00:00Now, there is a pretty intriguing article that I've stumbled upon.
00:03It says that The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077 devs put a considerable amount of effort into
00:10side stories. And while I think this article is interesting, there is a bit deeper thing here,
00:16and is basically saying something that long-time CDPR fans already knew rather than revealing a
00:22major insight. And in that sense, my biggest takeaway isn't that The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk
00:272077 have great sidequests. It's actually why they have them. Essentially, Pavel Sasko confirms that
00:35CDPR doesn't treat sidequests as filler. They treat many sidequests almost like mini mainquests.
00:41And according to him, they often receive the same budget, similar production timelines,
00:46experienced developers, and perhaps most importantly, more creative freedom because
00:51they don't have to move the central plot forward. And I would argue that philosophy is
00:57exactly what separates CDPR from many other RPG studios. And I'll give you a classic example.
01:04A lot of open world games still fall into the trap of designing side content around objectives
01:10rather than stories. You'll often see things like kill 10 enemies, collect 15 herbs, escort this NPC,
01:17clear another bandit camp, or fetch an item from AK. The gameplay may change slightly,
01:23but narratively speaking, they are forgettable. And more often than not, you start skipping dialogue
01:29because you've learned these quests don't really matter. And that's exactly what I do when I encounter
01:36these types of quests. Now think about The Witcher 3 for example. The Bloody Baron questline technically
01:43starts as a contract to find Ciri, but instead it evolves into one of the best written stories in RPG
01:49history. And it has everything. Domestic abuse, alcoholism, grief, guilt, supernatural horror,
01:58and impossible moral choices. And when you think about it, it's technically just one section of the
02:03game. Or more examples from The Witcher 3. Take cardinal sins, tower full of mice, a frying pan,
02:10pick and span, or dozens of Witcher contracts. Many begin as simple errands, but almost none of them
02:16end that way. And obviously the same applies to Cyberpunk 2077. We have Judy's storyline,
02:23Panam's missions, River Ward's investigations, or my favorite Perales conspiracy. And these aren't
02:29just optional content. I mean they are, but some people consider them the best stories in the entire
02:35game. And in fact, I would argue that if you removed all the side quests from Cyberpunk,
02:40the main campaign would actually feel surprisingly short and less emotionally impactful. And by the way,
02:46that was one of many problems I had with Cyberpunk, because I felt it was short. And that is
02:51surprisingly something that was done intentionally by CDPR, because apparently The Witcher 3 metrics
02:58showed that a tremendous number of people never actually finished Geralt's long adventure.
03:03I just wonder who these people are, because I would really much like to slap the living shit out of
03:08them. But anyway, I digress. What I wanted to say is that I think Sasko accidentally highlights
03:14something that many writers have talked about for years. Main stories are restrictive because they
03:19have to establish the setting, introduce characters, maybe build tension, support multiple endings,
03:25account for player progression, and fit marketing expectations. But when you think about it,
03:30side quests don't. They're just free to experiment. And that's why CDPR could make something as bizarre
03:36as the paralysis conspiracy, or as unsettling as Sinerman, without worrying about whether every player
03:43experiences it. I mean, some of Cyberpunk's weirdest and most memorable stories exist precisely because
03:49they weren't part of the critical path. However, not everything is rainbows and sunshine, because this
03:55approach is also incredibly expensive. And this is the part the article doesn't really discuss.
04:00But fret not, I will. You see, making optional content, this good, costs a fortune. I mean,
04:08think about it. Every major side quest gets the following. Cinematic cutscenes, professional voice
04:13acting, motion capture, unique environments, branching dialogues perhaps, and obviously a custom
04:19scripting. Which then means you're effectively making dozens of small games into one giant RPG.
04:25And I would argue that helps explain why CDPR games take 5 to 7 years to develop. Not to mention,
04:32like I already pointed out, it explains why they're so expensive. You simply cannot take any shortcuts
04:38to produce this level of handcrafted content. But at the same time, that's why the games are so
04:43memorable and legendary. Now, let's shift our attention to Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2. If you think
04:49about it, this particular philosophy is exactly why expectations for these two games are enormous.
04:54Because, as far as I'm concerned, I won't be judging these two games based on the graphics,
04:59open world, or even, dare I say, combat. I'll probably judge whether random NPCs have stories
05:06worth hearing. For example, in The Witcher 4, I'll probably take a good look at contracts to see whether
05:12or not they are unforgettable like in the third game. Maybe there's going to be certain optional
05:16quests that could make me laugh, cry, or question my decisions after I finish the quest. Because, let me
05:23tell you, that happens a lot in these games. And that's basically why the bar is so ridiculously high.
05:29And ironically, CDPR created the pressure themselves with The Witcher 3. What I would like to point out
05:35at the end of all this rambling of mine is that I think the article gets a little carried away
05:41when it says future CDPR games will probably end up proving some of the greatest RPGs. I mean,
05:47this sounds more like optimism rather than analysis as far as I'm concerned. Because remember, history
05:52shows that reputation isn't guaranteed. If you remember, for example, Cyberpunk 2077 launched in a
05:58terrible technical state despite excellent writing. Also, bigger budgets don't automatically produce
06:03better games. And finally, development complexity keeps increasing every generation. So the quality
06:10of sidequests is only one ingredient. But there are many more like performance, pacing, combat,
06:16progression systems, AI, and technical polish. And they matter just as much. So my biggest takeaway
06:22isn't that CDPR makes great sidequests. I think we've known that for several years. It's that the
06:28studio consciously invests AAA level resources into optional content rather than treating it as padding.
06:34And that's a rare design philosophy. And it's a major reason why players still talk about quests
06:40like Bloody Baron, Sinermen, or Perales Conspiracy years after finishing the games.
06:45If CDPR can combine the storytelling philosophy with a technical polish to launch,
06:50both The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 have the potential to be among the defining RPGs of the
06:55next generation. But after the lesson of Cyberpunk 2077, I think it's wise to stay cautiously optimistic
07:02rather than assuming lightning will strike twice. And that's basically my take on this news.
07:07Thanks very much for watching. And as always, like, share, subscribe, comment,
07:12all that good stuff. And that's it from me until the next one.
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