Witcher 4 devs adjusting to Unreal Engine after years of REDengine:
"You can't just have Geralt for every single game" says his voice actor, and if you think The Witcher 4 making Ciri the protagonist is "woke," then "read the damn books"
Submitted 2 weeks ago by inclementimmigrant@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
Comments
kibiz0r@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Empricorn@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
Damn you. I will never not upvote this! It perfectly encapsulates conservatives and maga freaks…
state_electrician@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Any person who unironically uses “woke” is a complete douche canoe and can go get fucked. Change my mind.
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Wrong way round. The unironic woke is the BLM socially aware activist.
It’s since around 2020 woke is mostly used as an insult by douche canoes.
bestboyfriendintheworld@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Woke is now a synonym for Social Justice warrior.
A person or movement prioritizing moralizing outrage about minor grievances over actual effective societal change.
As my half Nigerian cousin likes to say on issues like white people wearing dreadlocks: “That’s something only white privileged women care about.”
floquant@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Don’t let the alt-right dictate what “woke” means
state_electrician@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
I think that ship has sailed. That word is at the moment a clear sign the person using it is an asshole. It can be reclaimed, but right now I don’t see that happening.
kassiopaea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I would love to not let the nazis dictate how the swastika is used, but their perversion of the original meaning has permanently altered how it’s seen by the rest of the world. Claiming the moral high ground by trying to force something to mean what it no longer does is a pointless exercise.
Rose@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
brsrklf@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
I won’t. Nobody is able to define what “wokeness” really means to them because it’s mostly code for “subset of people I don’t want to exist around me”.
Surprisingly, that doesn’t sound very good when said out loud.
moakley@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“Woke” has had a consistent meaning since its introduction into the English language almost a hundred years ago. It means “Aware of systemic racism.”
When blues legend Lead Belly ended a show in 1938 by saying, “Stay woke,” he meant: “Stay aware of systemic racism.”
When some chud on YouTube in 2025 says “‘Woke’ is ruining gaming,” he means that awareness of systemic racism is ruining gaming. For him.
And when an American politician calls himself “anti-woke”, he’s saying that he opposes the awareness of systemic racism. Not that he denies the existence of it, but that he’d prefer no one talk about it, so that it can continue.
dragonfucker@lemmy.nz 2 weeks ago
Woke means being aware that an interaction with a cop is a life or death situation. Cops aren’t your friends, they’re not here to protect you. They’re a threat, motivated by cruelty and love of power. When dealing with a cop, you have to speak gently, keep your hands visible at all times, and declare your intentions for every action. Or you could die. You could still die even if you do all that.
But_my_mom_says_im_cool@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
How in the heck would Ciri not be the main character after the events of Witcher 3? Did anyone actually think she wouldn’t be?
thedirtyknapkin@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
anyone who has read the books was likely surprised that ciri was the math character of any of the games when they first started coming out ::: ending of the books especially since geralt dies at the end of the books :::
ciri was more the main character than geralt for most of the book. she’s the child of destiny. she’s the young character that grows up as we follow their journey. she’s the one that finds herself and shows major character development throughout the books. the only character development geralt goes through is accepting his bond with ciri. the first two games never mentioning ciri was outright bizarre tbh. only even remotely possibly because geralt lost his memory. like, with where geralt as at by the end of the books the only thing you could possibly expect him to do on regaining his memory is frantically search for signs of his adopted daughter
to a longtime book reader my reaction to ciri being the protag of the next game was “FINALLY”
my only curiosity at this point is how much she’ll be like book ciri. does she know magic? in the books ciri goes to sorceress school and then gets trained in primal magic by unicorns and immortal space elves. can you fuck a horse? that was one of the more… questionable scenes in the book.
tangent: sapkowski’s politics occasionally bleed through in weird ways in the books. like three’s a scene where a woman finds out she’s pregnant mid way through a literal war that our band wades through on their journey to save the world. the party basically needs the woman to proceed. she does not want the child. i believe it was the product of rape. yet for some reason geralt and a literal fucking vampire convince her that abortion is wrong and she should keep it instead of drinking a potion about it. it was so randomly out of character for everyone involved. but hey, that’s catholics for you i guess… /tangent
i think they generally said that ciri lost her elder blood powers after the king of the hunt was killed right? otherwise I’m gonna be really curious how handle that as well. she should be sort of the world’s greatest sorceress otherwise. ooh, i wonder if she’ll make quips about cyberpunk and/or other worlds she’s traveled to. like, she spent Decent bit of time in Arthurian legend. she shows up briefly in Victorian London.
wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I was under the impression that it wasn’t Victorian London, but The Plague Year. IIRC she, canonically, brings a blanket infested with plague lice from here to there, and ends up dropping it next to the ship Catriona, which is how the Catriona plague actually gets started.
cactusupyourbutt@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
hold up… ciri fucked a horse?
