Thursday 14 May 2015

Geralt, Witcher 3 sketch.















Yet to find a better way to make shadow than using a black pen.
At some point I may make the transition to oil paints that would more successfully allow a shaded background. Composition is meant to contain comic elements.



Addendum. Having Finished the game, thoughts (August 2015)

Having finished the main story of the Witcher 3 game, as of 14.8.15, I am quite impressed, and I occasionally have mulled over the ending, which I found quite affecting and appreciated it's attempts at closure, which given the time investment is something quite difficult to do. There are forums devoted to this, arguing over what constitutes the best ending, arguing in terms of Ciri's motivations & the background of Sapkowski's books. I wouldn't agree with all that is written which is unsurprising, as it is the internet after all, but some of it is an interesting perspective. It has also been the subject of various forms of analysis including feminist theory by Sarkeesian and counter arguments, both have valid points and I have some personal thoughts about this. Ultimately I would argue that the game for all its definite cheese cake content does attempt to represent a village way of life that suggests, through Ciri, areas which Geralt as a male would not know, which is refreshing. Others can argue about empowerment and agency but these things are a bit too complex for someone like me to discuss, but "Ruth's" (June 2015) Fathers, Daughters & The Gender Politics of Skellige: Analyzing 'The Witcher 3, (June 2015) appears to me reasonably fair and my thoughts tend to go in her direction, at least.

The Witcher story (Written by Sapkowski) and its associated products are derived from Poland, and as an intellectual property is quite big there, with a series of books, TV series and a film, but this has not reached the majority of the English speaking world outside the series of computer games and possibly translations of the books. Its influence does show in the sandbox world state of the Witcher 3 where the factions have definite culturally derived characteristics, an article by Liana Kerzner explores this.

Bibliography

Liana Kerzner. (May 2015). Why Feminist Frequency is Dead Wrong about 'The Witcher 3, [up dated]. @ Forbes.com

Wynnej, Ruth. (June 2015).  Fathers, Daughters & The Gender Politics of Skellige: Analyzing 'The Witcher 3, @ FemHype Ltd.