The Witcher - Meet Geralt @ Twenty Sided

Originally Posted by Alrik Fassbauer
So everybody says that trading card games are "juvenile" and "childish".

Implicitely, but it boils down to that.

This just adds to the cliché that RPGs should be "dark and adult". No light-hearted themes, colours, and especially no childish content, please !

No, the cards and the collecting of cards for "banging a chic" is what is juvenile. For The Witcher, this type of mini game does not belong, it dimishes the character of Geralt to the level of being juvenile. Geralt is not juvenile.

Oh, those cards…

There were a few things that hit a false note in the game for me, most of which were related to sex: specifically, the cards, and the identical babydoll nighties worn by the most of the ladies. The sex thing would've worked better without the cards, and with the ladies completely naked, or at least with somewhat more believable and varied medieval lingerie.

I think the cards were a minor if juvenile flaw, and one that I was easily able to ignore in the larger framework of enjoying the game. The sexual encounters themselves seemed in character and plausible and as such,though I am not particularly focused on bedding semi-naked ladies as my erotica of choice, they made sense and were also relatively optional. I certainly didn't "go to bed with every peasant woman" Geralt saw, but when it seemed a logical continuation of who I played him as, it worked fine without being obtrusive.

I found Geralt a very interesting, conflicted and ambiguous character to play, and the idea of him being Hugh Hefner-like seems both really shallow and a pretty weird quirk of the imagination to me.

Originally Posted by BillSeurer
So you're saying this is interactive fiction and not an RPG?

Depends on your definition of an RPG as I am of the opinion that the two are, at the very least, not mutually exclusive. Either way, it doesn't matter what exactly we categorize this game under. I just know that to me it was fun as heck and is one of the best games I've played, but sure, its the 'fiction' part of it that made it the most fun for me.

Some of the best role playing games I've played had pre-set characters because they were based on books, anyone remember Betrayal at Krondor? I don't think we should be debating so much which approach is better (blank slate vs preset character) and focus more on getting the game makers to make us more of both kinds of RPGs. That way everyone has something that suites their fancy.

Originally Posted by Eisberg
I agree 100%, but the cards and the card collecting diminishes his whole character to be juvenile. That cards just don't fit in game. Instead of the sex being on the more mature side, it is being portrayed in a very juvenile manner just because of the cards and the collecting of the cards.

Except that you don't have to collect cards. It is not compulsory and you can finish the whole game without the need to collect a single one! If you are so inclined you can play Geralt as a celibate.
What's more you actually have to actively seek most of the sexual encounters. You can stumble upon them by accident only in a very few cases.
So what the problem seems to be? Just that the possibility is there?

Well if you finish the game without having any romances, you are going to miss quite a lot storyline and great writing . Atleast I found the shani romance quite well writen..the party thing was one of the best quests i've seen lately in rpgs :-)

Oh, I agree Dez. My argument was aimed at those who seems to think that totaly optional bit of the game somehow lowers the tone of the game as a whole.