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The Witcher author Andrzej Sapkowski's disdain of games

Fowyr

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Random potato writer who only got international fame due to video game adaptation
What? he was very popular in the Eastern Europe long before games. I think I read Witcher first time in '97 or '98.
 

Konjad

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Random potato writer who only got international fame due to video game adaptation
What? he was very popular in the Eastern Europe long before games. I think I read Witcher first time in '97 or '98.
There's a special audience in Central/Eastern Europe. Things made in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia are very popular in those countries, whereas often not as much anywhere else (though they still might be known).

Witcher books is such an example. When it comes to games I could name ie. Gothic - it had a huge following in Germany and Poland, probably one of the best selling games at the time, but in other countries it wasn't very popular. STALKER was also very popular in Slav countries, less so in other. The first Witcher game was also way more popular in Poland and Russia than in the western world (though in this case you can blame horrendous translation).

Western, Southern and Northern Europe have a bit different tastes, they don't seem to enjoy gloomy, hostile and depressing atmosphere as much ;)
 

cvv

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Western, Southern and Northern Europe have a bit different tastes, they don't seem to enjoy gloomy, hostile and depressing atmosphere as much ;)

They enjoy plenty of that if it's from Japan - oppressively difficult akshun, weird-ass horrors. But similar shit from central/eastern Yuro not so much.

Still remember those reviews for Gothic or Risen 1 - bad voiceovers, bad writing, bad animations, old engine yadda yadda. But Bethesda games always get a free pass from the Kwan press even tho they're just as half-assed, often more so (Gothic 3 looked much better then Oblehvion).
 

Zboj Lamignat

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Sapkowski is not as smart as he thinks he is, but it doesn't change the fact that the games aren't very good (outside of production values in case of 2 and 3).

And I understand his butthurt to be honest. The cdp's approach to the lore is all over the fucking place and I think comparing it to Fallout series, where F1-2 would be the books and FT-3 and 4 the games, is a pretty apt analogy. I mean, resurrecting the main protagonist that you wanted to, and did, kill off with the worst possible cliche of "but he has amnesia hurrrr" on top alone is probably more than enough to feel a sting up one's rectum.

Though there is also a possibility that he doesn't even know what happens in the games and is just grumpy for the sake of being grumpy.

I haven't yet read his newest addition "Season of Storms", which is set between the short stories in the The Last Wish. Is it good? What's the potatolander's opinion?
The idea was to get back to the mood of the short stories and it kinda worked. It's much better than his later books (final part of the Witcher saga included), which just means that it's actually fun to read.
 
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Popiel

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Books were not even so good to begin with, like, really, they weren’t. Sapkowski has a cult following in Poland mainly because he was the first, I mean the first writer to write truly at least somewhat complicated, intelligent and in the same time popular and highly approachable fantasy in an age where there was none of that on that level here, only science fiction (despite the fact that Polish sci-fi is and was truly magnificent). He was also praised for using Slavic tropes in his fiction instead of Germanic ones imported from the West via Tolkien (that Sapkowski himself said that there can be no such thing as Slavic fantasy is beside the point, people are too dumb to perceive that). And we are talking about an era during which Sapkowski wrote in fact only short stories about Geralt of Rivia, and they are miles better than his proper Witcher saga, so he in a way earned his reputation in these days. These long past days let me add. And he is an asshole of a person. Like, really. There is no justification for some of his conduct towards fans and so on. None.
 

Doktor Best

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From what I heard, it's the opposite. He sold the rights for a flat fee to - then - unknown developer. Now they are worth over $1 billion, and he isn't getting shit from it.

That explains his butthurt very well actually. Hes like that idiot who gave away a lottery ticket as birthday present and it turned out to be the jackpot.
 

Angthoron

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Hm, and here I thought Sapkowski's literary works and their sales suffered because he's a complete off the rail alcoholic. Who knew.
 

Frozen

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Old man is just grumpy as all of them are when its time to kick the bucket.
I like his books as flawed as they are but its not like its some high quality literature.
Potatos did fine job of transferring it to interactive format for different kind of audience.
 

hilfazer

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Sapkowski is not as smart as he thinks he is, but it doesn't change the fact that the games aren't very good (outside of production values in case of 2 and 3).

And I understand his butthurt to be honest. The cdp's approach to the lore is all over the fucking place and I think comparing it to Fallout series, where F1-2 would be the books and FT-3 and 4 the games, is a pretty apt analogy. I mean, resurrecting the main protagonist that you wanted to, and did, kill off with the worst possible cliche of "but he has amnesia hurrrr" on top alone is probably more than enough to feel a sting up one's rectum.

Though there is also a possibility that he doesn't even know what happens in the games and is just grumpy for the sake of being grumpy.

The only thing Sapkowski knows about the story in games is the amnesia thing and completely new plot that takes place after events from his books.
And he is completely FINE with this. He's not really against video games, he's just not going to play them.

His problem is using art from games as covers for his books which leads to people not buying his books because "they are based on video games".
And he's not blaming CDPR for this. I totally understand his butthurt as well.
 

AwesomeButton

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I thought Sapkowski was taking part in the games' writing. Don't know where I picked that up from, but apparently it's false. This does raise my opinion of W3's writing though.
 

Zboj Lamignat

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The only thing Sapkowski knows about the story in games is the amnesia thing and completely new plot that takes place after events from his books.
And he is completely FINE with this.
Hm, interesting. Any quotes on that? Thought it might actually be right, considering he was obviously tired with the story and the characters and pretty much took a dump on it all with the final book.
 

hilfazer

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The only thing Sapkowski knows about the story in games is the amnesia thing and completely new plot that takes place after events from his books.
And he is completely FINE with this.
Hm, interesting. Any quotes on that? Thought it might actually be right, considering he was obviously tired with the story and the characters and pretty much took a dump on it all with the final book.
Video with english subtitles.
 

Zboj Lamignat

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Thanks, although that's from 2012 and he obviously changed his tune in the meantime, perhaps due to third game coming out and becoming bestest goty evar. But the reason he gives for not minding there is a bit different than I thought, he just doesn't consider the games part of his universe at all. Bit of a nanana I can't hear you approach if you ask me.
 

Rahdulan

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So wait, did he take a flat fee upfront when they licensed the property from him or something? Because I doubt he would keep up with this nonsense if he was getting royalties, residuals or whatever you call them.
 

Perkel

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So wait, did he take a flat fee upfront when they licensed the property from him or something? Because I doubt he would keep up with this nonsense if he was getting royalties, residuals or whatever you call them.

Considering that CD Project has the rights to movies and other stuff. Yes probably that was the deal.
Sapkowski also is in hate/love relationship with his own witcher books. Sometimes calling them shit sometimes liking them.

If he would play games then he would fit right in here.
 

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