Witcher 3 Devs Discuss Unintended NPC Behavior
CD Projekt Red designers aimed for realistic NPC routines in The Witcher 3. This led to unexpected and sometimes humorous reactions to player actions. The team found that simulating detailed NPC life was a complex challenge.
Coverage across 3 outlets
"For a few weeks, women were just dropping their babies": The Witcher 3 lead on designing NPCs that react appropriately
CD Projekt Red quest designer Philipp Weber discussed the challenges of creating realistic NPC behavior in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. He highlighted how the focus on detailed NPC reactions, such as mothers dropping babies when Geralt caused a disturbance, was a complex aspect of the game's design due to the team's inexperience at the time.
Witcher 3 designer says it wasn't easy to convince players its NPC simulation wasn't 'just fakery': 'People nowadays are interested in those kinds of details, and it really came to haunt us'
CD Projekt Red's Philipp Weber discussed the challenges of creating believable NPC behavior in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, noting that players' interest in intricate details could be a double-edged sword. He explained how the team programmed NPCs to react realistically to player actions, even if it led to humorous or unintended consequences like mothers dropping babies. The article also contrasts this with Cyberpunk 2077's approach to NPC simulation.
The Witcher 3 lead says designing for player curiosity "really came to haunt us" when making sure it felt like…
CD Projekt Red quest designer Philipp Weber discussed how early design choices for NPC schedules in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, focused on realism, created unexpected challenges. The team prioritized simulating believable daily routines over immediate player reactions, leading to humorous situations like NPCs dropping babies. Weber noted that creating such detailed NPC behaviors was more difficult in earlier development stages compared to current practices.