Trainguyrom@reddthat.com 2 weeks ago
can you fuck a horse? that was one of the more… questionable scenes in the book.
Uhhh which book is that? If it’s the section I’m thinking of with Kelpie the horse, she’s entranced by its beauty and it’s rider/owner tries to use that to get into her pants (and ultimately died before he was successful) but I don’t believe she ever expressed sexual attraction at all to it by my memory from reading the books a couple of months ago.
the party basically needs the woman to proceed. she does not want the child. i believe it was the product of rape. yet for some reason geralt and a literal fucking vampire convince her that abortion is wrong and she should keep it instead of drinking a potion about it
The party is trying to find Ciri after her disappearance. Geralt and Cahir are having visions indicating that she’s presently in great danger and suffering (and at that she was!). Finding out while practically at the front lines of the great war that their incredible archer, Milva is pregnant completely derails their entire journey because she can’t ride, shouldn’t travel, and will need to rest in a safe area for a while (which they are at this point constantly far from anywhere safe), plus they can’t exactly bring a baby onto the battlefield they’re actively crossing. It’s one moral quandry wrapped in another. Ultimately Geralt and Cahir leave it to Milva’s decision, as does Regis the barber-surgeon/vampire who created the abortion potion.
Also it wasn’t rape. While guiding a group of elves to safety, they hid in a thicket for a night with Nilfgaurdians surrounding them and searching for them. The elves decided that since they were likely to die a horrible death at any moment that they should take the time they have to find what enjoyment they can, and Milva decided to join in. It just so happened they did not die that night and now Milva is carring a halfling for whom she does not know the fathers name (for safety no names were shared with the elves she guided)
i think they generally said that ciri lost her elder blood powers after the king of the hunt was killed right? otherwise I’m gonna be really curious how handle that as well. she should be sort of the world’s greatest sorceress otherwise.
She gave up her magic after trying to use fire as a source of power out of desperation while navigating out of the “Frying Pan” desert. She wanted to save Little Horse the unicorn after an unfortunate battle with a monster she hadn’t yet learned of, but no other sources were available. My understanding is fire as a magical source is all consuming so it is forbidden to pull from for safety reasons, but that was largely left up to interpretation.
Upon pulling from fire, she saw the imense power that presented her, the ability to rule the entire world, but also how that would hurt those she cared so deeply about, so she instead gave up her sourceress’ powers.
If you want anything to complain about in the books it should be Milva’s winging about being an illiterate farm girl that honestly was out of character and just seemed written in so she wouldn’t outshine the others
kinther@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
She is the main character toward the end. The story was great and I need to replay it
wrekone@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Came here to say this. Anyone that’s played Witcher 3 should have already known that Ciri was going to be the protagonist in the next game. I can’t wait. Ciri is badass.
Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Someone who can tame unicorns and jump through time and space is much more interesting than a berserker monster slayer.
Coelacanth@feddit.nu 2 weeks ago
I mean, I prayed to the nether gods that we’d get a Letho game. He’s the perfect protagonist if they wanted to move away from the books and more firmly into their own OC. Always had huge main character energy, and would be perfectly suited for exploring the morally grey areas of the Witcher world.
Blackmist@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Well, unless you fucked up the choices near the end. Really not fond of CDPR’s habit of that.
wolframhydroxide@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Yeah, there were a couple of tiny decisions, any of which failed you out if you got them wrong, and several of them had deceptive descriptions during the QTE.
madjo@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
The reactionary women-hating alt-right gamer-gate neo-nazi losers should just be ignored at this point.
MorningThunder@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
To be fair, this post is the first I’ve heard of people upset about it
TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
The thing about them is that they are loud, directed, and often affect the first impression a game gets. If this wasn’t with The Witcher fame, the effect would be more notable, and oftentimes they don’t admit why they really have a problem with the game directly.
Dasus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“at this point”
You’ve paid attention to them at some point?
samus12345@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
If a game is deemed “woke” by right-wing shitheads, that’s like a seal of approval for me. Now, the game might still suck, but it’s not because of being inclusive and diverse.
Aux@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
It’s a lot easier - if Americans don’t like what Europeans are doing, then it’s a great thing they’re doing!
samus12345@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Plenty of American developers are making “woke” games. This isn’t a country-specific thing. But in general, yes!
Rose@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
If it does “flop”, they undoubtedly would chalk it up to it being inclusive and diverse though. Otherwise they just quickly move on to the next target.
samus12345@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Yup, with movies and games alike if it’s “woke” and flops they always say that’s why, when the truth is it just sucked.
