CD Projekt RED (CDPR) put a lot of work into the video shown at The Game Awards 2024, but just how much work?

A new behind-the-scenes video shows just how much work went into creating the video. We got long, elaborate footage at The Game Awards, but even the motion capture (mocap for short) took TWO WEEKS, or fourteen days! That’s a long time, and it’s just the beginning for the Polish developers…

In the video, we see everything from the themes CDPR wanted to embrace in the new The Witcher to the mechanics of bringing the Bauk monster to life, a process that involved four operators swinging a physical mockup of the creature’s shoulders and arms. According to stunt coordinator Maciej Kwiatkowski, the screen showed a moving Bauk in real time. We created a witch-like sequence that was rehearsed several times. They practiced how to move the Bauk, which worked out quite well in the end.

In addition to the 14 days of mocap, the team spent three days renting equipment. They shot many, many shots with different characteristics such as distortion, flare, fading, and even spent time on the behavior of the Bauk’s head. These were then used to create digital representations of the camera lenses in the game engine (which will be Unreal Engine 5). The video then ends with the trailer’s voiceover, which according to Philipp Weber, the director responsible for the voiceover, is an adaptation of the story they want to tell in the game. They will not present a black and white situation, but expect the player to think through some situations and make some difficult decisions. There are some interesting quotes in the video. Ciri’s menacing comment (no gods here, just monsters) is reminiscent of the monster-killing scene in The Witcher 3. Tiny details are hidden in the short video, and fans have already analyzed them letter by letter…

We’ll have to wait for The Witcher 4, but good work takes time. Especially if they don’t want to release it half-finished.

Source: PCGamer