While Netflix‘s The Witcher is based on the book series of the same name, there’s no denying that the video game series — also (and more loosely) based on the books — from CD Projekt Red is what put The Witcher on the map, and is probably a big reason why the Netflix series exists in the first place. When Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski sold the video game rights to CD Projekt Red, the series was big, but only in Poland. At this point, it hadn’t reached a global audience, but that would soon change.
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When Netflix announced it was adapting the series to TV, many wondered how much inspiration it would draw from the games. After all, they are more popular than the books, and are what introduced many to Geralt, Yennefer, and more. However, if you’ve seen the adaptation, you’ll know it adapts the books, and draws little to no inspiration from CD Projekt Red’s work.
Speaking on Writer Experience, Hissrich did reveal at least one thing she took from the video game series though: its visuals.
“You know, when I first – I’m not a gamer myself, but when I first took on the project, I found a friend of mine, Matt Owens, who is a huge gamer and I basically insisted that he let me play,” said Hissrich. “And then very quickly, I realized I stopped. So I watched him play and drank some beers. And I took in the visuals of the world. And what I will say is that, that’s probably the biggest thing I took from the game.”
Hissrich continued, noting that she knew she wanted a more colorful fantasy world rather than a dirty and gritty one, and watching the game be played further cemented this thought. Further, she also noted that the team also took plenty of Easter Eggs from the games and put them in the show.
“Oftentimes people think of fantasy as really dirty and gritty and horrible and everything’s dark. And the truth is, The Witcher actually has a lot of color, has a lot of life, has a lot of everything to it. So that’s something I saw on the game, I saw just how beautiful the world could be. And to me, what a great balance for fantasy because this is real life, right? Even in tragedy and real life, the sun still rises, and it sets and that can still be beautiful, even if there’s a war going on next door. So that’s something that we took. And also, I think there’s a lot of sort of, there’s a lot of little easter eggs in the show, that are basically just there to say to video gamers, we see you, we know you’re here too. And we know that you love The Witcher and you know, not just because of the book. So we just want to throw out a little things to you as well.”
The Witcher is streaming exclusively on Netflix. At the moment of publishing, there’s been no word of a precise release date for Season 2, but it’s expected to arrive sometime in 2021.
For more on the popular new show, be sure to check out all of our past and all of our recent coverage of the TV adaptation by clicking right here.
H/T, Wccftech.