Iambus@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
This is the first I’ve heard of this game being deemed woke.
samus12345@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
If a game has a non-white or non-male protagonist, it’s automatically “woke.”
overload@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
Didn’t you hear? Ciri is older and therefore ugly now. The worst offence that a designer could make for a female character.
courval@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
People are complaining of having to stare at a female’s body while playing? They prefer looking at at male’s butt? That’s soooo gay!
Gladaed@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
Can we stop with this stupid and homophobic argument?
untorquer@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
- This seems sarcastic. I can tell by the punctuations i am seeing.
- It’s abit gay tho
kassiopaea@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
Have you considered that the comment could, in fact, be a joke?
Hyphlosion@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I’m a straight male who is very secure in my masculinity. But I’ve gotten shit from people when I ise female characters. Never understood why that’s a problem.
madjo@feddit.nl 2 weeks ago
I usually play as a female character in games too. I prefer to look at pretty things.
REDACTED@infosec.pub 2 weeks ago
boonhet@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I’ve never read the books, but… It was clear from game 3 that she was going to play an important role in the future. The entire plot of the main campaign in Witcher 3 was about HER powers. The Wild Hunt wanted her, not Geralt.
Plus also she’s awesome anyway. What the fuck is wrong with people? Oh I can’t enjoy my vibeo game with a wahmen as main character, it’ll ruin my mood!
Honestly I’d rather be looking at a cute girl dashing around than an old man, even if I identify more with the latter. Video games are for exploring things. Fantasy worlds, dragons, wraiths… And the biggest problem with suspending disbelief is playing a character who isn’t the same gender as the player? lmao.
faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I’ve only played Witcher 3, and I thought it was obvious that it’s Ciri’s story being told from the perspective of the supporting cast, and that is an incredibly cool literary device.
ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Plus also she’s awesome anyway. What the fuck is wrong with people? Oh I can’t enjoy my vibeo game with a wahmen as main character, it’ll ruin my mood!
That’s what I don’t understand, like, have people not played the Horizon games? They’re awesome, they’re fun as hell.
muusemuuse@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I’m trying to remember the first game I played with a female lead and I think it was portal. And that woman didn’t speak. Strangely the next was transistor and she technically didn’t speak either.
LostWanderer@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
ROFL I guess these dudes want to live a power fantasy through Geralt instead of accepting the natural next step; since they are following the Witcher Books for the most part, Ciri was bound to be the lead character. I feel the Witcher 4 will be an excellent game, there’s interesting ground to cover with Ciri. The only bad thing will be if there is no first person mode, as I tend to avoid games with women as leads…I like to look at men from behind, not ladies. I hope the art team chose a design that doesn’t try to make her into a thirst trap (as that low-key makes me not want to play games with female leads).
Raxiel@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Reading is also woke
FireRetardant@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Lots of respect for Doug Cockle, the VA. He could use the outcry to try to get another big deal and make more money as the main character, but instead he recognizes the witcher is bigger than him or his character and is happy to have another person take the lead role and the spotlight.
SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
I’m sorry, but I still can’t help but laugh about the anti-woke Asterion flat-butt mod, and now in my head I just see all anti-woke gamers as jealous flat-butters.
Grandwolf319@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Unpopular opinion:
Witcher 4 won’t be as good as Witcher 3 cause the third one was very good.
So no matter who they chose, it’s probably gonna be underwhelming.
eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Good to know the VA isn’t a dickhead chud here. I’m not aware of him beyond this, but that’s at least a small win in my book.
Joeyowlhouse@lemmy.wtf 2 weeks ago
It’s about time women got more accurate representation in games. How many games have you play as a man compared to playing as a woman? Technically it should be 50/50 to more accurately represent the real world.
FeelzGoodMan420@eviltoast.org 2 weeks ago
I’m mad about Ciri being the main character, however the reason I’m mad si not because of her character or her being a woman. What I’m upset about is that I thought this game would take place in a completely different time period or region. Like maybe during the first witchers? Maybe in the future? But no, CDPR is just force extending existing characters. Zzzzz
RightHandOfIkaros@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
“You can’t just have Geralt for every single game.”
I mean… Yes. You literally can.
Mario, Sonic, Zelda, Metroid, Kirby… You can create infinite video games with the same main character over and over again. Its like an infinite money glitch if the character is popular and well liked.
ShaggySnacks@lemmy.myserv.one 2 weeks ago
Them books are woke.
CosmoNova@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I want to believe this is just s straw man argument but sadly I know there are enough jerks out there who absolutely call everything that doesn’t cater precisely to toxic masculinity wOkE.
