'The Witcher 3' Release Date 2015: Game Designer Hopes Title Will Draw In Classic RPG Fans

Role-playing games aren’t what they used to be. It’s been a while since we’ve seen a RPG that looks so intriguing, we just have to play it.

Peter Gelencser, Senior Designer at CD Projekt Red, the Polish developer behind upcoming “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt,” wants to change all that with his company’s upcoming title.

“The Witcher 3” is set to launch Feb. 24 next year, but the game is already receiving massive amounts of attention from critics. GameInformer called the title “a must-see next-generation RPG.” During this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, “The Witcher 3” took home more than 100 awards, including the “Best in Show” award.

Gelencser is a longtime fan of video games, and admits he's played since he was a child.

“Currently, my favorite game is ‘Mario Kart 8,” he told IBTimes during E3 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” focuses on protagonist and witcher Geralt of Rivia, who hunts monsters and can summon magic. Gelencser admits he often draws inspiration from older role-playing games like 1993’s “Secret of Mana” when working on his current project.

“All the good experiences I had with those games really come through when creating new content with the game [‘The Witcher 3’],” he told us.

“The phenomenon, the experience of discovery and stumbling upon things, I get to create something and test it, play it, and if I get the same feeling from revealing a large part of a dungeon, or seeing a large city, I can compare the feeling of that to the same feeling I had as a kid. In a way, all those old games were a great inspiration.”

Gelencser wasn’t able to talk about certain details of the title, but he did admit he loved the "The Witcher 3's" beautiful, picturesque environment.

“Every single angle is postcard quality. We worked so hard, all the proportions, all the things you see, there’s a little gap missing from that curb, let’s put birds, there, it makes the whole picture complete. It’s beautiful. It’s really worth it to explore,” he said.

The senior designer hopes “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” will be a game-changer when it comes to current-generation role-playing games.

“We’re trying to prove a lot of things, to introduce new things. We play a lot of attention to classical values, but of course, we move with the times and focus on a lot of things that are necessary. The classic RPG bit is well-maintained. There’s very strong story-telling. We never abandoned that,” he emphasized.

Though many titles at E3 this year were massively multiplayer online games, “The Witcher 3” is a single-player.

“This is your adventure, with a very rich and unique story, there is a massive emphasis on this and we transfer that into every aspect of the game.”

One of the title’s most exciting features is the ability to hunt monsters. Though Gelencser wasn’t able to reveal details about this part of the game, he assured us it’s a major aspect of the main character's quest.

“There are a lot of monsters you can hunt. Monster hunting is a vital feature of the game. It’s a major side activity that ties in with the main quest. Hunting is how it would really feel – tracking down these monsters.”

Gelencser also assured fans that buying the game next year will be well worth it. “The Witcher 3” takes around 100 hours to complete – 50 hours of the main quest and 50 hours of side activity, though that’s probably with players rushing through it.

“The Witcher 3” pretty much stole the show at E3 this year, but Gelencser feels the overall gameplay experience of the title will speak for itself when the game launches in February next year.

“All the small factors and the main aspects come together,” he told us. “The audio, the visuals and the gameplay come together and form a very unique experience that you shape to be your own.”

"The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt" launches Feb. 24 for the Xbox One, PS4 and PC.