened to the samples of that? I did, and must say I was slightly dissappointed. Boy, you sure can tell the difference between a live orchestra and a synthesized one. In some games it's not so noticable, depending on what instruments and what pitch the melody is in. In the case of the Witcher music, it sounded very synthesized on most tracks. While Gothic, which was also synthesized, still sounds great to me, The Witcher's songs just don't inspire. :-/

I know that despite the growing media attention and popularity this is still a project by a small developer, so I didn't expect music on par with Gothic 3, or any other live recordings, but still, I'm hoping they put more effort into the gameplay and graphics engine than they did the music. :please:
 
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but still, I'm hoping they put more effort into the gameplay and graphics engine than they did the music. :please:

Well, from what I can see from the screens and vids the Art Direction at least
is excellent. (This is rather more important for me than latest tech graphics)

I wouldn't expect much in the way of normal maps, high poly count and high res
textures if that is what you mean by effort in graphics though...

If the media we have seen thus far are any indication, they seem to have nailed
the atmosphere of sapkowski's excellent setting... That is a big step towards me
enjoying that game, hell just add a couple of memorable Npcs and a good plot
and I'm your man...

Its gameplay quality though , as you say, that is the million dollar question and
most importantly the highly touted impact of the players actions upon the storyline...

Oh well, we'll know in a month or so...
 
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Yeah, what I meant about the engine was that I hope it runs smooth and isn't buggy. To me music is a big atmospheric item... yes, I agree that the art direction is superb, but will the music enhance or detract? That was my original point that I didn't state very well initially..
 
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Well the gameplay vids we've seen leave me with a better feeling regarding
stability and performance comparing them to the prerelease vids from G3 i.e

Still no way to know for sure without the game on our hands...

I'll have to agree though that the music (despite the good, imo compositions)
does sound a bit muted. It might grow on us more ingame (G1-2 music i.e really
shines when combined with the overall game atmosphere, G3's ofcourse is good
enough to stand on its own) I think but I dont believe it will leave a lasting
impression...

btw here is another tidbit (dialogue) from the official site if you havent seen it:
ftp://ftp.thewitcher.com/eng/thewitcher/video/thewitcher_en_video_quest_gameplay_selection_mov.zip

The game also seems to have finally gotten a pegi rating of 18...
 
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Yes, i have high hopes for this game. Perhaps the sum of the parts will come together to form a nice all-around experience, unlike Gothic 3 which if, imho, the game engine was as polished as the music, we would all still be saying "Witcher who?"
 
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btw here is another tidbit (dialogue) from the official site if you havent seen it:
ftp://ftp.thewitcher.com/eng/thewitcher/video/thewitcher_en_video_quest_gameplay_selection_mov.zip
What i don't like about how the dialogs are handled is the nonexistence of facial expressions. Nobody can tell me that little details like tilting the brows when angry would add much to the development costs or time, but it would add so much to the "realness". IMHO this is pure negligence...
 
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Even if that is the final version, I didn't think it was all that bad. The actual words and phrases used were edgy and uncommon. That dialogue clip seemed very original, and dare I say it, sounded more like a novelist than the typical game speech. So what the character faces are bland, I would rather have it this way than animated characters with bland dialogue and voices - my imagination can do the rest.
The goon's voice sounded a lot like one of the frequently used voices in the first two Gothics. That's the immediate reaction I had to this clip anyway, and that's a REALLY good thing!! I'm even more stoked about this title now.

Another note: I think it's going to be refreshing to play such a powerful and deadly hero. How many times do we start a typical RPG with a no-name nobody that has to run from ferocious packs of chickens at the start? Not Geralt... "You'll be dead in three seconds".. Ha ha love it!!
 
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I understand that the expectations for "cinematic" like dialog scenes are
constantly being raised (while in other more essential areas , imo, are
constantly being dropped). Its quite a big thing for some upcoming games
it seems (Mass Effect i.e ? I really haven't bothered with that one..)

Not a big issue for me either I would have to say (sort of at the bottom of
my priorities)...

Another note: I think it's going to be refreshing to play such a powerful and deadly hero.

Personally I like it too. plus, as others have mentioned , having a hero of
well documented background increases the possibilities of being able to
tailor plot , dialogue and NPCs reactions to him easily(as seen in the clip).

It will put off a lot of people though, that like to customize their PC. Because
this model allows drastically less character customization than i.e even the
Gothics and it was already an issue, for some, there...
 
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Nice clip, JonNik. The written dialogue is excellent. The southern accent's a bit cheesy, (reminds me of the redneck with the store in the swamp in Wiz8) but Geralt is very well voice-acted. "I despise your kind." I can role-play that. :)
 
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Heh, I noticed the accent. It was like Jabberwocky said, a little flashback from
G1 days, even if its not the same actor. The dialogue does seem to be on the
right track generally speaking... good.
 
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I'll admit the southern (USA) accent detracted a bit from the scene, but I choose to look at it this way: 1) It's fantasy, which means anything can happen, right? 2) I had the same reaction to the southern accents in Gothic, but after a while, it sort of grew on me, and actually seemed fitting. It made the world seem more gritty somehow. That's why I said I liked it. 3) What else would you suggest for an American English translation? British accents? Every fantasy/medieval movie that gets made over here is relegated to the standard British accents, regardless of the true location they are trying to present. So should we expect British accents in Poland, or wherever Sapowski's work takes place? Why?...
 
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Negligence? That's a big call.

I know, hehe. I just don't get it. I mean, i've seen games a decade ago with basic facial expressions. Don't get me wrong, i love the world, i love the art direction, the more gritty approach they are taking, can't wait to play it.
 
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@Jabberwocky: I don't mind southern accents and I agree they add flavor. that one was just kind of a bogus, forced southern accent. But I hear them every day so I'm obviously more aware. I'm not knocking it as a choice though, I agree that various British accents are over-used. It's all good. :)
 
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LOL... what you said about hearing them everyday... I never noticed it until I moved away to New York. I lived there for a few years and then when I came back here the accents sounded so strong to me!

btw I wasn't in any way trying to be argumenative. This same clip has been posted on the newsbits a bit further up, and there are plenty of people there that are bashing it. I just wanted to try and voice a little reasoning as opposed to immediately relegating the title to "the cheese box." :)
 
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Actually, I think it would have been cool if they'd found some voice actors with eastern European or even Russian accents. I know I've played a few games that used them and they add a distinct flavor. Still, I think the over-all quality of voice acting is far above the "cheese" level--after having tried to play Beyond Divinity, I have no problem with what I'm hearing at all. :)
 
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The southern accent's a bit cheesy, (reminds me of the redneck with the store in the swamp in Wiz8)

Hey! Crock had some of the best lines in Wiz8, and most of it was in the voice acting.

"What do you know about the Trynnie?"
"Go-o-o-od eatin'!"
 
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Ah the golden memories! :)

Wiz8 had the best voices--I gave my fairy mage the swedish valkyrie voice and it never failed to crack me up. :)
 
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