I think it‘s a bit of a bummer that the ending of Witcher 3 that does make the most sense in-universe isn‘t canon in favor of what I think is pure fan service. I will probably still play the shit out of this though because all of their games have been hitters for me. Even Cyberpunk at launch. Even Witcher 1.
zebidiah@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
hot take: i fucking hated the way ciri and every single other woman in witcher3 was written/portrayed…
they all felt like they were written by incels who have never met or conversed with an actual real woman. they were shallow game of thrones/fantasy tropes and felt like walking talking cliches. i literally cringed through every interaction…
markovs_gun@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t know if I have met anyone complaining about Ciri being the protagonist of Witcher 4. Even the most conservative people I know who are fans of the series are pumped about her being the main character because they love the story and it’s the only logical way forward. The only complaints I have heard are that in universe she’s kind of overpowered for a video game protagonist. I think people whining about this are fake fans or just agitators who don’t even play these games.
Seefoo@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
honestly though, calling it woke makes me want to check it now…so 🤷. I am not sure woke is the insult its intended to be.
Vince@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
How is work an insult? What am I supposed be? Asleep?
F_OFF_Reddit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Oh boy the only issue I have is that I’m going to be unstoppable, Ciri is literally a broken main character nearing her full potential.
Bitch can fucking dimension travel, trained in sword and fight by other witchers and IIRC Yennefer trained her in some sort of sorcery arts as well so it’d be like having an OP mix of Geralt+Yennefer
sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
Hey, anybody remember when MGS 2 came out, and the mass of NA gamers were raging about having to play as Raiden, because he was a … well in modern parlance, a beta cuck soyboy?
Kinda flew over all their heads that Raiden was basically a more realistic reflection of the NA target demo for MGS games, and oh he also goes through legitimate character development, gains maturity and confidence, oh well now, more lately, he’s basically a badass fucking cyberninja.
… Passing the torch off to Ciri fucking entirely makes sense within the world and lore of the Witcher series… and I thought we liked having an attractive gal booty to ogle at in third person?
Or is that now gay?
gedhrel@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Honestly I think W3 jumped the shark when it added a fifth faction for Gwent, and I know I’m not alone in this opinion.
flightyhobler@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I don’t believe there are people who seriously throw the “woke” argument out there. I think it’s a sort of rage baiting by the journalists. Ffs there were 3 games with Geralt as lead. Enough is enough.
CapriciousDay@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Idk about you but I’m pre-ordering the woke game
stebo02@sopuli.xyz 2 weeks ago
i love woke, keep it coming
UraniumForBreakfast@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
What ISN’T woke to conservatives/republicans anymore?
Please don’t answer that, I know the answer, but come on. Pick up a book.
PapaStevesy@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Reading is woke
UraniumForBreakfast@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I’m not reading that.
Addv4@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s how they getcha! That dang “Thinking for themselves!”
HollowNaught@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Image
Geetnerd@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
medsal15@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
An image with the words “Whatever Offends Klansmen Easily”, each on its own line. “WOKE” can be read vertically with the first letters of each word
AdamBomb@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
Perfection
throwawayacc0430@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
rtxn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Having a consistent definition of “woke” is too woke for some dinosaurs.
Aielman15@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Woke did not exist before 2015, so everything created before that year is, in fact, absolutely based. Including all those apolitical masterpieces I grew up with, such as Metal Gear Solid and Bioshock. I wish they still made fun games instead of insisting on shoving leftist commentary down out throats. I really want to enjoy gaming again but developers are work leftists now :(
Lucky for us, the glorious Nippon country is untouched by woke. No, I don’t know Japan and I’ve visited it, but i play a lot of VNs, which is basically the same thing.
Zero22xx@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
If Legend of Zelda first came out today, you can bet your ass these people would be complaining about Link not being ‘manly’ enough.
Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
the massive increase of “woke” by conservative began around the time trumps 1st term, it only amplyfied just befored the pandemic, and during the pandemic. when disney shows, movies, trek made all these right wingers all uncomfortable.
Cargon@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Cleaning your ass after shitting is woke.
Snowclone@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
No no o no no no. It’s FEMININE to not have shit all over your asshole all the time.
UraniumForBreakfast@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
I hope my simple annoyances of painting my nails as a man gives these type of people high blood pressure.
The fucking Secretary of Defense doesn’t wash his hands either
FenrirIII@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The only books these dumdums pick up are the ones getting thrown onto the fire
buddascrayon@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I mean, if you look up “gamergate” and see the real reason why these little whiny bitches had such a shit fit. You can see that a lot of male gamers are a bunch of whiny little bitches who throw idiotic tantrums whenever anything highlights women in the gaming world.
TaiCrunch@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
ioi-xd.net/files/wokeornot.html
As it turns out, not a lot.
brsrklf@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
“… and that’s terrible.” .
Ledericas@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
woah a book, sounds “woke”
Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Image
el_bhm@lemm.ee 2 weeks ago
Anything that vibes with the voting base.