CD Projekt, producer of The Witcher, a new exciting game based on a highly modified version of the Bioware Aurora Engine, announced a collaboration with nVidia.
nVidia and CD Projekt are working together to prepare the game to playing on nVidia graphics processing units (GPUs). The Companies will also engage in strategic co-marketing activities as part of nVidia's The Way It's Meant to Be Played program.
The Witcher, as the authors of the game assure us, shows a completely new approach to the RPG genre, combining dynamic action with a deep and immersing storyline. The Witcher is set in a rich, diverse fantasy world created by Andrzej Sapkowski, a world, where you can't see a clear-cut difference between good and evil. Geralt, the game's main hero, is The Witcher - master swordsman and a professional monster-slayer. Yet, as we soon find out, altough these skills come in handy, not every matter can be handled by the sword... As in real life, sometimes all you need to do to get the information you want is to sit and talk with somebody over a glass of beer, or beat the hell out of him in a bar fight to convince him to your arguments during the discussion.
Then there are the ladies... as is the case in every other place in the universe, you can either win them by using your courtly speech and charm, or... sby parading your heavily stuffed purse. You also have to adjust your actions to the day-and-night cycle, according to which every character and monster in the game lives. Each quest in The Witcher can be solved in a number of different ways, and every choice you make can determine which of three endings of the game will be yours to see.
Besides the diversified story, the game will also include a lot of technical novelties, such as numerous modifications to the Bioware Aurora Engine. They include: a rendering system based on the newest DirectX libraries that provides full support for the newest technologies; real-time deflections and refractions; complex, visually-spectacular system of weather and night-and-day cycles; full-screen effects system; and a dynamic, real-time fighting system. What's more, the Witcher is going to be the first RPG game in history to employ a physics engine (Criterion's Karma, used in the Unreal series) that is responsible for realistic behaviour of both the items and characters of the game.
Darryl Still, head of developer relations EMEA at NVIDIA comments The Witcher is certainly an RPG with a difference! Through using a very strong and reliable game engine, CD Projekt have been able to focus closely on the immersive gameplay and compelling storyline. We were thrilled when they chose nVidia as their development platform, and we think that the end result not only looks great, but is sure to provide a thoroughly enjoyable and rock solid experience for the gamers.
As part of nVidia's The Way It's Meant to Be Played program, The Witcher will undergo extensive compatibility testing to ensure a no hassles install-and-play experience for gamers equipped with nVidia GPUs. CD Projekt has optimized the game for nVidia hardware and is working with nVidia to ensure the game plays well across a broad lineup of GPUs, from the brand new GeForce 6800 series to the GeForce 3.
